CHAPTER 4

LELLA

I could hear her gritting her teeth in fury despite the loud noise around us. 

I pulled my arm away from her grip and closed the distance between us. “Who are you that I need to obey?” 

Polina stepped closer. "You’re pathetic, honestly. Staying with him when you know exactly where he belongs. Why don't you just do yourself a favor and walk out? Save some dignity.”

​I felt that familiar heat rise in my chest, but I kept my voice icy. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of a breakdown.

“You're the one who's pathetic and doesn't have dignity. Asking me to leave Conrad? Why? Do you feel threatened by my presence because you know he won't let me go?” I smirked when her jaw clenched. “Anyway, enjoy the scraps.”

I turned my back on her, intending to weave through the dancing crowd and find the exit. But the party had reached a fever pitch. A group of guys started a chant, jumping into the shallow end, sending a spray of water over the deck. Everyone was screaming and laughing, closing in around me.

Suddenly, I felt a hard grip on my shoulder.

​"I wasn't finished with you," Polina growled.

​"Let go," I hissed, trying to pry her fingers off. "It’s crowded, Polina, don't be a scene-queen."

​I tried to push past her, but she pulled me violently by my arm, and without warning, she pushed me. 

​"Wait–!"

​My heels skidded on the wet tile. I reached out, grasping at the humid air, but there was nothing to hold. I fell backward and the celebratory roar of the party was muffled instantly by the cold water, swallowing my scream.

A sharp panic flared in my throat. 

I can't swim!

The weight of the wet silk dress dragged me down, and for a terrifying moment, the world was nothing but muffled blue and burning lungs. I desperately clawed at the surface until a pair of strong arms hooked under mine and hauled me to the edge. ​

I gasped for air, coughing out the chlorinated water as my vision blurred. My savior held me until my hands gripped the cold concrete, but before I could even look up to see who it was, a shrill, theatrical sob pierced the air.

​"Conrad! She tried to push me! She's insane!"

​I wiped my eyes while shivering violently, only to see Conrad hovering over Polina on the other side of the patio. She was bone-dry, her gold hair was perfectly in place, clutching his arm and trembling like a wounded bird. He looked at her with such panicked devotion that it made my stomach turn.

"What?!" Conrad glares at me.

​"She said you’re hers and warned me to stay away from you…" she wailed.

What the hell is she saying?

The lie was so disgusting that the adrenaline overrode my fear of drowning. 

I hauled myself out of the pool and marched toward them furiously.

​"You lying bitch!" I hissed and my hand violently landed on Polina’s cheek with a satisfying crack that silenced the entire party.

She stumbled back as her eyes widened with genuine shock this time. ​But before I could even draw a breath of triumph, the world spun.

​The sudden slap on my cheek sent me reeling, causing me to stumble back, nearly falling back into the water, as the silence that followed was deafening. My cheek stung with a heat ten times worse than Catya's slap, but the pain in my heart was what truly broke me.

My trembling hand pressed to my cheek and with blurry vision, I looked up to see Conrad standing over me. His face was contorted with a cold fury I had never seen and his hand was still raised and trembling slightly.

"How could you, Lella?" he growled. "You know she's family. You know how important she is to me. How could you disrespect her?"

My chest tightened at the way he looked at me as if I were a cockroach he had just stepped on. There was no trace of the man who had cupped my face gently only hours ago. His mask was gone. 

​The way he protected her made me feel so humiliated in front of everyone I worked with and his family.

“I'm your girlfriend here, Conrad,” I painfully whispered. "You should protect me-"

“You don't get to decide who I should protect, Lella. It's up to me whether I have two or three girlfriends other than you. If you're that upset, you can do the same since you're good at it with that pretty face of yours.”

My hands clenched tightly and fury delved into my chest.

I thought I'd known him for two years, but that's only what I thought. I didn't know he was worse than the douchebag.

I glanced at Polina and saw the smirk on her face. That tiny, victorious curve of her lips she hid against his shoulder.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I held them in. I don't want them to see me shattered, not in front of them. I don't want them to think they succeeded in tearing me apart. I will never give them the victory.

I looked around and saw Sofia, staring at me with pity in her eyes. I walked to her, grabbed the glass from her hand, and chugged it down without wasting a drop, wincing at the strong burn in my throat.

I threw the glass near Conrad's feet, causing him to flinch. 

“Fine. That sounds like a great idea.”

Before he could say a word, I hurriedly ran out of the pool area. I stumbled through the garden while the sound of the party’s laughter faded into a cruel hum behind me. 

I shivered as the night air felt like ice against my soaked skin. I collapsed onto a stone bench, my body shaking so violently I could barely hold my phone.

​The physical sting on my cheek was nothing compared to the disintegration of my soul. Conrad hadn't just lied to me. He had discarded me like trash in front of the world. He had struck me to protect a woman who had tried to drown me.

​My phone buzzed and through the notification, I saw Joaquin's message. 

‘I’m in Manhattan and I know where you are. I sent a car and a driver to the front gate. Get in it now.’

​I didn't have the energy to wonder how he knew or when he had flown in from Spain. All I just needed now was to vanish. 

I stood up, wringing out the hem of my red dress, and forced myself to walk toward the gate. ​A sleek, midnight-black Rolls-Royce sat idling at the curb. The tinted window rolled down just an inch, and without a second thought, I yanked the back door open and dived into the warmth of the leather interior.

​"Just drive," I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. "Please, just get me away from here."

​"I don't think your family would appreciate me kidnapping you without a destination.”

I gasped at the deep voice, carrying a smooth authority that made my heart stop. ​I looked up, and my heart pounded back again when I saw the icy silver eyes staring back at me. 

“Y-Youre–”

“Viktor Volkonsky.” 

Oh shit! 

The owner of Titan Motors. One of the heirs of the Volkonsky Group. And WORST of all… he's Conrad’s uncle!

But… 

Why is he wet?