What a psycho.
Not that I had a lot of people who would genuinely feel my absence anyway, but still, that was inhumane.
My mother wouldn’t give two fucks about my whereabouts. Hell, she would only find out if she watched the news.
Tyler would’ve been heartbroken when he saw the news about the capsizing of the cruise. He’d beat himself up for not insisting that I stay back. Although Tyler didn’t directly tell me that he thought the cruise ship was a bad idea, his constant questions were clues and hints of his disapproval. Yet, I’d missed it.
Looks like you were right about the Titanic thing, buddy. I should’ve just stayed back.
My quest for fun and meeting with new people in the line of work that I was still considering whether to venture into had led me into this mess.
Daniil might have orchestrated this whole thing with his evil brilliance, but I was the one who had walked into his trap. If I hadn’t accepted Asher’s invitation, he wouldn’t have seen me on the boat.
It wasn’t your fault, Vivian. Daniil is a maniac, meaning that even if you had declined the invitation, he’d have still somehow found you…the same way he found you back at the store.
That inner voice was right. There was nothing that I could’ve done to prevent this from happening. Daniil was obsessed with me, and there was no limit to what he would do just to have me.
Now, he’d succeeded.
He had me exactly where he wanted me: in the palms of his hands. From the looks of things, he wasn’t letting me go—ever.
I want your heart. I want your body.
His voice echoed in my head, causing me to shiver at the gravity of those words.
I couldn’t be his prisoner for the rest of my life. No! There had to be something that I could do to escape this man and his madness. I couldn’t beat him physically—that would be suicide—so I had to devise a means to beat him at his own game.
Right now, I was trapped in his clutches, and any reckless move could get me crushed.
I had to think fast and smart, be creative, and come up with a plan, lest this be my fate. I was a person, a young girl with big dreams and aspirations, and I wasn’t going to let go of my passion and be a kidnapped princess for the rest of my life.
If I had any chance at escape, I’d have to be brave enough to take the bull by the horns, to plan intelligently so I could be at least two steps ahead. It wouldn’t happen overnight—it would take some time—but eventually, I would escape.
However, for the first phase of my plan, I had to make him comfortable around me.
No, you make yourself comfortable around him.
That was a better idea. Daniil would have no issues getting comfortable with me; the one affected by this relationship was me. I was the one who loathed the man, so it would be more difficult for me to play that role. But I would do it; I would make myself comfortable around him and make him believe I’d accepted my fate and given up, that I was done fighting him.
What if he doesn’t buy it? What if he senses foul play and doesn’t believe me?
Then you’re toast!
No. Then you convince him that you’re his to own. It’s easier to fool a desperate man because, most times, desperate people don’t think logically. That’s Daniil’s weakness, Vivian. You’re his weakness. He’s so desperate to have you that it’s clouding his sense of reasoning. He’s not gullible. He’s not stupid, but if you play your cards right, you just might get away with this.
Okay, so all I have to do is….
Get him to believe that you’ve completely surrendered to him. Men like Daniil are possessive and domineering, and they love submissive women. Well, submissive women with a little touch of defiance that makes them different from the regular girls.
What am I supposed to do?
How good is your acting?
I didn't realize that, deep down, I had so much insight on matters like this, nor did I know that my subconscious mind had studied Daniil like a textbook.
There’s only one problem, though: You’re drawn to this man, and you’re attracted to him.
So?