Page 101 of Cruel Knots

Getting off the bike, Mikhail takes off his helmet while Lucia waits patiently for him. When he’s done, he walks up to her, unlatches the helmet’s belt, and takes it off her head.

The two of them look like they’ve bonded overnight. She’s become attuned to his every move now.

Deep-seated anger swells in my chest. I’m envious of the freedom Mikhail enjoys. He doesn’t wear the face of a monster and can freely go anywhere he wants.

It’s only natural for Lucia to like his company more than mine. He can offer her more than I ever can. I’ll never be anything to her except for a monster who takes her against her will.

Mikhail meets my gaze and squares his shoulders. “Hey,” he says casually.

I glance at Lucia. She pales at the rage that’s evident in my twisted features.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I hiss at Mikhail.

“Out,” he says, walking past me.

Grabbing him by the arm, I force him to stop. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Let go!” he says, throwing my hand off him. “I was busy and on the road most of the time.”

“You couldn’t spare a minute to text?”

“If I texted you back, you’d have wanted updates every fucking minute.”

“Is it a crime to worry about you?”

“Don’t start, Damien,” he mutters.

“You’re not going anywhere without explaining yourself. Why didn’t you tell me you were taking her out? Did you even think of the risks? You could’ve been ambushed by our enemies on your way out of here. You could be dead from a sniper’s shot before you even crossed the woods.”

“You’re being paranoid. Besides, there’s no point in shouting at me now. As you can see, I’m fine. I’ve brought our precious princess back where she belongs. She’s great too. Aren’t you, darling?”

She gives a slow nod.

At least, Lucia’s smart enough to stay quiet and play along.

“Take her back to her room,” I order Lilja.

“No way. I’m not missing this,” she says, shaking her head with a large grin on her face.

“Now!” I bark, injecting heavy dominance in my voice.

She pouts but obeys me. Gesturing at Lucia, she walks out of the entrance hall.

Lowering her head, Lucia quietly follows her.

When it’s just me and Mikhail in the room, I turn toward him. “Can you at least accept the fact you did something wrong?”

He hangs his head and sighs. Walking away, he sinks into a couch.

I move toward him, taking a seat beside him.

“Lucia is a normal girl,” he says in a suddenly exhausted voice. “She’s been imprisoned by Callum all these years. Without us to protect her, he controlled every fucking aspect of her life. Did you know she couldn’t even eat what she wanted to or wear what she wanted to? Any protest she made ended up getting one of her servants punished.”

I stay quiet as the depths of Callum’s cruelty become clearer to me.

“You should’ve seen how happy she was when I bought her a crappy two-dollar hotdog from a cart,” says Mikhail. “She was acting like a homeless person who was all too grateful to receive something to eat.”

A heavy breath leaves me.

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