Page 61 of Bound By Longing

Her eyes almost bug out of her head. “You did … what?”

“I did drugs, Sofiya. Your hair is like a halo.” I gently touch it until she pulls my hand away.

“How did you do drugs? Where did you even get them?”

“Damien.” It slips out before I can stop it.

“Damien did this to you?”

“No! I asked him to give them to me.”

“Why?”

I stomp my foot. “Because I’m tired of being a little girl. I want to be a woman. I want to be married. I want to be with Damien.”

“I’m getting Mikhail.”

“No!” I grab her arms, stopping her. “He’ll be so angry with Damien. Please. Damien didn’t want to hurt me, but he keeps hurting me by not marrying me. I don’t know what to do, Sofiya. I don’t know what to do.” I press my face against her neck and cry my eyes out.

Sofiya holds me there. Fortunately, she doesn’t reprimand me. But I can feel the anger radiating off her. She doesn’t get angry often, so I know this means it’s serious.

Mikhail enters the room. “What happened?”

Sofiya looks at him, and without saying a word, Mikhail understands.

“Damien,” he says.

I know I just ruined everything.

Chapter

Sixteen

DAMIEN

Someone pounds on my door. I have a good feeling who it is, even before Collette lets them inside.

Mikhail bursts in as I come downstairs, being careful not to rip my stitches. It’s getting easier to move, but the gunshot hit me in my abdomen. It’s going to be a while before I’m fully back to normal.

“Damien,” he growls. “We had a truce, yet you get Mila high the first chance you get!”

“Hey, she wanted to take it. That’s not my fault.”

He gets right up in my face. “Do you even care? Do you even care about anything?”

My father’s face flashes before my eyes, and I shove aside. “I care about Mila.”

“If you did, you’d marry her and not string her along.”

“I’m not interested in marrying.”

“If you want Mila in your life, you will marry her. That’s part of the truce now.”

I step back from him. “That wasn’t part of our deal.”

“It is now. You like her, clearly. You’ve saved her life multiple times, and for that, I’m grateful. But you either need to get out of her life so she’s safer, or you marry her. No more hurting that girl. Sofiya is hurting because of this, and I don’t like to see my wife hurt.”

I know I care for Mila. I care for her more than I ever have for anyone in my life.

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