Tristan Hayes' life took a sharp turn, one moment he was on the cusp of his dream then suddenly found himself drowning. Trauma surgeon residency was brutal enough; losing his scholarship was a knockout blow. Desperate, he swallowed his pride and became "Titan" at Club Inferno. Six months, and he was their star, his body a commodity. Tonight was his last dance – he was booked for a bachelorette party for a bride-to-be linked to the Mafia family. He remembered the haze of perfume, the clamor, the hands pulling him closer and the willing mouths tasting him. He remembered the bride, her eyes wide, her laughter turning into moans and gasps. He entertained the women, the night ending with the bride's face covered in his thick sticky seed. After this night, he wanted to close this chapter of his life. He wanted to forget it all. He should have. Tristan awoke in a cold, unfamiliar room, the fear paralyzing. Now, bound and gagged in a concrete cell, the memory was a burning brand. He learned why they called Giovanni Sokolov "The Siberian Winter." Giovanni, a face carved from granite, stood before him. "My bride," Giovanni’s voice was a low growl, "You entertained my fiancée, She died a week ago, trying to run away with a man. Your seed was the catalyst. You helped her betray me." Giovanni leaned closer, his eyes devoid of warmth. "She was running away, Dr. Hayes. You helped her crave forbidden fruit. You opened the door to betrayal." He smiled, a cruel, predatory expression. "Now, you will pay the price of her betrayal. You will take her place... as my companion in bed... my slave and my plaything. Don't worry I'll make you'll enjoy every second of it."
View MoreTRISTAN'S POV
The dismissal notice felt like a punch to the gut, the air immediately sucked out of my lungs. The crisp white paper, stamped with the university seal, mocked me with its cold, unfeeling authority. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, blurring the already harsh words. Dismissal of Scholarship. It was more than just a piece of paper; it was the rug being yanked out from under my already precarious existence. Residency as a trauma surgeon was brutal. Sleepless nights, the constant pressure of life and death decisions. As an orphan, I had no safety net, no parents to fall back on. This scholarship was everything. I swallowed my pride and marched to the scholarship committee, a knot of anxiety twisting in my stomach. "Please," I pleaded with Mrs. Wilson, the head of the committee and a staunch supporter of mine. "There must be some mistake. My grades are impeccable. I'm the top performing scholar." Her face was etched with regret. "Tristan, I'm so sorry. Believe me, I fought for you. But… the decision came from the president's office. They've awarded the scholarship to Savannah Cooper." Savannah. The name alone tasted like bile in my mouth. Savannah Cooper, the heiress who swam in a sea of privilege. She didn't need the scholarship. "But why?" I choked out, the injustice of it all pressing down on me. "The official line is that she's been recognized as a top student," Mrs. Wilson said, her voice strained. "I can't say more, Tristan. My hands are tied." I knew Savannah had pulled strings, used her family's influence, manipulated the system. As I walked down the sterile, echoing corridor, my head hung low, I felt a sharp thud against my chest. I looked up, and there she was, predictably, Savannah was waiting, perched like a queen bee outside the library, radiating smug satisfaction. "Well, well, well," she purred, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Look who it is. You look positive…pitiful, Tristan. It's a shame, really." I gritted my teeth. "Get out of my way, Savannah. I don't want to talk to you." "Oh, I don't think so. You know, all this could have been avoided. If you had just accepted my offer, things would be very different. You wouldn't be in this…unfortunate situation." "Your offer? You mean becoming your trophy boyfriend to gain more validation and popularity?" I spat. "I rather scrub floors." Savannah had the reputation of dating different guys for months, dug their deepest, darkest secrets then she will exposed it in public after dumping them. Some are forced to transfer schools due to humiliation. "Such arrogance, Tristan. You could have been on my good side. But you chose to compete, to oppose me. So, here we are." "You don't need the scholarship, Savannah. You could find any boyfriend you want. But no, you had to take revenge on me. Why stoop on this?" I asked, the exhaustion finally