She didn’t want to agree with him, but in that moment, she didn’t have a choice.
Chapter Three
Dmitriy hated hot chocolateand he hated talking about his past, yet he was sitting on the sofa, sharing a drink he despised, recounting a moment in his youth.He had no fond memories of his parents.
They liked to hurt.When he was not good enough, or well enough, they would kidnap a homeless person and take their sick, twisted ways out on them.They always went too far, especially with homeless people.They were never careful, and more times than not, the person ended up dead.The body would be disposed of, and then the cycle would continue.
During their fun with other people, Dmitriy learned to fight.He learned to get strong and take the beatings.He built that anger internally, and when the time was right, he expelled it.His parents had been the ones screaming, begging, pleading with him to stop.That day, the monster had been born, because he had felt nothing.Most screams didn’t affect him.
Joy and laughter meant nothing to him—until Anastasia.He glanced over at her and watched as she took a sip, enjoying the hot chocolate.It was why he always made sure they were fully stocked with the good stuff.He never wanted her to go without the drinks she loved.
“I can’t believe your parents did that,” Anastasia said.
“I’m not a liar.”
“I mean, you hear of bad stuff, and ...my parents, they were good.”
“They wanted to marry you off to a pig.”
“Up until that point, they were good.I don’t know why they were so insistent, and it wasn’t like anything bad happened.”
“No, that is true.”
“Whatever happened to Lionel?Was that his name?”she asked with a frown.
“He was found dead, snorting too much cocaine, surrounded by a bunch of prostitutes that snorted the same stuff,” Dmitriy said.
He was not about to tell her that Lionel Kalinsky had every intention of hunting her down and making her suffer.He had wanted the Babkin bride, and would have her.Dmitriy knew he intended to have her hunted, captured, and at his mercy.Lionel would have tortured her, raped her, then sent her home in pieces.He had done that to women who had shown him disrespect in the past.So, Dmitriy had offered him an olive branch: Leave the Babkin girl alone, and he would supply him with cocaine for the next five years.Lionel hadn’t known that the cocaine given to him had been laced with poison.Dmitriy didn’t know Lionel was going to have a party of prostitutes around him.It had been quite a mess, but one he had cleaned up.
Anastasia had been able to live.He would later learn she had been cast out of the family, and for the next four years, he would watch her.He needed to make sure she was safe, protected.She had not dated anyone, had not gone to any nightclubs, or done anything stupid.She lived what many might call a boring existence, yet she seemed happy.That was all he cared about.
“Wow, I had no idea,” Anastasia said.“I totally made the right decision there, didn’t I?”She let out a little laugh.
He took a sip of the hot chocolate, and it was just too sweet.
“You know, I would make you whatever drink you wanted,” Anastasia said.
