But the time has come, and this counting game has reached a point where it can’t continue anymore.
“I’m going to take a shower, and then I’ll resume my work.”
“We both know there’s no need for you to work for me anymore,” he barks.
“Of course there is. I’ll finish the configuration changes today, and then I expect you to arrange for me to go home. I will not be kept a prisoner here any longer.”
“I don’t see you in chains, Vasilisa.”
“Because the shackles you’ve chained me with are not tangible.”
Rafael’s eyes darken, upheaval swirls in their depths. He grabs my chin, pulling me closer to his hard-lined face.
“I’m in love with you, Vasilisa.”
My heart stops beating. For a fleeting moment, every molecule in my body is completely still while I process the words I’ve been longing to hear. But there’s no joy in hearing his declaration. That feeling of soaring through the clouds is missing entirely because I can’t believe that what he said is true. He might have a strange way of showing it, but I do think he feels something for me. I’m just afraid it isn’t love.
Love is the purest of emotions. It’s not selfishness. Not ownership. What he feels is an obsession over someone who didn’t easily fall into his hands. It will pass, be replaced with something new. And in the end, it won’t even matter. Nothing will change for me. Except for the presence of a crippling fear. Did I fall in love with a man who’s not capable of loving me back? A man who will do anything to keep me with him. Anything, except let me go.
“I can’t do this anymore, Rafael.” I press my shaky palms to his cheeks and lean down to caress my lips over his. “We had a deal. If you don’t keep your side of the bargain, I will withhold mine, and find a way to leave.”
Dread explodes inside me. Panic surges in my chest, spreading throughout my body. I don’t know what I should do to make her want to stay. I would never hurt her parents or siblings, but the threat to their lives is the only leverage I have. What if she does manage to find a way to flee? I wrap my arms around her middle and roll us until I’m on top.
“I swear I’ll kill them,” I growl, watching her eyes widen in alarm. “If you dare to run from me, Vasilisa, I’m going to destroy your family and I’ll make you watch.”
A shadow passes over her face, transforming her shocked expression into anguish.
“Move,” she hisses.
“No.”
“Get your hands off me!” She wraps her fingers around my throat, squeezing. “Or I’m going to choke you to death.”
Instantly, my cock resembles a steel rod. It always turns me on when she goes feral. “I love you! Can’t you understand that?!”
“And yet, you keep hurting me every day by making me choose between you and my family.”
I grit my teeth so hard that it makes my fucked-up facial muscles ache. “You’re staying. And if you’re going to hate me, so be it.”
Vasilisa pushes on my pecs with her palms. I let her wriggle out from under me and follow her with my eyes as she gets off the bed. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she walks to the bathroom but stops at the threshold.
“You don’t love me, Rafael. You don’t even know the meaning of the word.” Her voice is barely a whisper, but every sound particle pierces my chest like a blazing blade. “The only thing you know is how to buy things. And when your money has no power—you just take.”
A soft click resonates as she steps into the bathroom. I sit motionless in the bed with the scent of our lovemaking in the air, enveloping me in its embrace while all I can do is stare at the closed door. Hushed sniffling seeps in from the other side. I made the woman I love cry. That realization crushes me like a ten-ton block of concrete. Despair settles in my gut as I cross the room and press my forehead to the wooden surface.
I’d never do it. Would never harm her family, even if she somehow did find a way to run away, breaking our deal. Her love for them must be boundless if she was willing to spend all this time with a monster like me to ensure their safety. What would it be like to have her love me like that? For her to want to be with me? Not because it would keep her family safe. Not because I can make her melt from pleasure with my touch. I want her to stay because of me. I want her to love me because of who I am. Not for what I can give her. And what have I done? Coerced her, and tried to buy her love.
My lily of the valley is right.
I need to let her go. Return her to where she belongs.
Back to all those handsome, perfect men who are a part of her world.
Collecting my scattered clothes from the floor, I leave the bedroom. Down the hall, one of the maids is dusting a sconce and humming a melody under her breath. When she sees me approaching, a strangled shriek leaves her lips. Her cheeks blush bright red, and she tries hard to look anywhere but at my naked body.
I continue along the corridor, eliciting a few more startled cries from other staff who see me trudge past in my newfound stupor.
“Raff?” Guido’s voice comes from the stairway. “What in hell—”
“Not now.” I step inside the guest room, heading to the bathroom.
“I gather the moment might not be the best, but this is urgent.”
“I said, not now!” I slam the bathroom door shut.
Adjusting the water to scorching hot, I step inside the shower and press my palms on the tiled wall.
“I just found out that Calogero bought several properties southwest of Messina,” Guido’s muffled voice comes through the door.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Scalding water beats down on my head and back, but it doesn’t strip away the rage and misery festering inside me.
“Raff?” Loud banging on the door. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes.”
I tilt my head up, letting the spray hit my face. Fucking Calogero. I can’t bring myself to give a shit about what that motherfucker is doing. Not now. He can go buy every goddamned inch of land in Sicily, for all I care.