seeping into my voice. Her smile hardened. "Darling, you forget your place. You, Mr. Aspiring Charming Surgeon, should have learned to play the game. Instead, you openly opposed me. You chose the wrong side. You deserve it. You always act so independent. You refused to bow to me." "I deserve this, according to you?" I scoffed. "Because I didn't bow down to you? Because I worked my ass off and didn't rely on daddy's money?" Savannah's eyes narrowed. "You always acted so high and mighty, Tristan. So above it all. It was… irritating. Tell you what, I might consider giving the scholarship back. All you have to do is run completely naked across the campus oval. Think of it, Tristan. A little humiliation for your entire future." Rage surged through me, hot and blinding. I stepped closer, my voice low and dangerous. "You are a spoiled, entitled brat," I spat out. "You think money buys you power, but it just exposes your lack of character. You can keep your stolen scholarship. I'll find another way. You haven't broken me, Savannah. You've just made me angrier." I turned and walked away, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me break, leaving her standing there, her face a mask of fury. As I reached the school gates, a familiar voice called out my name. It was Trevor Smith, the university's resident playboy, the guy whose known more for his trust fund and revolving door of girlfriends than any academic prowess. He always seemed to be lurking, a shark circling troubled waters. "Heard about your… situation, Tristan," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "Tough break. But I know a way that might be able to help you." He slipped a small, embossed card into my hand. It was discreet, expensive looking. "Think about it carefully," he said, a knowing glint in his eye. "Sometimes, we have to make difficult choices to get what we want." Before I could ask what the hell he was talking about, a sleek, black car pulled up to the curb. Trevor patted me on the shoulder. "Gotta run. My client's here. Give it some thought, Tristan. You might be surprised at the opportunities that can arise from a little… desperation." He flashed a charming, predatory smile and disappeared into the car, leaving me standing there, staring at the card in my hand. The card in my hand was slick and heavy. It read "Club Inferno" in embossed silver lettering. I heard whispers, rumors about the place. A playground for the city's elite, a haven for wealthy socialites seeking…companionship. It was a world I never even considered, a world that felt a million miles away from the sterile halls of the hospital and the worn textbooks I was used to. My stomach churned. The scholarship, Savannah's cruelty, Trevor's offer – it all felt like a suffocating web closing in. I looked down again at the card in my hand, the promise of a solution, however distasteful, tempting me. The desperation was a gnawing beast. Was this how it all ended? Was I really considering selling myself to survive? The thought made me want to vomit. But... I need to do everything to survive, even if it meant walking through hell itself.GIOVANNI'S POVThe sterile scent of disinfectant, usually a comforting backdrop in my world, did little to calm the fire raging in my gut. My eyes, narrowed to slits, were fixed on the flimsy partition curtain, the only thing separating me from the scene that was churning my stomach. Just moments ago, I’d savored a fleeting, venomous triumph, watching Tristan’s jaw tighten as Martina, with her practiced, overly solicitous touch, tended to my own wound. It had been a small, petty victory, a confirmation that I wasn't the only one who felt a sharp, possessive pang when Tristan’s attention drifted. But that triumph had dissolved, vanished like smoke, the instant Dmitri’s voice, smooth as aged whiskey, cut through the quiet hum of the medical wing of the estate.“You’re a doctor, right? Can you patch me instead?” Dmitri had purred, and my blood had turned to ice.Martina, already hovering, had instinctively moved forward, a feigned concern etched on her face. Trying to offer help but Dmi
