Viktor's brows lift a millimeter. "And you think I enjoy lighting money on fire?"
"I think you enjoy control," Gayle says sweetly. "And this acquisition buys you a great deal of it."
"I see buildings," he says. "Where's the control?"
She points at me like a sales rep with a laser pointer. "Her."
I choke on air. I swear.
"Here's the solution I offer for what your nephew did to my daughter." Mother's eyes never leave Viktor. "You buy myassets. And with that, we get an engagement. Raphaella and Nikolai are to be married. Immediately."
"Now why the hell would we want that?" Viktor roars, just as Nikolai turns red and furious. As for me? It's a miracle I'm still standing and not flat on the floor. Just what the hell does my mother think she's doing?
"Look at her," my mother says to Viktor. "My daughter. Sheltered. Protected. Innocent. Until your nephew got his hands on her."
I want to scream that I'm not a child, that I made my own choices last night. But the look in my mother's eyes stops the words in my throat.
Viktor turns to Nik, who stands with his shoulders back, defiance radiating from every inch of him despite the dried blood on his face. "Did you really not know who she was?"
Nik doesn't even look at me. "I swear. I didn't know she was Gayle Donovan's daughter."
"And yet here we are," my mother says. Too sweetly. Like poisoned honey.
"I still don't understand," I say. "So what if we met? So what if we..." I wave my hand, not wanting to say the wordsexwith my mother right there. "Why does it matter who he is?"
My mother's smile is so tight it might shatter her face. "Because, darling, Nikolai Ivanov is the nephew of one of my most important business partners. And more importantly, you were promised to Egor Barinov."
Wait. What.
I can hear the wordpromisedlike it's a gag in my throat. I met Egor once, at a rare dinner Mother allowed me to attend. He was a terrible appetizer of a man. Sixty-something, hands big and soft like overripe sausages, breath like old cigars. A man who calls women "it" and thinks "no" means "raise your price."
I lived through one dinner with him and started planning rooftop escape scenarios as a hobby.
"Mother," I whisper, horror dawning. "You weren't really going to..."
"Quiet." She snaps it like a leash. Then, to Viktor: "When it gets out that your nephew defiled Egor Barinov's bride, there will be hell to pay. I would prefer you paid me first. So I'm selling my interests, this building included, at double the rate. And you're going to buy it. Along with my daughter as a bride for your nephew."
"I'm sorry, what?" I screech, unable to believe I'm being thrown in like a freebie with a bulk order.
"The building's value is inflated," my mother continues like I hadn't spoken, "but you'll pay it. Because when Egor Barinov finds out your nephew took what was promised to him, the brotherhood will fracture. And we both know what happens when the brotherhood fractures, Viktor."
Brotherhood. What the actual fuck.
Nikolai steps forward. "No. Hell no. I'm not part of this."
"You became part of this," Viktor says, voice cutting clean through the room, "the moment you couldn't keep it in your pants. You think you can fuck whoever you want without consequences? This is the consequence."
"I'm not marrying her," Nikolai snaps, his blue eyes blazing cold. "I don't care who her mother is or what you promised."
I should be offended. But honestly? I'm co-signing that statement with glitter gel pen. This is batshit.
"You don't get a choice," Viktor replies, tone pure law. Then, to my mother: "Shipping routes stay at market value. I'll pay double for the Brooklyn properties. And yes. Your daughter will marry my nephew. It's that or war with Barinov."
War?
What the actual, flaming fuck kind of business is my mother running? They're literally negotiating like I'm livestock at auction.
"Mother, stop," I snap, my voice finally cutting through. "I'm not marrying anyone. Especially not him." I gesture at Nikolai, who looks just as horrified by the concept as I do.
