“I need to go,” I choke out, needing to get away from this man, from this life.
Every time I take one step forward, I’m knocked three back.
I pull up the rideshare app, and Kane must see because he says, “Your car is here. The keys are downstairs. I had Daniil drop it off for you.”
Daniil …
My thoughts go back to last night. Kane threatened his job because he’d found out that Daniil allowed me to do as I pleased behind my brothers’ backs.
Another life in my hands.
I follow Kane downstairs, taking in what is now the place I’ll be living, and while it’s beautiful, it’s clear that it was professionally decorated, not a personal item in sight.
It’s probably because he recently bought the home, but I always pictured my first home to be warmer, filled with pictures of my loved ones.
This isn’t your home,I remind myself.It’s just another prison, where you’re being forced to live.
“The kitchen is here,” he says. “I need to order groceries, so if there’s anything you want, let me know. And I’ve hired a cook to make meals since I prefer not to cook. She’ll make them and deliver them. If you have any foods you enjoy, I can add them to the list for her to make.”
The way he’s nonchalantly discussing meals—like we’re a regular couple, taking the next step and moving in together—only moments after he threatened to kill any man I flirted with, is dizzying.
I should be used to this since I was raised in a world where violence was the norm, but I’ve always avoided anyone like my brothers—hence me dating Owen and then Theo.
“Can I go now?” I ask, feeling dead inside.
Kane stares at me for several seconds before he nods and swipes my keys off the counter, handing them to me. “Your stuff will be here shortly. I’ll put it in the guest room upstairs for you to put away.”
Since the only thing I can think to say in response isthank youand I have no intention of thanking him for forcing me to move in with him, I nod and walk out the door.
Not wanting to go home—since it’s no longer my home, and if we’re being honest, it never was—but needing to shower and change, I call Nicole, who tells me she’s home and I can come to her place.
“What the hell happened last night?” she hisses when I walk inside her apartment.
It’s on the smaller side, above the coffee shop and bookstore she owns, but it’s adorable and all hers.
“My future husband is a fucking psycho,” I say, heading straight to her kitchen to make myself a much-needed coffee.
“Daniil took me home,” she says. “I was so wasted that I threw up twice on the way,” she groans. “So, he came in and stayed with me until I fell asleep.”
I glance at her, taking in the softness in her eyes, and wish my life could be that simple.
“Daniil works for my brother,” I remind her.
“I know,” she says, waving me off. “But it was still sweet.”
I pour milk and creamer into my coffee and mix it, then take a large sip, sighing as the hot liquid flows through my body.
“How did it go with Kane?” she asks, chewing on the corner of her lip.
“Oh, you know … after he threatened Daniil and the guy at the bar, he brought me back to his house. When I woke up this morning, he gave me a mind-blowing orgasm and then told me my stuff was being packed and I’d be moving in with him immediately since I couldn’t be trusted.” I roll my eyes. “Then he warned me if I acted like that again, he’d kill the guy.”
Nicole snorts out a laugh. “A mind-blowing orgasm, huh?”
I shake my head. “Of course you would focus on that detail. Did you not hear the part about him forcing me to move in with him now?”
“Yeah.” She waves me off. “But he lives alone, right? You alwayscomplain that your brother’s house is like Grand Central Station, so at least now you’ll have some quiet.”
Oh, Nicole. Always the optimist.
