I feel my chest tighten, the words hitting me like a punch. My stomach lurches, and I can feel the sting of tears threatening to spill. “Oh my God…” I whisper, my voice barely audible. I press my palms to my face, trying to stop them, but the tightness won’t let up. I want to scream, to throw something, to run—but I know running isn’t an option.
Noelle leans closer, her voice gentle but firm. “The only option…is to marry Lev. I’m so sorry, Sasha. I know this isn’t what you wanted.”
I pull my hands away and look at her, my throat tight, blinking rapidly to hold the tears back. My lips tremble, and my voice is barely a whisper. “I…I can’t believe this. I…I just…I can’t.”
She sighs, squeezing my hands again. “I know, love. I know. But right now, this is the only way to keep you safe. The only way to keep the Bratva from using you like…like property.”
I lean back against the pillows, my legs trembling, and bury my face in my hands. The weight of it all presses down like I can’t breathe. “I don’t want to marry him,” I murmur, and for a moment, the tears almost escape.
Noelle’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Sasha…you don’t understand. If the Bratva hands you over to the Greeks, it won’t just be…unpleasant. It will be dangerous. You could disappear, or worse. They don’t play by any rules we know.”
I pull my hands from my face, blinking through the sting of tears. “I know,” I murmur, my voice hollow. “I…I can’t even imagine….”
She grips my shoulders, steadying me. “And that’s why Lev—” She pauses, searching my face for a reaction. “He had no reason to offer this marriage. None. He doesn’t have to. But he did. That means…he cares about you. Your safety. Your life. This…this isn’t just business to him.”
I take a shaky breath, looking at Noelle. “I…I hate him,” I admit, my voice tight. “I can’t stand the thought of being tied to him. But…I can’t deny that his name is the only thing keeping me safe right now. He could walk away, hand me over to the Greeks, and no one would stop him. The debt would be repaid, and that would be the end of it. But he…he’s not. He’s choosing to marry me instead.”
Noelle’s eyes soften, but she doesn’t speak. I don’t need her to. The truth hangs heavy in the room, a mixture of anger, fear, and reluctant relief.
Before she can say anything, there’s a knock on the door. Sharp. Authoritative.
My stomach twists. “That’s him,” I whisper, my throat dry.
Noelle glances at me, a warning in her eyes. “Just…stay calm, Sasha. Whatever happens, just—breathe.”
Noelle opens the door, and he steps in like he owns the place—coffee in hand, sleeves rolled up, that impossible calm on his face. “Good morning, Sasha,” he says smoothly, eyes flicking to me as if nothing’s wrong. “Coffee?”
I snatch the mug from him before he can even set it down, heat flaring through me. “Coffee? You think a cup of coffee makes up for this—this absurdity?!” My voice cracks, part anger, part disbelief.
He raises a brow, unfazed, the slightest smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“It’s morning, Sasha. What’s it going to be?”
I throw my hands up, exasperated. “Why me? Why are you the one making all these decisions for me? Why this…this madness?”
Beside Lev, Noelle is mouthing for me to stay calm, but I completely ignore her.
Lev sips his coffee, calm as if I’ve asked the most mundane question in the world. Then he looks at me, gray eyes cutting through my anger like a blade.
“Because I can,” he says simply, and I feel my chest tighten at the audacity of it.
I blink, trying to process. “Because you can?”
He sets the mug down and takes a step closer, his voice low and measured. “Yes. This problem has been brought ontoyou by your father, Sasha. Don’t be mad at me for fixing it in the only way it can be fixed. I’m not your enemy here.”
I stare at him, speechless for a moment, caught between disbelief and fury. His gaze doesn’t waver, not for a second, and the sheer confidence, the control, makes my pulse spike.
“Not my enemy?” I repeat, voice sharp. “You’re the one deciding my life, my future. You’re the one—”
“—saving you from something far worse,” he interrupts, voice firm, unyielding. “That’s the truth, Sasha. And you’ll thank me for it one day. Or at least…survive it. Now, what’s it going to be?”
I can feel my pulse in my temples, a slow, angry drum. He stands there, calm and untouchable, like he’s already won. Maybe he has. Maybe there’s no way out of this.
I straighten my spine and meet his eyes head-on. “Fine.” My voice comes out hoarse but steady. “I’ll marry you.”
For the briefest second, his expression flickers—something dark, something satisfied—before the mask returns.
“But don’t you dare expect me to love you,” I snap, each word a bullet.
