Playing it cool, I walk back to my workshop table, standing behind it and fussing over a sketchbook. “Well, Mikhail, what are you interested in? Something for you, or something for your wife, maybe?” I ask casually.
He steps up to my workbench as I slip my phone off the top and try to hide it in my hands beneath the surface so I can type out a message.
But I can’t see what I’m doing. I’ll need to distract him somehow.
My heart is racing, my entire body starting to shake.
Why is he here? It can’t be for anything good.I want to glance over my shoulder towards the back room, my thoughts onAli, and fearing that she might come out here. But I can’t give anything away. Play it cool. Stay calm.
Mikhail hasn’t replied. He’s just staring at me with his cold eyes.
“A suit? For an event?” I suggest, still sticking to my narrative and not letting him know I’ve realized who he is.
But he laughs, dry and full of malice. “Oh, sweet, pretty little thing. We both know I’m not here for a suit.”
“Oh,” I mutter, my throat dry and raspy. My hands are shaking harder now. Visibly, so I keep them hidden. I don’t want to show fear.
As I step back from the table, deciding I could possibly make an escape into the back room and slam the door closed before he gets around the table, he spots the phone in my hand.
“I wouldn’t do anything stupid, little thing. My guards are outside. I assure you, whatever you’re planning won’t work. We’ll tear this place apart in a matter of seconds.”
My heart sinks. “Put your phone down, girl.”
I do as I’m told, without any other option available to me, because I can’t take risks when I’m not the only one in danger.
Ali is here. I wish Ali weren’t here. I don’t want her to get caught up in this.
“So, what do you think?” he asks, slowly turning with his arms out, putting himself on display. “This is what you should be married to. A real man. A man with substance. A man with balls,” he grabs his balls and makes a crude gesture to me. I scrunch my nose in disgust. My skin is crawling with tension.What do I do? How can I get him to go away?
“Oh, the pretty little thing doesn’t know what it’s like to have a real man yet,” he taunts me.
“What do you want, Mikhail?” I snap, losing my patience and with growing concern for Ali.
“You fucked up my plans, girl. The alliance I had set up with your brother was going to go through like a hot knife through butter, and then you went and fucked it all up. I’m not happy, Katerina.” He stalks around the table towards me. I step back and end up trapped against a wall. He pins me there, his bulking mass pressed against me as I fight the urge to gag as he laughs and rocks his hips against me. “You have no idea what you missed out on. But it’s not too late, you know,” he hisses in my ear.
I press my hands against his chest and try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge.
“What do you want?” I snap again, keeping my voice low so Ali doesn’t hear.
He grabs my wrist and tugs me forward. “You’re coming with me. Quietly. If you make a sound, we’ll tear this place down. If you fight, we’ll tear this place down. Do you have staff in the back? Well, kiss them goodbye…”
“Stop it. I’ll come with you. Just leave my staff alone. They have nothing to do with any of this,” I plead.
“A wise choice, little thing,” he brushes his finger beneath my jaw. “Come along.”
Mikhail gestures for me to walk ahead of him. My eyes take one last desperate glance at my phone, but I can’t risk trying to grab it. I can’t risk anything now.
He leads me out of my studio, into the passages of the mall. I walk calmly alongside him. My mind is spinning. I might have a plan. Maybe, if I can get him to believe me.
“What are you going to do with me, Mikhail?” I ask, void of emotion.
I sound calm and collected.
He glances at me with a sly grin. “I’m going to marry you and keep you for myself. It’s not that often that a man gets a chance to take something so beautiful and keep it. Your brother won’t mind. He agreed once. He’ll probably thank me for sorting out the issue with that Andreev.”
“You want me to come and live with you?” I say in shock, “But what about all of my things? Everything I need?”
“Girl, I’ll get you new things,” he huffs.
