Semua Bab MINE TO OWN : Bab 11 - Bab 20

The cold air of the estate wrapped around Zane like an invisible blanket. The sheer magnitude of the mansion—coated with luxury but drowned in silence—always unsettled him. Every inch of the vast estate felt like a cage. No matter where he walked, Andrei’s eyes were on him. Always watching. Always judging. But now, something had changed.Zane wasn’t the same man who had first been dragged into this life—broken, defeated, silent. Andrei might own him, but the thin thread of Zane's freedom was still intact. And that was something the Russian billionaire couldn’t break, no matter how hard he tried.He spent the next few days pretending to submit—falling back into the routine of obedience, offering only the faintest resistance, testing the limits of his cage. Andrei had made it clear: Play by his rules, and Zane would have more freedom.Zane knew better than to trust the offer. He had seen the depths of Andrei’s control, the cold manipulation lurking just beneath his well-maintained façad

The morning sun did little to warm the chill that hung over the Dostoevsky estate. Mist hung heavy in the gardens, settling over the dark hedges as though keeping hidden what secrets they held. Zane stood by the window of the east wing, staring out into the mist that covered the grounds below. The confrontation with Katherina left a chill down his spine. She was as poisonous as she was beautiful and her smile although radiant bore no welcome; her teeth like fangs were always ready to strike. He had not seen Andrei since and as much as he hated to admit it, it was torture. More torture than anything he had endured. The silence stung more than the bruises ever could, ever did. A knock came. And Zane turned. The door creaked open, and in stepped Dimitri Dostoevsky. Unlike Andrei’s sharp suits and hard eyes, Dimitri wore softness with danger—gray wool rolled at the sleeves, a silk cravat loose around his throat. But the way his smile and his eyes sparkled with mischief and danger w

The confrontation between Zane and Katherina lingered in the air like a storm cloud that refused to break. Everyone felt it. The staff moved more quietly, the halls seemed tighter, and the tension beneath the surface began to pulse like a second heartbeat. Andrei stood in his private study, a glass of dark liquor in hand, watching the northern grounds of the estate from behind bulletproof glass. He hadn’t spoken to either of them—Zane or Katherina—since his return. He hadn’t needed to. Watching them was more revealing than any interrogation. One was rising. The other unraveling. Mikhail entered without knocking. “Fyodor is on the estate.” Andrei didn’t turn. “Alone?” “No. Dimitri is with him. They’re waiting in the drawing room.” Andrei finally turned, gaze sharp. “And Joana?” “She said she’d join later. Said she prefers her entrances.” Of course she did. Andrei drained his glass and placed it down with slow finality. The games had started, and now the other players were arriv

The drive into the city was silent, except for the low hum of tires against snow-slicked roads. Zane sat in the backseat beside Andrei, the blacked-out windows keeping light out. Mikhail drove. Another man sat in the passenger seat. Zane hadn’t met him before, he was pale faced and his expression unreadable. Andrei hadn’t spoken since the greenhouse. Not one word. Not even when he’d ordered Zane into the car. Zane had obeyed, partly because he was curious. Partly because he was tired of standing still in a palace where everyone watched but no one said anything. And although he would never admit it, he obeyed partly because Andrei still frightened him. Now, inside the sleek interior of the car, Zane glanced sideways. Andrei looked like a statue carved from stone—still, rigid, and unreadable. His gloved hands were clasped in his lap, thumb tapping slowly against his knuckle. “What’s in the city?” Zane asked eventually. Andrei didn’t look at him. “Answers.” “To what?” “To questio

The echo of that kiss lingered long after the taste had faded from Zane’s lips. He hadn’t meant for it to spiral. At least, that’s what he told himself. That's what he told himself again and again as if repeating it would absolve him of the truth. He had planned it, every angle, every tilt of the head, every calculated breath before Dimitri’s collar was caught in his hand. He’d timed it down to the minute Andrei and Katherina would round the hedged path. Down to the light that fell through the trees, casting silhouettes of lips touching and fingers gripping. Down to the moment Andrei saw them. And now, alone in the greenhouse again, the air thick with night and blooming flowers, Zane stood with his arms folded, waiting. He could feel his anger radiating off his skin, but beneath it, beneath it was chaos. The door creaked open. He heard the sound of boots on stone. Purposeful and slow. Andrei stepped inside. Not storming. Not seething. Silent. His jaw was stone, his shoulders pe