“Papà, who is sitting next to Dimitri?” I ask, letting my curiosity get the best of me.
My father leans forward and glances at the two of them before sitting back in his seat. “Oh, that’s Irina. She’s from Romania. Dimitri’s father thought the two of them would be a good match, so he invited her tonight.”
My stomach feels like it’s full of lead. “Oh,” is all I can manage to say. Just the thought of the two of them together is more than I can bear, and I stand up quickly, almost knocking my chair over in the process. “I need some air,” I tell my father before practically running away from the table.
I escape from the room and venture outside in the cool night air. I feel like I can’t breathe right now. My fingers claw at my throat as a sob escapes my mouth. I quickly silence it by clasping a hand over my lips.
No, no, no. I cannot do this right now.
I knew deep down that this would always happen, and yet I didn’t prepare myself for it. But nothing could have prepared me for falling for Dimitri Sokolov. That wasn’t in the plan. And now that it’s happened, I don’t know how to undo it or fix it. I’m not going to be able to look at him the same way again, and he’s going to see it in my eyes every time now. Considering what happened last time Ialmostconfessed my feelings to him in the hedge maze, I don’t want him to ever find out how I truly feel. Who knows what he’ll do. No, I need to just get over this…crush or whatever this is.
Maybe I deserve this kind of hurt and anguish for everything that I’ve done, for all the sins I’ve committed. Instead of trying to make things work with my future husband, I’ve been fooling around with his brother; the very man who used to bully me and make my life miserable.God, maybe I’m just going crazy.
I walk and walk, my feet carrying me across the property until something catches my attention. I stop dead in my tracks and listen. And then I hear it.
A soft, deep moan.
My ears prick at the sound, and my curiosity gets the better of me as I continue walking. There’s a guard shack on this side of the property, but I don’t think they’ve used it for years. I approach the small building and look through the window. A loud groan comes from the corner of the dimly lit room, drawing my attention.
And with that one glance, my entire world comes to a violent, screeching halt.
Time seems to stand still as my mind tries to decipher what I’m seeing right now.
Pavel, my future husband, is bent over the armrest of an old, worn leather chair. His bodyguard, who I’ve seen by his side numerous times, is slowly sliding his cock in and out of Pavel’s ass.
At first, I’m alarmed, wondering if this is consensual. But the look on Pavel’s face, the pure and undiluted ecstasy, as he lets out another moan, tells me everything I need to know.
My breathing ceases altogether as tears gather in my eyes, blurring the couple in front of me. As quietly as I can, I quickly take a few steps back. And then I’m running. I keep running until my legs grow tired, and I’m somewhere near the other side of the property, the cool night air biting at my skin.
I stop running, grasping onto a tree to try to keep my balance as tears streak down my cheeks. I suck air into my lungs before gasping and coughing. It takes everything in me not to scream or panic in this moment.
Pavel is gay.
It all makes sense now. Why he’s never affectionate. Why he looks at me with what can only be described as disinterest. He’s not mean or a bully like his older brother. No, he’s just not attracted to me. He never will be. And clearly being forced into this marriage is just as painful for him as it is for me.
“Savina?” a deep voice calls from behind me.
My spine stiffens as I hear his footfalls approaching quickly. I desperately try to calm myself down and wipe away the evidence ofmy tears, but it’s too late. Dimitri is grabbing me, spinning me around and grasping my chin to raise my gaze to his.
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I just…I saw…”
“What did you see?” he demands.
“Pavel and his bodyguard were having sex in one of the guard shacks,” I blurt out, my voice just above a whisper.
I expect Dimitri to be just as surprised as I am, but instead, he’s calm. His expression doesn’t change at all, which makes me think that…he knows.
“You knew,” I accuse him.
A frown mars his face, but he refuses to answer me.
“You knew. You’ve known this whole time!” I cry, my voice rising to a fever pitch.
Anger sweeps over Dimitri’s handsome features, and he roughly grabs my arm, pulling me deeper into a wooded area. Once we’re far enough in the woods so that no one can overhear our conversation, Dimitri relinquishes his bruising grip and takes a step back, swiping a hand over his face. “Damn it, Pavel,” he says out loud with a frustrated groan.
“I can’t believe you knew and didn’t say anything,” I whisper despondently. I’m in disbelief that Dimitri allowed all of this to happen; that he allowed the contract to be amended when he knew his brother and I would both be miserable. Is this what he wanted all along? For us to never be together, but to be able to have his cake and eat it too? “I have to tell someone,” I start.
