Page 74 of Bought By the Ruthless Pakhan

Anna, wake up.

No matter how good he is to you, he never truly trusted you.

Remember the humiliation you suffered. Remember how he and Victoria discussed you behind your back with that condescending tone. Remember how he treated you like an object to be disposed of at will—do you really want him calling you a whore again? Or going back to that pretty cage?

No. I didn't want that.

I didn't want to return to those days.

Ivan bought me with money, but I belonged to myself. I wasn't a thing, not some object for anyone to fight over and control. That self-denying existence—I'd had enough. I would never go back to that life.

"You dare touch her?"

Ivan's icy voice cut past my ear like a thin, sharp blade.

My back stiffened. My hand loosened slightly on Nadia's shoulder as I looked up into his bloodshot eyes.

The fury in those eyes was nearly tangible, dropping the temperature several degrees.

Victoria flinched at his voice.

But she wouldn't back down. If anything, she got more aggressive. "Ivan, I don't like her. Replace her. She'll be a bad influence on Nadia! I'm Nadia's mother, I have the right—"

"What right do you have?"

Ivan let out a cold laugh—short, like it scraped through his teeth. His grip tightened. I clearly saw Victoria's whole face crumple in pain as she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Victoria, seems you've forgotten what I told you five years ago."

Victoria's face went from red to white.

Her jaw clenched tight, chest heaving several times before she forced out a sentence. "I didn't do anything wrong. I'mjust afraid you'll make a mistake, afraid you'll neglect your daughter."

Ivan ignored her excuses, his hand not loosening an inch. "Stop using Nadia to cover for yourself. Do you genuinely care about our daughter, or are you afraid Anna threatens your position?"

Victoria laughed bitterly. "Me, afraid of her? Some whore for you to play with in bed!"

Whore—like an ice pellet hitting my face. A familiar chill shot up my spine. Like someone jabbed my backbone, sharp and agonizing.

But before that pain could spread, I saw Ivan's arm swing out. Victoria staggered back several steps, nearly falling.

Her hair was a mess. Gone was that overbearing arrogance.

She clutched her reddened wrist, looked up at Ivan, moisture gathering in her eyes. "Ivan, you'd really lay hands on me for this woman? I'm telling you, you'll regret this!"

Her venomous gaze swept over me, then landed on Nadia.

"Nadia, Mommy loves you," her voice suddenly softened with deliberate grievance. "I'm just afraid someone will wreck our family. You have to believe Mommy—this woman doesn't deserve to be by your father's side."

She lunged forward again. I held Nadia tighter, looked up, and met her crazed eyes.

"Nadia doesn't want to go with you. Stop forcing her."

Nadia said firmly, "That's not true! Anna isn't wrecking our family—she's here to make it whole!"

Victoria's face went bloodless, tears falling harder. She pointed at the three of us, unable to form a complete sentence.

Finally, she stamped her foot and stormed out.