“I am asking you,” I say. “How does me being beaten and dragged across concrete benefit you, Konstantin?” The question hangs there between us, hard and unavoidable.
“That is absurd,” he snaps, the polish cracking. “Explain to me, Anastasiya, how you being taken would benefit me.”
His anger is no longer hidden. It flashes hot and sharp in his eyes.
I do not flinch. “You tell me,” I say calmly.
He leans forward, voice lowering but losing none of its intensity. “If you are harmed, the alliance destabilizes. If you disappear, speculation erupts. If you die, our families go to war. Where is the benefit in that?” His jaw tightens hard enough that I see the muscle jump. “You assume I would gamble years of planning on theatrics in a parking lot?” he demands. “You think I am that careless?”
“I think men in our world use fear as leverage,” I reply. “You have done so before.”
“With rivals,” he says sharply. “Not with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are the alliance,” he says, temper flaring fully now. “You are the consolidation of power. You are stability. I do not sabotage my own strategy.”
The room feels smaller. “Then someone close to you miscalculated,” I say quietly.
His eyes blaze. “Do not imply there is a rat in my house.”
“Then explain how I, Anistasiya Dragunov, was taken.”
He pushes to his feet so abruptly the chair scrapes against the floor. He paces once, controlled but visibly agitated, then stops in front of the window with his back to me. The city glows behind the glass, his reflection faint but rigid. “You are safe within our engagement,” he says tightly. “Within the alliance. As my future wife.”
I stare at him. “Safe?” I repeat. “I was beaten. I was chained to a concrete floor.”
His shoulders tense. “As long as our families are publicly aligned, you are protected,” he continues. “No one would dare move against you because it would mean war.”
“And yet they did,” I say.
He turns sharply, the last of his restraint snapping. “Because you stepped outside of it,” he says, frustration breaking clean through his control. “Because you distanced yourself from the very structure designed to shield you.” His eyes flash, no longer diplomatic. “You dismissed your assigned security,” he continues. “You insisted on independence. You walked away from the protection that comes with our engagement.”
I rise slowly to my feet. “You are the one who ditched your security like a petulant child,” he adds, the insult deliberate now. “And you are surprised someone exploited that vulnerability?” The room feels smaller. “I was not a child,” I say evenly. “I was reclaiming autonomy.”
“You were reckless,” he shoots back. “You do not get to reject the alliance and still expect the benefits of it.”
“I didn’t reject the alliance, Konstantin.” The words leave my mouth steady, but my pulse is anything but.
He laughs. It is low and edged with something that scrapes. “Is that what you tell yourself?” he asks.
“I have honored every public obligation,” I reply. “Every appearance. Every formal dinner and family event.”
He steps closer, invading space without touching me. “Then explain something to me, Printsessa,” he says quietly. “Why haven’t you set a date?” My jaw tightens, but I don’t answer. “You graduated university a year ago,” he continues. “You haveno academic obligations. No professional conflicts. And yet every time our families suggest finalizing the ceremony, there is another delay.” His eyes lock on mine. “You claim loyalty to the alliance, but you postpone it at every turn.”
“I have not postponed it,” I say. “I have asked for time.”
“For what?” he demands. “Clarity? Or escape?”
“I wanted to ensure the transition was strategic,” I answer evenly.
His mouth curves into something darker. “You make excuses not to meet with me,” he says. “You shorten visits. You cancel private dinners. You insist on bringing chaperones to conversations that do not require them.”
“I am cautious.”
“You are avoiding me.” He exhales sharply. “You have been distancing yourself for a year, Anastasiya. Do not pretend this is sudden.”
“I have been ensuring I am not reduced to a signature on a contract.”
