“I know him better than you. I know how deadly he can be. He goes through people like they’re trash. Once he’s through with you, you’ll be wishing you had agreed to marry me.”

“No. Mikhail will never be through with me. You don’t know him.”

“I know him well enough. I know he was married before.”

“So? I already knew that.”

The smile that covers Boris’s lips has me worried. “Did you also know about his son?”

Everything in me goes still.

“You didn’t, did you?” He points at my face. “I can tell. Well, I’ll let you talk with him about that. But you just proved my point. You don’t know him that well. He will hurt you in the long run. But I can help.”

I shake myself. “No. Mikhail would never hurt me.” But Mikhail hasn’t told me everything, even after I asked him to. He still chose to keep things from me.

“I can help,” Boris repeats. “If you give me Mila, I will offer you a safe sanctuary for when things go bad between you and Mikhail.”

“What? I’m not going to give you Mila for anything. Besides, Mila is her own person. I can’t give away a person.”

“I will offer you protection from Mikhail if you give me Mila. Think about it.”

“Boris!” Mikhail’s deep voice startles me. “I thought I told you to leave.” He walks over to me and places his hand on my waist. “Go.”

It’s a little funny seeing Boris go from confident to terrified the moment Mikhail shows up. “I’m leaving. Just think about it,” he says to me before walking out the door.

“Think about what?” Mikhail asks me.

“Boris wants me to give him Mila. I said no, of course.”

“Of course.” He studies me for a moment. “Are you all right?”

“He told me that … you had a son. Or have a son, I’m not sure.”

Mikhail tenses and pulls away from me. It doesn’t go unnoticed. “Boris is trying to get under your skin.”

“Is it true?”

“I can’t talk about this now. I have work.”

“You always have work,” I grumble.

Mikhail’s sharp gaze pierces me. “I provide for you. I take care of you. I do all of this because of my work. We’ll talk about this later.” He walks away before I can get another word in.

It’s not until he’s gone I realize he never denied having a son. Mikhail is still keeping things from me, and I need to know why.

I find a note in our bedroom, telling me to meet him in the playroom. There’s a small rebellious side to me that wants to say no. That Mikhail can’t just summon me whenever he wants, especially if he’s keeping things from me.

But I know I won’t do that. Despite how I feel, I want Mikhail to be proud of me more than anything. I’ve given him my complete self. I have to submit.

The room is dark when I enter it. I can’t see anything in front of me or around me. “Mikhail?”

“It’s ‘sir’ to you tonight,” his deep voice comes through the darkness. My body already is trembling at his voice, the sternness of it, the coldness to it.

“Sir,” I whisper, licking my lips. What’s going on? Mikhail has never done anything like this before.

“Good girl.”

I flush under his praise, not that he can see it.

“I’ve brought you here so we can talk,” he continues. “You asked me earlier if what Boris said was true. If I had a son.”

“Yes, sir.” My hands clench together.

“It’s true. I had a son.”

I let out a slow breath. The darkness makes me more aware of everything around me, even though I can’t see it.

“But I can’t say more,” he says. “Not right now.”

“Why?”

He doesn’t respond. It’s deafening in the dark.

“Why, sir?” I amend.

“Better. My son is dead, and I don’t like to talk about it. About him. So, I won’t be saying anything else tonight. You will not question me. You will not ask for more details. Is that understood?”

I’m grateful he’s telling me anything, but he’s still not telling me everything, and that hurts. And now, I can’t even ask him why without him being disappointed in me. Everything about our relationship is in service to Mikhail. It’s something I’ve agreed to. It’s something I need.

Doesn’t make it hurt any less when I don’t feel like I’m allowed my own opinion.

“Is that clear, Sofiya?” he repeats.

I startle. I was silent for longer than I’d intended. “Yes. I understand, sir.”

“Good. Now, we can continue with our evening.” The lights turn back on, almost blinding me. I don’t even see Mikhail in the room. Where is he?

I jump when my vision is plunged back into darkness as I feel a soft fabric around my eyes. Mikhail is right behind me, blindfolding me.

“You said you trust me,” he says. “I need you to prove it. I’m taking away your vision so you can focus on the pleasure I’m going to give you tonight.”

“You’re not going to … punish me?” I whisper.

I can hear the frown in his voice. “Why would I punish you?”

“Because I was asking questions.”