CHAPTER 6

ZARYA ROGOV

The Morozov mansion, aka the house of my destruction.

As I stood on the mansion's smooth pavement, I stared at its great walls, which were built with immense power and were soaked in blood.

His large hand on my lower back pushed me to keep walking towards the mansion. As I looked around, the unfamiliar faces and cold eyes of the guards made me uncomfortable. I was already hating it here, it was already hard to breathe. How was I supposed to go on like this?

When we got closer to the mansion, a man standing near the door came into my line of sight.

He was big enough to resemble a bear, and that vertical scar on his jaw made him look scarier. He bowed at Sergei before his blank gaze slowly moved on me, and he gave me a slight bow as well.

"Did you inform them?" Sergei asked. The authority in his voice always demanded obedience.

The man nodded and opened the door for us.

Sergei's hand moved from my lower back to my wrist. His calloused palm firmly wrapped around my flesh as he pulled me inside the mansion along with him. As I was busy struggling to catch up with his strides, I didn't focus much on the interior.

My mind was buzzing. My heart was racing abnormally to the point I felt nauseated.

I wanted to die at that very moment.

He slowly came to a halt. I tried to pull my wrist out of his grip, but he only tightened his hold to the point it pained me. I yelped and raised my left hand to hit his arm, but my hand paused midway when I heard a feminine, elderly voice.

"Who is she?"

My eyes snapped towards the source.

We were in the mansion's living room, and right before me was an elderly woman dressed in a modest black dress, and beside her was a young lady who very much resembled the man beside me.

Sergei's mother and sister.

Sergei let go of my wrist, and I immediately moved away from him, rubbing my wrist to soothe away the pain a little. The painful grimace on my face slowly faded away when I noticed the tension rising among the family.

"My wife..." Sergei answered briefly, making his mother narrow her eyes at him. His sister, on the other hand, continued to stare at me like I was the eighth wonder of the world.

"All of a sudden?" his mother asked, clearly not happy with this news.

No one would be.

"Do I need your permission for what I want and do?" A challenging question from Sergei had his mother's glare faltering. She didn't answer because Sergei was never the one to take orders from anyone. He did what he wanted. He ruled over his own life; he ruled over death.

His mother looked at me from head to toe. Her gaze filled with curiosity.

"She looks like she doesn't want to be with you," his sister pointed out.

"What she wants... doesn't matter." Sergei briefly looked down at me. Wow, typical male breed. No different from my own nightmare of a father. I wondered what hell I would have to endure now that I was married to this monster.

"Alek," Sergei took a name, and a man in his 50s stepped forward in the conversation. His silver strands were perfectly slicked back, and that perfect crisp black tailored suit gave away his role. He was the butler here.

"Take her to her room," Sergei commanded.

Huh?

My room? Does that mean I was not sharing the same room as this monster? A huge relief washed over me, and I felt my muscles slightly relaxing. Alek turned around, waiting for me to follow him.

I gave a brief glance around, barely making eye contact with him since he was already watching me like a hawk. He was waiting for me to retaliate, but I quietly followed the butler, knowing there was no escape, and it was better to stay away from him as much as possible.

The further I followed the butler, the luxury began to drift away with cracked and unpainted walls. Where was he taking me?

"This is your room... Ma'am." Alek stepped aside, and I hesitantly walked into the shabby-looking room that was meant for a servant.

He gave me a room in the servant quarters.

My lips trembled in shock and anger. I wasn't expecting to be disrespected at such a level already.

"Please rest," Alek said and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind me, leaving me suffocated with the realization of my future damnation. I ran a hand through my hair while looking around the room.

A single bed in the corner with a side table.

A mirror hanging on the wall with an attached bathroom. There was a window in the corner, and fresh air was coming through it.

That's it.

This was all I was given.

I licked my dried lips, trying to process what had happened.

Walking up to the window, I looked outside and saw guards standing everywhere. There was not a single area in my sight that was left unguarded by his security.

He must be aware of my escape tactics.

"Tsk,"

A little cry escaped my lips as I settled down on the edge of the bed. In just a few hours, everything changed. My world turned upside down, and all I was left with was regret.

I'd just entered his mansion, and I was already being treated like shit. I couldn't even imagine what worse my future held.

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and my throat hurt. My lips trembled in an attempt to suppress my sob. I felt lonely, cold, and sick to my stomach.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I stared at the wall, sometimes blankly and sometimes with teary eyes. I still felt the warmth of his hand burning my wrist, arm, the back of my neck, and lower back like some curse.

