Mag-log in"I should have fucking killed him when I had the chance!" Lily yelledThe vase she just threw exploded against the wall as the ceramic shattered across the apartment floor.Lily stood in the middle of the destruction, chest heaving as rage burned through every part of her body.Another crash echoed through the room now.A picture frame flew from her hand and struck the fireplace.She didn't care about any of this right now. All she could see was Nikolai's face and everything that he had told her. "The engagement is over."“Who the fuck does he think he is to tell me those things?” She said to herself, “After everything I have done for that man.”She had spent years setting herself up to become his wife. Years of sacrifice and loyalty. All for it to be thrown away because he had found a new plaything. "Fuck!"Her voice echoed through the apartment as she paced furiously back and forth. Trying to think and force herself to breath so she doesn’t lose all control. Unfortunately, she
NIKOLAI"Oh, this is shocking." Lily's voice dripped with sarcasm as she stepped into my study.Lily glanced around the room before fixing her gaze on me, as a cold smile spread across her face."You still require my presence?" she asked. "Have you gotten tired of your little toy that quickly?"Her snide jokes normally might have earned nothing more than annoyance from me, but today, it took considerable effort not to put a bullet through the wall beside Lily's head. Sergei had told me to be calm about things, so I was going to try my best do that. "Sit down." I said, the seriousness fully in my tone.Lily noticed I wasn’t in the mood for games and slowly sat down. The silence stretched between us for a couple of seconds as I watched her carefully. "What is this about?" she finally asked, as she crossed her legs. I leaned back in my chair."I recently came into possession of some new information." I said, “And I thought I should share it with you.”Her expression remained neutra
NIKOLAI "You are staring again."Katya's voice pulled me from my thoughts.I looked up from the armchair positioned beside the fireplace and found her sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a book balanced in her lap.A small smile tugged at her lips."What?" I frowned."What do you mean, 'What?'""You have been staring at me for the last five minutes.""I have not.""You absolutely have.""I was thinking." I replied, as my eyes narrowed.Her grin widened.“I wonder what about.”Arrogant little thing.Somehow, in the days since my near death, she had become increasingly bold. Not that I could entirely blame her. I had admittedly relaxed some of the restrictions surrounding her. Allowing her to move around the house more freely and all.The doctor claimed I was recovering better than he expected me to.In fact, every doctor who had examined me since the attack seemed baffled that I was still alive.The poison should have killed me. That much was certain. And yet somehow I had survived.
"I want to see your boss." Sergei said as he casually strolled into the clubhouse where the Crimson Order usually gathered.A dozen pairs of eyes turned toward him almost immediately, as the men stationed throughout the building immediately straightened as they sized him up. Some leaned against crates. Others stood near weapon racks or folding tables littered with maps and ammunition. Every one of them looked dangerous.The largest among them stepped forward. He was built like a tank, with thick arms and a shaved head covered in scars."You got a death wish?" he asked.Sergei smiled faintly."No."His gaze swept lazily across the room."I simply have better things to do than explain myself to hired muscle."The giant's expression darkened in rage."Watch your mouth."“Like I said before,” Sergei looked at him, "I'd like to speak with your boss."The man's jaw tightened."And I'd like a private island."A few chuckles echoed through the room, while Sergei remained unmoved.“It is in yo
KATYA"You really scared me, you know that?"My voice cracked as I helped Nikolai down the hallway.For someone who could terrify an entire room with a single look, he suddenly felt very human and fragile. I could tell that terrified him so much, but it terrified me even more because I had seen the effects of him not being there.To think he had saved my life three different times now was totally surreal to me. I wasn't sure what I had done to deserve that. But I knew one thing right now, which was that I was unbelievably happy he was alive.Nikolai pushed the door to his room open."Inside." He said, as I followed him and he locked the door behind us. I glanced around, as Nikolai slowly lowered himself onto one of the chairs.He looked absolutely exhausted.“That reminds me,” I said, “What kind of allergies do you have?” “Well…”“It is obvious that the kitchen staff doesn’t know about it as well and it is something that they definitely should know.” I said, "Katya…""No, listen."
NIKOLAI"Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on here right now."My voice echoed through the council chamber as the room fell silent instantly. I stood in the doorway looking at each and every one of them while every muscle in my body screamed in protest. The doctor had advised me not to leave my bed for another few days, but I had ignored him. This was really important. Katya stood in the center of the chamber. And judging from the expression on her face, it was like I had arrived just in time. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and the sight made something ugly twist inside my chest.Lily rose from her seat. The shock was still written on her face as she approached me. "Nikolai." She said, “Oh my God, you are awake.”Her eyes scanned my body."You're standing. Are you sure you're okay?"She reached out as if to touch my arm."What exactly is the meaning of all this?"Lily's expression hardened slightly."We assembled the council to decide what should be done with
KATYAAfter the disaster that was meeting my father and then finding out that Nikolai had a fiancee just right after we had almost kissed, I had been moved into another room entirely.It was better than being tossed back into the dungeons but it was just another prison.The guards remained outside m
NIKOLAII almost kissed her.The thought had followed me the entire fucking night like a curse.Even now as I walked down the staircase the next morning, I could still remember the exact way Katya had looked standing on that balcony wrapped in my suit jacket.I had spent the entire drive back from
LILY“You cannot possibly be serious.”I stared at Sergei across the kitchen island while disbelief crawled through every inch of me.“She is in his bedroom?”Sergei looked entirely too calm for the conversation we were currently having.The man sat on one of the bar stools dressed in black as usua
CHAPTER 19“Are you fucking stupid?”Viktor Orlov’s voice thundered through the private hallway outside the ballroom as he paced furiously with his phone pressed against his ear.“You did not think to fucking tell me that Nikolai Morozov has my fucking daughter?”The poor bastard on the other side







