Page 53 of Dancing With Delusion

“Nuh-uh-uh. No, you don’t. I can’t have this beautiful face marked for my Master,” she chimes, wrapping a stray curl around her finger.

“Fuck you, Vivian,” I spit. “You were just a piece of ass to keep his cock warm for a while. What he has with me is real. He loves me.”

I can see I’ve hit a nerve as her lips form a firm line and she reaches her hand back to slap me again. It’s then that another figure comes into view behind her and grabs her wrist, halting it mid-air.

“Enough,” he barks.

A shiver runs down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I’d know that voice anywhere. He steps into the small slither of light, and sure enough, my fears are confirmed. It’s Vladimir.

Vivian sighs, dropping her hand. I swallow hard at the realisation that this isn’t just some psycho ex having a bit of a jealous rage. My heart beats aggressively in my chest as his menacing figure towers over me. His stoic stare goes right through me. I can’t show him weakness, so I square my shoulders as much as my restraints will allow and jut out my chin like I’ve always done.

His jaw twitches at my defiance before he replaces it with a cruel smile, and I falter momentarily before taking a breath. “How lovely to see you, Mr. Volkov, but you really didn’t need to go to this much trouble.” My tone drips in sarcasm.

“Even tied up, you still don’t know when to keep your fucking mouth shut,” he growls, and I smile at him sweetly.

“I’d like to assure you I’ve had pricks like you in and out my life since the day I was born, so I’m an expert at running my mouth.”

Vladimir scoffs and circles behind me. I try to follow him with a watchful eye, but the restraints won’t allow me to. He grips my hair at the roots, tipping my head back painfully. I seethe as pain radiates down my neck.

I feel his warm breath in my ear before he even says a word. “That’s right, isn’t it, you dirty little slut? You killed your brother and used my boy to clean up your fucking mess.”

My eyes widen in panic at learning his father and Vivian have been aware of Marcus’s death this entire time. Marshall was right back at the hospital, and now, there is nothing that can be done about it. I quash my racing thoughts because I have to deal with this situation the best way I know how. I laugh out loud, and he frowns before releasing my hair.

“Something funny, you dumb bitch?” Vivian screeches.

“Yes,” I snigger. “I just realised I’m not actually crazy. You bastards have been setting me up from the start.”

She rolls her eyes in irritation. “Can’t we just fucking end her, Vladimir? This is taking too long.”

Vladimir stands in front of me and removes his jacket, handing it to Vivian. He pulls out a knife, which catches the stream of light and glints dangerously. Fear rips through me, but I force myself to appear calm while slightly moving my head back away from the blade. He leans closer, pressing it against my neck. He applies enough pressure to nick the delicate skin, and I wince. Vivian moves behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders so I can’t move away from the knife. “Any final words, whore?” she snipes.

“Actually,” I say, and she outwardly groans as I look Vladimir dead in the eyes, “just one thing.” My throat constricts and my voice breaks slightly as emotion threatens to make an appearance. “You’ll need to tell Dmitry that not only have you killed his wife-to-be, but you’re also responsible for killing his child.” I close my eyes as a tear falls, and I will myself to be stronger.

A scream leaves Vivian, cutting through the silence around us. “You’re fucking lying,” she spits, losing all composure.

“I’m sure you can get my medical records seeing as you managed to have me discharged into the bogus care of a hospital that doesn’t even fucking exist.” I look around and groan. “Where the hell am I, anyway?”

The blade scratches the surface of my skin again, and I feel wetness along my neck, dripping down my collarbone. I close my eyes briefly then fix them back to Vladimir. He looks as if he’s battling with himself as he considers his options, but I remain silent, daring him to end the life of his grandchild. He suddenly pulls away the blade and tucks it back into his jacket pocket.

“What are you doing?” screams Vivian.

“We can’t kill her until I know for certain she isn’t carrying an heir to my throne,” he grits out through clenched teeth.

I close my eyes in relief. Why didn’t I tell Dmitry before I left? I was so close, but after everything, I was terrified he’d think I’d done it to trap him. After the doctors ran my bloods, they broke the news to me, but I pulled the patient confidentiality card because there was no way I wanted Dmitry to find out until I’d sorted my head. He lied to me, and I was doubting everything we ever had. How could I dump the baby news on him and expect him to let me leave?

And now, here I am in this fucked-up situation, wanting nothing more than for him to burst through the doors and tell me it was all a mistake, that he was wrong.

I drop my head and close my eyes as tears begin to flow. I can’t let them see they’re getting to me. Come on, Tori, you’ve been through worse than this. I mentally scold myself in the hope I can bide enough time to get myself out of this situation because, surely, Marshall will come through for me. He’s my only hope.

Dmitry

Icall my father and the usual tone on the line isn’t the one I get when I call him in Russia, which probably means he’s back in the U.K. I groan, although it might be a welcome relief to have him watch over Vivian for a while.

He answers right before I’m about to disconnect. “Dmitry?”

“You’re back in the U.K.?”

“Erm . . . yes, I landed a few hours ago. How is Victoria?”

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