I stayed awake until exhaustion took over me, and I was left lying on the bed like some orphan left on the street to die.

******

SERGEI MOROZOV

Finally, I captured her.

That Rogov's princess was right in my grasp, so fragile that I could easily crush her, but right now, I would play with her whenever I wanted and however I wanted.

"Is he asleep?" I asked Bogdan while taking off my coat.

"Yes, but he had been upset for the entire day today," Bogdan answered. Despite his big, burly, and rough appearance, he was a huge softy from the inside.

"I'll make it up to him tomorrow." I settled down on my master chair and massaged my forehead briefly with my fingertips. My mind kept drifting towards the previous incident. The feeling of triumph after finally capturing her was there, but vivid. I never truly felt happiness about anything. Every success just boosted my pride.

"May I help you with that?" Bogdan asked, and I shook my head.

"Um, about that woman..." Bogdan hesitated to speak.

I looked up at him while massaging my temples.

"What about her?"

"She's your wife?"

"Wife..." I whispered under my breath.

A word I never thought I would be familiar with. For a man like me, marriage wasn't a priority. To satisfy my needs, I had enough women clinging to me, and I already had an heir, so making a few more could be considered in the future.

It sounded odd to me.

She wasn't here for a wifey purpose. She was here as a sacrifice. She was here so I could finally fulfill the promise I made.

"My wife...for now," I said, and looked up at Bogdan, who was trying to understand the meaning behind my words. He wasn't great at it.

"You can leave."

*****

Next day*

The bass from the floor downstairs made the whole upper floor buzz. The club that I owned was almost always fully crowded, and I usually held my meetings here because the security was tight and the chances of fighting to break here were low, but not zero.

The back room was engulfed in darkness. The only source of light was the chandelier hanging above, casting a beautiful glow all around, from the velvety black couches to the heavy curtains that dressed the walls.

The smoke of the cigar curled towards the ceiling as I puffed out.

My eyes fixated on the man before me. He had two blonde girls at his side. One was sniffing him like some bitch in heat and the other one was already licking his neck.

Fuck! I wasn't in the mood for such a show.

"I suppose I'm free from family debt now," Ivan Starkov stated.

"Right..." I reaffirmed.

I took another puff of my cigar.

"Like seriously, how did you plan all of that out and even predict the situation?"

"He's the Pakhan for a reason." My left-hand Boris, who stood to my left, stated smugly.

Yeah, I planned it all out. The Starkov's, who owed a great debt to Morozov, were forgiven all the money after this single act of shaking hands with Rogov through the marriage.

It was all done to make her escape, to marry her, and make it look like she ran for me.

They would never believe her... after all, their eldest did the same.

I could have gone for another plan to make her escape, but the Starkov's were the best bullet. A bullet that turns useless after one strike.

"You can leave now. I didn't call you."

"I was just here to confirm that my debt got paid off."

No, he was there to lick my shoes, but I had enough dogs for that purpose.

Ivan slowly stood up, fixing his suit. The girls followed behind him. The Blondie that was eyeing me from head to toe seemed like she was begging to get fucked. Her gaze held seduction.

"Also... keep your woman in check," I said, lowering my gaze as I took a puff of the cigar, slowly letting the heavy smoke out.

"Huh?" Ivan frowned. He was slow, but he got where I was pointing.

"What? My cock is not enough to satisfy you." Ivan confronted her with zero hesitation, making Boris hiss in disgust.

"Discuss this shit out of the room," Boris rasped.

Once they were out, Boris turned towards me.

"Shall I make the call?" he asked, and I nodded.

Ivan, who was nothing but a used bullet was useless to me now.

I sat there, smoking my cigar calmly. My mind drifted towards the woman who was now in my mansion. I haven't seen her since last night. Hmm, what could she be doing right now? Probably crying.

A whole ten minutes passed, and my phone began to ring.

I looked at the caller, and the side of my lips curved up.

Look who's calling; the useless bullet.

I picked up the call and brought it near my ear. The faint sound of the police siren felt like a melody until Ivan's raspy voice ruined it.

"You asshole, how dare you do this to me? I didn't take any illegal shipments in."

"Sir, there is clear evidence that it was you who did it, you are under arrest, don't retalia- "

"Oh, shut up, I'm trying to speak here," he yelled at the officer. "Listen here, you jacka-" I cut off the call and blocked his number. Throwing my phone aside, I leaned against the couch.

"You did well in planting the fake evidence." Boris, who stood in the corner of the room, seemed like a child who had just gotten a treat.

I stared up at the ceiling.

Now...it was her.