Page 43 of Dancing With Delusion

“You’re my friend,” I say. “I’d rather walk away than end up compliant and out of it. We both know, in this world, I need my wits about me.”

He gives a nod. “Okay. Deal.”

Dmitry

Victoria has spent the last few days mostly sleeping. When she’s not sleeping, she’s zoned out, staring into space. Harriet advised me this is likely due to her new medication, but I hate seeing her so out of it. She isn’t the same woman who came barrelling into my life, and a part of me feels like I’m losing her.

Nik knocks at my office and waits in the doorway for me to acknowledge him. I glance up over my laptop, giving him a nod.

“Boss . . .” He doesn’t take a seat, his large frame hovering instead, irritating me. “The cameras seem to be out in the master bedroom.” I pull them up on the laptop, flicking through the different cameras, and sure enough, the one in the master suite is out.

“Get someone out as soon as possible to make repairs.” With Victoria spending most her time there, I need to be able to make sure she’s okay.

I stand up from my desk, realising I haven’t yet checked on her and it’s gone midday. She hasn’t even made an appearance for breakfast. “Have you checked on her yet?” I ask, and Nik shakes his head.

“Well, let’s hope she hasn’t sabotaged the cameras herself,” I mutter, heading out with him hot on my heels.

I make my way upstairs, and when I open the door, I’m surprised to see her standing up. She’s wearing an oversized T-shirt, and I notice her skin has lost its glow.

She’s by the desk, holding a piece of paper and a pen. Startling as we enter, she drops the pen and paper, and a frown crosses her face. I give a gentle smile, wondering why the hell she looks so worried.

Reaching down, I pick up the paper and glance at the scrawled handwriting. “What is this, Victoria?” I ask, and she recoils. Written on the paper is another note, ‘Dmitry will let you rot, just like how you left Marcus’.

I glance across at Nik, handing the note to him. She doesn’t say a word. Her eyes dart around the room as if she’s looking for an escape.

“Victoria, I asked you a fucking question,” I bark. She stumbles back, and her breathing becomes rapid. She straightens her shoulders, a sure sign she’s about to take me on. There’s my krasota.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” she screams defensively, placing her hands on her hips. “I woke up and it was already in my room. Someone was in our room!”

I frown. “It just miraculously appeared in our master suite,” I snap, taking a step towards her and grabbing her chin between my thumb and fingers. “So, you didn’t just write this to create more fucking problems?” I keep a grip on her face, her steely eyes staring back at me. Long gone is the scared woman who stood before me mere moments ago.

“Why would I write it?” she hisses.

“I don’t know, why would you?” I can’t believe she’s denying it when we’ve literally just walked in on her with the note and pen in her hands.

“Maybe you should look closer to home.” Her eyes glance behind me to Nik. “Yeah,” she drawls, “because your men are so fucking loyal.” She rolls her eyes, and what she’s implying pisses me off. These men have been by my side for years, and many of them would lay down their lives for me and have done so.

I laugh out loud. “Really, Victoria? You’re going to suggest it’s my men who wrote this and not you, even though we walked in on you?”

She leans into my face, pulling free from my grip. “Fuck you, Dmitry.” She turns on her heel and pulls out a bag from under the bed.

“What the fuck are you doing now?” I take a few steps towards her, grabbing hold of her wrist.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Dmitry?” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. “I’m leaving. If you don’t believe me and we don’t have trust,” she takes a deep breath, composing herself, “then what’s the fucking point?”

She pulls free again, opening the bedside drawers and emptying their contents into the little rucksack.

I clench my fists. My temper is bubbling just below the surface, but the thought of her walking out of here scares me. “And where will you go?” I know my next words will cut deep, but they’re out before I can stop myself. “You have nobody. Marcus is dead, your parents couldn’t give a shit about you, and you’ve chased your best friend away with your crazy behaviour.”

She whips her head around to look at me and there’s a fire burning in her eyes. Her lips press into a firm line. “How fucking dare you?” She takes two steps towards me, rearing her hand back to slap me around the face, but I catch it before it connects. I sense Nik stepping farther into the room, and I glance over, shaking my head. I can’t have any of my men touch her.

“I was okay before I met you,” she continues, her voice sounding unsure. “My life came crashing down around the same time you gave me your stupid proposition.” Her tears balance on her lashes as a sob escapes her lips. As she closes her eyes, a small tear slips down her cheek, dropping onto the floor. “Just get out, Dmitry. Leave me alone.”

I drop her arm, running my thumb along her cheek to trace the path of her fallen tear, but she shrugs away from my touch.

She slowly lowers to the floor and hugs her knees to her chest, resting her forehead on them. I hate to see her like this, and my cruel words weigh heavily in my mind.

Nik is still standing in the doorway, watching our latest clash unfold, and I regret not sending him out earlier. “Leave,” I bark, and he exits, closing the door behind him.

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