“You did, and I didn’t appreciate it, so I’m choosing to ignore you.”
His eyes flit down to my ankle. “I see your cast is gone. Does that mean you can dance again?”
“Not yet, but hopefully in a few weeks.”
“Hmm.” He grabs a champagne glass from a waiter nearby and lifts it to his lips. For some reason, I tingle under his gaze.
I hate it.
“I’d like to see you dance. Why don’t you put on a show for all of us?”
I glare harder at him. “I just told you. I can’t dance right now.”
“But I’d like to see it. Dance for me, Viktoriya.”
I laugh haughtily. “I am not going to dance for you.”
He claps his hands together and draws the attention of everyone in the room. “Who would like to see Viktoriya dance? I hear she’s a lovely ballet dancer.”
There’s a murmur of agreement throughout the room.
“See?” Aleksander says, turning back to me. “So, dance.”
I am being humiliated again. I told Sofiya I wasn’t safe here, and she didn’t believe me.
With everyone’s eyes on me, I feel the pressure to walk forward and begin to move. My dress is too tight to do much, but I still manage to be graceful. My eyes catch Sofiya’s, and she looks worried. Worried for me? I didn’t think Sofiya cared enough about me to be worried for me.
I finish the dance with a bow.
Everyone claps.
“Again,” Aleksander says.
I straighten up. “What?”
“That was beautiful. So … again.”
I look at Sofiya, and she shrugs, shaking her head. “No,” I tell Aleksander.
“Dance,” he repeats.
The room is deadly quiet as Aleksander and I have a stare-down.
“No,” I enunciate. No one will force me to do anything I don’t want to do. That is my worth, and I’m sticking to it.
But I can feel the pressure building in the room like it’s going to explode at any second.
SOFIYA
I walk over to Mikhail’s side. “Help her,” I ask.
“Who?”
I stare at him for a moment. “Vik. That man is forcing her to dance. You know her ankle is still weak. Please, Mikhail. Stop this.”
“My men can do what they want. Aleksander wants to see your sister dance, so he’s allowed to see your sister dance.”
“What about Andrei? Andrei thought he could look at me, but you didn’t allow it.”
“That’s because you’re my wife, Sofiya. Viktoriya isn’t my wife.”
“So, you don’t care what happens to her?”
He sighs deeply. “I only care because you care.”
“So, stop this. Stop humiliating her. If you really care for me, you’ll do this.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then …” I know the answer as soon as it hits me. “I can never love you, Mikhail.”
His eyes turn intense. “Sofiya …”
“I can never love you if you hurt my family. I realize that now. I’ve given you all of myself, Mikhail. You’ve opened up to me. We’re supposed to trust each other. So, if you care for me, you will stop this.”
“I need to be strong in front of my men.”
“Showing compassion isn’t weakness. I’m going to stop this.” I walk away from Mikhail before he can stop me and grab Vik’s arm. “Come on. We’re heading upstairs.” I nod at Mila to join us. She hurries to my side.
