“Wolfgang. Right on time. Come on in,” he says with a smile. “You must be Victoria.”
I dig my heels into the floor, pushing myself deeper into Wolfgang’s chest, knowing full well I’m probably not getting out of this. Not without doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t—show him how vulnerable I am.
“Don’t make me do this. Please…”
Wolfgang’s chest rumbles as he says, “Keep walking, love. Or we can do this the hard way, if you prefer.”
I don’t know what that means. The doctor keeps staring at us with an expectant smile and when I tilt my head back to look into Wolfgang’s eyes, he’s merely quirking a brow in anticipation.
This or the hard way. This or the hard way.
Cowardly, I swallow hard and take a shy step forward, eyes trained on the gyno chair on the far-left of the room. Dr. Stamos continues to smile, but it does nothing to ease my nerves. Not only have I never had a pelvic exam, but I’m supposed to do it in front of Wolfgang? I stop in the middle of the room, hands wrapped loosely around myself as I hear the door closing behind me.
“Feel free to have a seat,” the doctor says.
Theseat, he means.
“C-Can he leave first?” I ask, not daring to look back at Wolfgang’s reaction.
I jolt slightly when he wraps his hand around my chin, twisting my face to see him.
“Get on the chair, Victoria. I’m not leaving. And do not think for a second I’d let another man see what’s mine, doctor or not.”
Scowling, I jerk away from his touch and straighten, approaching the chair before hauling myself up. When I pin Wolfgang down with my stare, his jaw is clenched, and he looks like he’s about to strangle me. A kernel of pride seeps into my chest. I’ll take any small victory I can get against this man.
I sit with my feet dangling a few inches above the floor, hands in my lap, trying my hardest to pretend like Wolfgang isn’t in the room. By the looks of it, he seems to be doing the same. He’ssitting across the cabinet, texting someone on his phone. Heat curls along my body over this entire situation, and I curse him for making me do this.
I hate him so fucking much.
“Is this your first visit to a gynecologist, Victoria?” the doctor asks, getting my attention.
I breathe out, trying to relax. And failing. “Yes.”
“Okay, well, I can imagine you’re probably a bit nervous.” He leans against his desk. “But you have nothing to worry about. My job is to make sure you’re comfortable. Today, we’ll just go over your health, answer any questions you have, and if there’s a medical reason, my colleague, Sabrina, will perform your pelvic exam. Sound good?”
A silent sigh of relief leaves my body. I really shouldn’t need the exam at this stage—I’ve never even had sex with anyone.
“Yes. T-Thank you.”
He then starts by asking me about my periods—if they’re regular, heavy, painful, and so on. Each question makes my face burn hotter, and it’s always followed by another, prolonging the nightmare.
I can tell Dr. Stamos is doing his best to make me feel comfortable, but it’s in vain. Even if he’s preoccupied with his phone, I know Wolfgang is listening, and the realization of why he brought me here in the first place finally sets in.
I’ll be hiswife. He’ll want us to have sex. Of course he will—why wouldn’t he?
The thought that my parents just let him take me without so much as saying a word hits me again, making the backs of my eyes burn with tears.
Wolfgang is a monster with no scruples, one that already proved how much he owns me in just the single hour of being in his presence. He’s going to do it again, and again, and again, exactly the way he wants, until whatever twisted plan for revenge he has plays out. And I won’t be able to do anything about it.
Maybe I should’ve run away the first chance I got. I still can. I could excuse myself to the bathroom right now and make a jump through the window… get on a bus and… I don’t know. Go somewhere he’ll never find me.
But they’ll die—even if I manage to get away, my parents will die, Anya will die…Sashamight die. Wolfgang made it clear that was his intention.
He’s got me trapped, and there’s absolutely no one on my side.
By the time Sasha finds out I’ve been taken, Wolfgang will have already married me and caged me in his house. And all my dreams… my goals… everything will be gone. Shattered in the span of a single moment—when he showed up and claimed me like a goddamn prize.
I blink away tears for the thousandth time, focusing my attention back on this awkward appointment.
