Page 48 of Dancing With Delusion

“She’s in therapy a few times a week, and she’s just begun medication. Can I see her?”

“Of course. We’ll need the name of that medication. Follow me.”

Victoria is sleeping. She’s half-propped up in the bed with an oxygen mask over her face and a heart monitor hooked up to her. Her arms are laying on top of the covers, both heavily bandaged.

I take her hand, and she stirs, her eyes fluttering open. Relief floods me, and I swoop down to kiss her on the forehead. “My krasota, you scared me.” I pull back so we’re eye-to-eye and gently brush her hair from her face. “What happened?”

She tries to speak, but the mask makes it impossible for me to hear, so I lift it slightly and tip my ear to her mouth. “I saw you,” she whispers, “at the ball.” I stiffen at her words, holding my breath as she continues. “You lied again, Dmitry.”

I briefly close my eyes. What the fuck have I done? “My krasota,” I begin, “I’m so sorry.”

“You should leave now,” she murmurs, closing her eyes.

“Victoria, I didn’t want to upset you, and I had to show my face. You were sleeping . . .”

Her eyes open, and this time, I see the pain in them. The pain I have caused. “You looked good together,” she whispers. “I can’t compare to that.”

I frown. “Compare?” I repeat. “Compare to who?” And then it dawns on me—she’s talking about Vivian again. I groan. “We’ve talked about this.”

Victoria snatches the mask away. “Don’t you dare stand here and lie again. I saw you. I saw her kiss your cheek like it was so fucking normal. It doesn’t matter if you’re screwing her or not, Dmitry. You lied . . . again. And I found you with her . . . again, even though you know how she makes me feel. So, I’m done. I choose to walk away and save myself. Please leave.”

As I stumble away, a nurse stops me. “Your wife’s belongings,” she says, handing me a clear plastic bag. “I didn’t want to place them in her locker in that state. It’s such a pretty dress, and if you get it cleaned right away, it might come back like new.”

I go back into the quiet room and sit down, staring at the bag. Taking a breath, I unzip it and lift out the material. It’s beautiful, but it’s covered in wet patches, which I can only assume is Victoria’s blood. The door opens and Marshall sticks his head in. “Is she okay?” he asks.

I shrug, and he steps farther in. Nik follows, and I drop the dress and charge at him, slamming him up against the wall. “You’re a liar,” I yell, gripping his shirt in my fists. “You didn’t fucking check on her once.”

Nik scoffs. “What?”

“You’re forgetting who the fuck I am,” I growl, punching him hard in the face. His nose cracks, and we’re both sprayed in blood.

Marshall pushes himself between us. “Calm down,” he hisses, “or they’ll kick us out.”

I shove Nik one last time before releasing him and swooping down to collect the dress. “She left the manor, and you didn’t even fucking realise,” I snap, waving the material at him.

“Boss, she was asleep,” Nik argues.

“Clearly not,” I yell, holding up the dress. “She was at the goddamn ball. She’s in that state because of me!”

Marshall takes the dress from me and begins to shove it back in the bag. He’s troubled, I can see it on his face. “This will need dry cleaning” is all he says before taking a seat.

I turn back to Nik, who’s holding his jacket to his nose. “Go home. Cancel my appointments for the next couple days.”

Victoria refuses to speak to me. I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours in this damn hospital, and each time I go near her, she closes her eyes and acts like I’m not here. And for once, I feel powerless. I can’t take her off to the dungeon and fuck her into submission, and it highlights how shit I am at this.

I’m grabbing another coffee from the machine when I spot my father heading towards me. I inwardly groan. So far, I’ve dodged all his calls. “Nik had no choice,” he tells me. “I was tired of getting your voicemail and I forced it out of him.”

“And so you thought you’d come here to see Victoria?”

He laughs. “No, Dmitry, of course not. I came to talk some sense into you.”

I roll my eyes and head back into the room I’ve spent the last day living in. “Don’t waste your breath.”

“She needs help.”

“She’s getting help.”

“I mean from a proper hospital. I can give you the details of a few establishments that could take her.”

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