“Isn’t it?” He was close enough now that she could smell his cologne, that same intoxicating scent that used to make her weak in the knees. Now it just made her angry. “You’re here because your family needed you to be. You stay because leaving would be detrimental to your family. That sounds like a cage to me.”
He wasn’t wrong, but hearing it stated so bluntly, so coldly, made something crack in her chest. “You’re right. This is a cage. And you’re the warden who’s made it clear he’d rather I didn’t exist.”
“Then why leave it?” His eyes narrowed. “What were you really doing out there, Anka?”
Before she could answer, he lunged forward and snatched the shopping bags from her hands. She grabbed for them instinctively, but he was already rifling through them, pulling out her purchases with the efficiency of someone conducting a search.
“Give those back,” she demanded, reaching for the bags.
He held them out of her reach, his attention fixed on her wallet. “Let’s see what my darling wife has been buying with my money.”
“Your money?” Rage flared hot and bright in her chest. “Those are my credit cards, you arrogant bastard.”
“Are they?” He pulled out her platinum American Express, the one Matvei had given her years ago with an unlimited spending limit. “Because last I checked, you’re a Nikolai now. Which means everything you have belongs to me.”
The casual arrogance in his voice, the way he said it like she was just another piece of property he’d acquired, made her see red. She lunged for the wallet, but he held it high above her head like she was a child reaching for candy.
“Viktor, I swear to God, if you don’t give that back—”
“You’ll what?” He pulled out a pair of scissors from his jacket pocket, and her blood turned to ice. “Leave me? Run back to your brothers? Oh, wait, you can’t do that without destroying the alliance, can you?”
“Don’t you dare—”
The sound of her credit card being cut in half was like a stab in the heart. She watched in horror as he dropped the pieces at her feet, then reached for the next card.
“Stop it!” She threw herself at him, clawing at his hands, but he caught her wrists easily and spun her around so her back was pressed against his chest.
“This is what happens when you try to play games with me,” he said, his voice low and dangerous in her ear. “You want to act like a spoiled little girl? Then I’ll treat you like one.”
She could feel the solid wall of his body behind her, could feel the heat radiating from his skin, and it made her even morefurious that her body still responded to him even when she wanted to murder him.
“Let me go,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Not until we’re done here.” He released one of her wrists to grab another credit card, holding her in place with one arm while he destroyed her financial independence piece by piece.
She twisted in his grip, managing to elbow him hard in the ribs. He grunted but didn’t let go, just tightened his hold until she could barely breathe.
“You fucking psychopath,” she gasped, still struggling against him. “What is wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” His laugh was harsh and bitter. “You want to know what’s wrong with me? I married a woman who doesn’t know the meaning of honesty. A woman who lies as easily as breathing, who manipulates everyone around her to get what she wants.”
“I haven’t lied to you—”
“Haven’t you?” He spun her around to face him, his hands gripping her shoulders hard enough to bruise. “You charmed my guards to learn their routines. You studied my security system. You planned your little escape down to the minute. And now you’re standing here pretending it was just an innocent shopping trip.”
The accusation in his voice cut deep because it was true. She had done all of those things. But the way he said it, like she was some kind of master manipulator, made it sound so much worse than it was.
“I needed to get out,” she said, hating how defensive she sounded. “I felt like I was suffocating in this place.”
“So you decided to put yourself in danger? To risk the alliance? To risk everything we’ve both sacrificed for this marriage?”
“I can take care of myself—”
“Can you?” His grip on her shoulders tightened. “Because from what I saw today, you almost ended up in the back of a van with two men who had God knows what planned for you.”
Something in his tone made her pause. There was more than anger there—there was fear. Genuine, raw fear that he was trying to hide behind fury.
“How do you know about that?” she asked slowly.
