Page 78 of Forced By an Obsessive Bratva Stalker

“What difference does it make?”

“Just answer me!” She raised her voice a little higher. “Please.”

My fingers loosened the tie around my neck, and I rose to my feet, quietly walking around my table. “I didn’t know at first.” I halted in front of her. “But I figured it out.”

“When?”

Silence.

I stared into her beautiful eyes, wondering why I couldn’t make her legally mine.

“Rodion,” she called my name in a way no one ever had. “I need to know the motive behind keeping me here. Are you doing this to settle an old score? Did you sleep with me just to get back at my old man for what he did twenty years ago?”

That question landed as a slap to my reputation, and I couldn’t understand why that thought would even form in her head.

“Tell me, Rodion.” She stared into my eyes, searching for answers I had yet to give. “Did you steal my future—my freedom—as some kind of punishment? Am I paying for my father’s crimes against your organization? Is that what this is?”

She looked at me like, deep down, she didn’t want her assumption to be true.

“You think so lowly of me, Aria,” I said, closing the small distance between us.

“For once, just tell me the truth without going around in circles.”

Something about her tone and the expression on her face melted my stone-cold heart.

“You’re not here because of your father,” I said, holding her gaze. “You’re here because I want you here. With me.”

She refused to take her eyes off me, her chest heaving slowly.

“If I wanted to punish you for Charles Bennett’s actions against the Bratva, I would’ve handed you over to those above me the second I found out.”

She swallowed hard and said nothing.

“You seem to be treading the same path as him,” I added. “The same mission passed down from father to daughter.” A pause. “How can I be sure that he didn’t put you up to this—that you’re not trying to finish what he started?”

“I’m not sorry for trying to expose the truth, Rodion,” she said, her voice stern and steady. “But contrary to what you might think, I didn’t even know my father had it in him to pull a stunt like that.”

That was my girl—fearless and unapologetic even in the presence of the man who had her life in his hands.

“Excellent. Now that that’s out of the way,” I said, stepping away to grab the remote control on my table. “I have a question of my own.” I turned on the TV mounted on the wall.

On the screen was black-and-white footage of Aria sneaking into one of the maids’ rooms.

The second she realized what was happening, her breath hitched, and her gaze dropped to the floor.

“Do you wanna tell me why you snuck into Yelena’s room last night?”

She brushed her hair behind her ear.

I walked back toward her. “According to the footage, she walked inside moments after you did.” I stopped in front of her, my height towering over her frame. “The two of you spent a couple of minutes behind closed doors. Now I’m interested in hearing what the conversation was about.”

“It was nothing serious, all right?”

“Then why are you so nervous?” I raised her chin, forcing her to look into my eyes. “Were you two planning your escape?”

“What? No!” A hint of fear flashed in her eyes.

“Don’t lie to me, Aria,” I growled, my expression dark and sinister.