GIOVANNI'S POVThe jarring jolt of the Cadillac hitting the gravel drive was my cue. I let out a groan, a little too loud, a little too theatrical, clutching my side as if the bullet had just found my heart instead of a good six inches from it. My vision blurred, not from pain, but from the effort of feigning near-unconsciousness. I’d taken worse hits than this; one grazed rib and a flesh wound in the shoulder were hardly vital. But Tristan was here, and I had an audience."Giovanni!" I heard Tristan's voice, laced with genuine panic. Good. That was the reaction I craved. Dmitri, ever the loyal but somewhat clumsy brute, fumbled with the door as Tristan already had his arm under my shoulder, easing me out.Tristan barked at Dmitri, his voice tight with alarm. Dmitri, looking like a giant worried puppy, tried his best to be gentle as they half-carried, half-dragged me into the mansion. My eyes were slits, barely open, but enough to catch Tristan’s frantic gaze d
TRISTAN'S POVThe digital clock on my nightstand glowed an unhelpful 03:17. I squeezed my eyes shut, then snapped them open again. Sleep, for some inexplicable reason, was a phantom limb tonight. I could feel its absence keenly, a vacant ache in my very bones. I tossed, punching my pillow into a shapeless lump, then turned, my gaze snagging on the heavy oak door of my quarters. A deep, unsettling current ran beneath my skin, a prickle of wrongness I couldn’t quite decipher. It was as if I was consciously, foolishly, waiting for that door to swing open, for Giovanni to appear, a silent sentinel against the night’s disquiet.A groan escaped me, a sound of self-loathing. This was it, wasn’t it? The insidious creep of dependence. I, Tristan Hayes, a man who had sweated through years of medical school, topped my class, and dreamed of a bustling hospital in the capital, was now reduced to… this. A kept man, essentially, trapped in Giovanni’s opulent estate, relying on his whims, his securi
GIOVANNI'S POVThe rumble of the armored convoy was the only symphony I ever truly trusted. It was a low, guttural growl that vibrated through the very core of my being, a constant reminder of the power I commanded, the lengths I went to maintain it. Tonight, that symphony was playing its most crucial note. Beside me, Dmitri, ever vigilant, scanned the dark, winding roads, his posture rigid, a silent sentinel. We were on our way to the meeting place, a rendezvous with the overseas client, a man known only as 'The Engineer,' and the stakes had never been higher.Months. Months of meticulous planning, of delicate negotiations, of weaving a web of deceit and promises across continents. This wasn’t just another deal. This was a coup, a turning point. We were acquiring something invaluable, something that would solidify the Sokolov family’s dominion over the city’s underworld and beyond. An exclusive formula for an explosive, potent enough to rewrite the rules of engagement in my chaotic
TRISTAN'S POVThree months. Three months since my world had shrunk to the gilded cage of Giovanni Sokolov’s estate, since the raw terror of Vlad’s abduction had faded into a dull ache, replaced by… something else entirely. It felt like a lifetime and a blink all at once, each day blurring into the next, marked by the escalating intensity of our strange, volatile dance.He still kept me under surveillance, 24/7. After Vlad, it was almost obsessive. Hidden cameras I occasionally spotted, the silent, omnipresent guards who seemed to materialize out of thin air, and Giovanni himself, his eyes piercing through me whenever he so much as sensed I might be out of his sight for too long. It should have felt more like a prison, and God knows I still harbored the resentment of a man who’d lost his freedom, but… something had shifted.My snark, once my only weapon, had softened at the edges, less a blade and more of a dull butter knife. I still deployed it, of course. Couldn’t have Giovanni think
GIOVANNI'S POV Weeks had stretched into months since I’d dragged Tristan from Vlad’s clutches, a ghost of a man with only a flicker of defiance left in his eyes. The memory still sent a cold shiver down my spine, a rare sensation for me. But now, it was as if an invisible reset button had been pressed. Vlad, that sniveling bastard, had vanished, scurrying away like the coward he was. Word on the street was he’d fled the country, probably holed up in some forgotten corner of the world, plotting his next move. Let him plot. I was ready. I always was. Yet, a different kind of normalcy had settled over my life, one I never anticipated. It revolved entirely around Tristan. My mornings started with the subtle creak of the door, then the scent of coffee brewing... always too perfect for my taste. It was the prelude to our daily ritual. “Still limping, caro?” I’d ask, leaning against the kitchen counter, a smirk playing on my lips as he poured his coffee. His back would stiffen. I’d watch h
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