"There’s something I haven’t told you."
My stomach tightens instinctively.
"Uh-oh. That’s rarely a sentence that ends well."
His hand slides higher up my back, settling between my shoulder blades like he’s anchoring me to him.
"I got an email before the shoot."
My brain starts moving before I can stop it.
"From who?"
"VELVT."
I go still, waiting for him to explain.
"They told me the medals were cleared," he says. "They said that they had prior approval from the Olympic Committee to use them."
"But they didn’t?" I ask.
"No."
The word is flat. His eyes staring up at the ceiling and not at me.
My pulse starts to thud, and I’m sure he can feel it against his own chest. There’s no chance of me hiding my reaction.
"Did your agent—"
"I cut him out from the beginning of the negotiations," Luka interrupts. "On purpose."
I blink.
"You what? Why would you do that?"
"I knew he’d talk me out of it." His eyes don’t leave the ceiling. "He would’ve told me it wasn’t worth the risk. That the Olympic Committee doesn't forgive easily."
"And you did it, anyway."
"Yes. I trusted that VELVT was telling me the truth because I wanted to believe it."
There’s no apology in his tone, and that sneaky word that seems to continue to pop up whenever Luka decides to open up.
"Why?" I ask quietly.
Now his eyes move to mine.
"Because I wanted it to hurt."
I shake my head, having no idea who he'd hurt with that shoot beside Randolph… and Luka’s career. "I don’t understand. You wanted it to hurt whom?" I ask.
"My father cares about image, legacy, and national pride. I knew the photos would circulate in Moscow." His mouth tightens faintly. "I wanted him to see them, and I wanted to make my point very clear."
I suck in my lower lip as I try to understand everything.
"You used the medals to provoke him."
"I used them because they were mine," he corrects softly. "I earned them, I didn’t inherit them, or blackmail anyone to get them, or use coercion to get them. I wanted him to see that he doesn't have any control over me. And that if he ever came for my sister again, I’d find a way to embarrass him even worse the next time."
