MasukKATYA"What if he doesn't believe me?" I murmured to myself. That particular question had been circling my head for the better part of an hour, as I paced across the room for what felt like the hundredth time.Every time I thought I had made up my mind, another doubt appeared.Tell him. Don't tell him. Tell him.I groaned and dragged both hands through my hair."This is ridiculous."If there had ever been a time I needed advice, it was now. Everything right now felt like an absolute disaster and I wasn’t sure where I stood in that. My stomach twisted now because I had been here before. The last time I had hidden something from Nikolai, it had ended with me being dragged into a dungeon. The memory alone made me shudder."I really don't want to do that again."The door opened at that exact moment and I froze.Nikolai stepped inside.His jacket was gone now, and the sleeves of his black shirt were rolled to his elbows.He stopped immediately when he saw me. "Are you okay?" he asked,
NIKOLAI"Why do you have that out?"I looked up from the parchment in my hands as I heard that. Sergei stood in the doorway of my study, one shoulder resting against the frame as his eyes locked onto the object I was holding.The Concord.Even after all these years, simply looking at it carried a certain weight. The scroll rested across my desk, its aged surface illuminated by the warm light of the lamp beside me.I had been staring at it for almost twenty minutes now. Not exactly reading it, but just lost in thought. I let out a slow breath."She asked about it."Sergei frowned immediately.“She?”“Katya”Surprise entered his eyes at this."Katya asked about the scroll?”"Yeah."The silence that followed lasted only a few seconds. Then Sergei scoffed as he pushed off the doorway and entered the room."Does that seem normal to you?" he asked. I leaned back in my chair."I don't know.""Really?" He sat down across from me. "Because it sounds pretty damn strange to me."I rubbed my j
KATYA"Are you okay?"Nikolai's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I blinked and turned my head toward him."Hm?"He glanced at me before returning his attention to the road."You've been awfully quiet since we left the cemetery."My heart squeezed now. I hated how easily he noticed things. Especially when those things involved me."I'm okay," I replied. "That sounded convincing." He said, raising an eyebrow. I laughed softly."I am okay," I said, this time with more conviction. “I was just thinking about a couple of things that have happened recently.”"Anything I should be worried about?" he asked. I mean, this was the perfect time to tell him that my father had been at the cemetery. And how I now also shared his initial suspicion about Sergei. But I wasn’t sure how to even go about the whole conversation. I was going to have to figure it out soon."No," I said. “It is nothing too important.”Nikolai studied me for a moment, but then he eventually nodded. "Okay."We settled into
“That stupid girl!” The shout echoed through the room as a glass vase flew across the office and shattered against the wall. Viktor Orlov stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily. His face was twisted with rage now, as he looked around and picked up a crystal paperweight from the table. Smashing it into a bookshelf. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her.” he said, Across from him, seated comfortably on a leather couch, Lily watched the entire display with mild amusement. She crossed one leg over the other and took a sip from her drink. "I honestly don't get men." She said, Viktor froze. Slowly, he turned toward her. "Excuse me?" He snapped.Lily shrugged. "I don't understand why you are throwing a tantrum." His eyes narrowed. "A tantrum?" "Yes." She gestured toward the destruction surrounding them. "I mean, look at the state of this place.” Viktor stared at her for several seconds. Most people would have been terrified to speak to him like that, but Lily didn'
KATYA"Hello, Katya."The voice came from behind me and for a split second, my heart nearly stopped.I spun around so fast that I almost lost my footing.My father.He was standing a few feet away from me, looking straight at me. "What….”The word left my mouth before I could stop it. I looked around immediately, scanning the area."What are you doing here?" I asked.The shock was still clear in my voice.He glanced toward the direction Nikolai had disappeared. Then back at me."Take a walk with me."I stared at him now. "You didn't answer my question.""Take a walk with me, Katya."The request sounded more like an order. One that I should have refused.Part of me wanted to.But another part of me, the stupid part that still hoped there was a father somewhere underneath the monster, followed him.We began walking slowly through the cemetery.Side by side. Though it felt more like two strangers sharing the same path.After several moments of silence, I finally spoke."You have some
NIKOLAI "You are staring again." I let out a low chuckle and glanced down at the woman lying comfortably across my chest. "I am literally looking at the ceiling." "Mm-hmm." Katya shifted slightly, her head pressing more firmly against me. "That doesn't mean you aren't staring." "At the ceiling?" My hand rested lazily against her shoulder as she absentmindedly traced patterns across my chest. A smile tugged at her lips now as I shook my head. I had to admit, it felt good waking up to her on my body every day. I could really get used to this. But I knew that I actually shouldn’t. I had spent most of my life teaching myself not to become attached to things. Especially things that could be taken away from me at any given time. "I'm going to be away from the house for a bit today." I said as I looked at her. "I want you to stay inside the room while I'm gone." That got her full attention, as her eyebrows rose immediately. "Am I being grounded?" I rolled my eyes. "I am serio
NIKOLAII walked into my father’s study where his council were waiting.“Nikolai” One of them clasped me on the back.“I did not think you would arrive so soon and with the girl.” My father’s second in command nodded at me.“It was not hard to find her” I said.No way was I going to tell them to th
KATYAWe landed in Russia three hours later.I stared out the window at the gray skies and endless stretch of snow-covered ground while panic clawed its way through my chest again.This could not be real.People did not just get kidnapped and flown across the world because their estranged father ap
KATYACold fear crashed into me so fast as my eyes locked on the gun pointed directly at my face.“What are you talking about?”“When were you going to tell me that you are Viktor Orlov’s daughter?” he asked quietly.I blinked at him.Viktor Orlov…My father.My eyes widened in confusion.“How do yo
NIKOLAIHer anniversary?And that bastard had spent it with his cock out in my club.My jaw tightened.What kind of man does that?No…scratch that.I knew exactly the kind of man that did that.The kind that did not deserve a woman like her.“What the hell does Kotyonok even mean?”Her voice cut th







