The door opened, and she waltzed in, dressed in her usual pencil black skirt under a crisp white top. Her pair of flats made no sound as she approached my desk with a blank expression.
“You asked to see me?” She stopped in front of my table.
I hesitated, my eyes falling on her. “Yes, I did.”
She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing.
“Take a seat.”
She did, hands on her lap, her eyes avoiding my face. Her mask of composure was perfect, but not enough to fool me; I could see through the cracks. She was struggling to stay calm—struggling to conceal her fear.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I said, my gaze unwavering. “Why?”
Her jaw tightened, and she managed to look up at me. “I think you know why.”
“What if I say I don’t?”
“Then you’d be lying through your teeth,” she replied instantly.
Silence.
She looked me straight in the eyes and asked, “Why?”
Again, silence.
“Why did you kill that man in cold blood?”
“Because he was an enemy.”
“An enemy?” She let out a soft scuff. “What about the coded messages and the weapons shipments hidden in your documents?”
The flatness of her tone was more disturbing than I’d expected.
“Are you an arms dealer too?”
The confrontation almost left me speechless.
“Are you some kind of Russian Mafia man or something?”
I hesitated. “Your grandfather didn’t tell you?”
“Fuck,” she murmured under her breath, then sprang to her feet. “I did not sign up for this!” she snapped, her voice rising higher than expected. “I knew you were arrogant and condescending, but nobody told me you were a monster!”
I’d been called that and worse. But somehow, this time, her words punctured my heart like a bullet.
My face contorted into a frown at her tone. “You’re right. Iama monster. And unfortunately for you, you’re married to me, so you’ll watch your tongue,” I said, my voice low but menacing: an unmistakable warning.
She paused, glaring at me. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m warning you.”
She clenched her jaw and shook her head, her scowl deepening by the second. “I need to have a word with my grandfather. Or has His Lordship stripped me of that right?” The sarcasm in her question couldn’t be any more glaring.
“Go ahead,” I answered. “Ask him what deal he made.”
She wiped unshed tears from her eyes. “You’re evil. All of you.”
And with that, she stormed out of my office.
