I watch him leave the bedroom and shut the door, and the sudden pain of loneliness hits me more than I’m ready for. I gasp and curl back into a ball.

I stay that way the rest of the night.

VIKTORIYA

“I can’t believe this,” I say over breakfast after Mila tells me Boris showed up last night, telling her they’ll marry. “He held a gun to your head?”

Mila nods, her wide eyes. Scared, she looks younger than usual. “It was terrifying.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because you’ve had a trying day, and I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Mila.” I push my plate away from me. “You’re my sister. I want to protect you. I will not let Boris marry you. We will find a way out of this.”

She opens her mouth, closes it, and then opens it again before shutting it again.

“Spit it out,” I grumble.

“You say you want to protect me, but … you didn’t do a good job of protecting Sofiya.”

Her words smack me in the face. “Sofiya doesn’t need my protection. She can handle herself. Besides, she made a good marriage match. She’s set for life.”

“Sofiya is in Russia and hasn’t called us yet. Sofiya would call. Why hasn’t she?”

“I’m sure she’s just busy.”

Mila shakes her head and stands up. “Sofiya is never too busy to make time for me. Something is wrong. You wanted her gone so she wouldn’t be competition to you. You didn’t protect her, Vik. So, how can you protect me? Boris wants me now, and I’m scared he’ll get what he wants.”

I grab her hand. “I won’t let that happen.”

“I want to believe you.” She stares down at me with sad eyes. “I really want to believe you.”

I want to snap at Mila to stop being foolish. That, of course, I’ll protect her.

But I know deep down she has a point. I didn’t protect Sofiya because I was jealous and wanted Mikhail for myself. Well, I won’t make the same mistake with Mila. I’ll find a way to get her out of this.

The sudden weight of the realization that I’m just a woman in a man’s world hits me harder than anything ever has before.

SOFIYA

When I wake up, I find Mikhail next to me. I tossed and turned last night until sleep finally took me. At that point, Mikhail still hadn’t returned. Looking at him now, I see he obviously joined me at some point. I don’t know how to feel about Mikhail sleeping beside me. But this is his room, his bed, after all. Still, it’s strange. I’ve never slept next to anybody except my sisters and they don’t really count.

I slip out of bed, careful not to disturb him, and go into the closet and choose an outfit. A simple floral printed white dress. I glance toward the bedroom before quickly stripping my clothes off. Mikhail has seen me naked before, but I’m not in the mood to repeat that.

I grab underwear and a bra. Lacy, I notice. All lace. My face flushes at the thought of Mikhail buying lingerie for me. He did it with me in mind.

I’m standing there, fully naked, when I hear a creak behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I see Mikhail in the doorway, watching me.

I gasp and stumble back, bringing the flimsy undergarments to my body.

“I want to dress you,” he says so casually it takes a moment to realize what he’s saying.

“Dress me?”

“You need to start learning that I’m in control here. That when I tell you something, you will obey. I want to dote on you, Sofiya. So, I’m going to dress you.” He walks into the closet and right up to me, which feels like too much. Even though the closet is a walk-in, it’s still small enough for his presence to intimidate me. My lips part as I stare up at him.

He grabs the underwear and kneels before me. He can see my fully naked body. There’s no hiding anything. “Lift your foot,” he says, tapping my right ankle. I practically jump out of my skin.

After a moment, I do as he says. He slips the underwear around my foot. “Now, the other one.” I lift my left foot. Mikhail skims his fingers along my legs as he pulls my underwear up. Breath doesn’t make sense to me right now. I keep my eyes glued to the closet wall as I feel him set my underwear in place. His fingers lightly touch my pubic mound before he stands up. A flash of arousal hits me.

Mikhail trails his fingers up my stomach to my breasts. I hold carefully still as he presses each thumb against my nipples. I gasp as he lets me go. “Your bra.”

It’s only then I remember I’m holding it. I quickly hand it to him. He slips the bra onto me, expertly clipping it without looking.

He steps back, eyeing me over. “You look good in pink. Innocent.”

“My dress?” I point to it on the hanger.

He takes it off and brings it over my head, helping me get into it. Finally, I’m fully clothed, which helps me breathe.

“I have work to attend to,” he tells me. “You have free rein of the house.” With one more look at me, he walks away, leaving me shaken.

I head into the kitchen, where Mary is cooking breakfast.

“Here,” she says, setting a plate down before me. Eggs and ham. “Eat. Before it gets cold.” Mary’s snappish tone makes me quickly pick up my fork and dig into the food.

My eyes fall on the landline. It’s only now I realize I don’t have my cell phone. I left it back at the theater when Boris took me. Mikhail never retrieved it for me, and now, I have no way to call my sisters.

Except for Mikhail’s phone.

I get up and walk toward it, but Mary steps into my path. “What are you doing?” she asks curtly. “You should be eating.”

“I wanted to call my sisters.”

“No.”

I raise an eyebrow. “No? Why not?”

“Because Mr. Ivanov didn’t give you permission to use his phone. Now, turn around, sit down, and eat your food.”

“But I want to talk to my sisters. I have a right.” When Mary doesn’t budge, I sigh. “Fine. I’ll ask Mikhail for permission.”

“No. He’s working. You will leave him alone. Eat your food. Mr. Ivanov wanted you to eat breakfast. He said you were hungry. So, eat.”

There’s no way I’m getting past Mary, so I sit back down and eat, making a mental note to ask Mikhail later if I can use the phone.