Page 27 of Embrace of the Russian Tiger

“Oh, and,krasotka… One more thing. Even if Maxim tells you who you are, he owes you more answers than that. Do you understand? Him just telling you whose daughter you are is not the whole truth. He must give you something as well. If he does not, then he is lying.”

I hesitated for a moment, my fingers trembling as they brushed against the edge of the folder. I could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on me, the fear gnawing at the back of my mind.

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest, and opened the folder. My heart raced as I stared at him, my mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. Take control? Was that even possible? I had been under Maxim’s control for so long. I always had someone controlling me.

I stared at the contract, sipped on my drink, my heart pounding in my chest and then it all went black.

CHAPTER 13

My mind raced, a whirlwind of confusion and frustration, as I stumbled out of the cab. The night air hit me, cool and biting, but it barely registered. My body felt sluggish, like I was moving through a thick fog. How had I even ended up here? One minute, I was sitting in that club. And then, the next thing I knew, I was here.

I never expected to wake up outside Maxim’s mansion, alone in a cab with no explanation, no clarity. My head was still fuzzy, but my emotions were sharp, jagged, cutting through me like glass.

I felt... wrong. A sense of violation lingered—knowing I hadn’t left on my own terms, that someone had decided for me. But beneath that feeling of helplessness, something far more powerful surged: anger. It was deep and relentless, pulsing inside me with every step I took toward the mansion’s looming, cold exterior.

I hated how this place, this prison, had come to symbolize everything I’d lost. My freedom, my autonomy, my sense of self. And now, I was close to losing my mind, spinning between half-truths and lies. I didn’t even know who I was anymore. But morethan that, I hated the man inside. The man who had controlled everything from the shadows, who had kept me at his mercy, making sure I never learned the full truth.

Maxim.

The very name sent a cold shiver down my spine, followed by a burning heat that I didn’t want to acknowledge. He had become an unshakable force in my life, pushing me to the edge, testing my boundaries, making me feel things I hadn’t thought possible—things I wasn’t sure I even wanted to feel.

I didn’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, my anger had twisted into something else, something far more dangerous. Desire. As much as I wanted to loathe him, as much as I wanted to break free of his hold on me, I couldn’t ignore the way my body reacted to him. Every time he was near, every time he touched me—even in anger—it set something off inside me that I couldn’t control.

But tonight, it wasn’t just about desire or fear. Tonight, it was about answers. Answers that I had waited far too long for.

I stormed through the halls of the mansion, my steps echoing off the marble floors. My heart pounded in my chest, not just from the physical exertion, but from the weight of what was to come. The confrontation I had been putting off, the moment I had been dreading, was finally here. I didn’t know what I would say, or how it would end, but I knew one thing for sure: I was done being controlled. I was done letting Maxim dictate my life, my choices, my future.

By the time I reached his office, the door already cracked open, I was trembling. Not from fear, but from the sheer force of the emotions building inside me, threatening to explode. Rage, frustration, longing—it all mixed together into a volatile cocktail that was ready to ignite.

I shoved the door open, not caring about the consequences. And there he was, sitting behind his desk, the very picture ofcalm and control. His cold, blue eyes lifted to meet mine, and the moment they did, I felt the air shift between us. It was like a spark, a dangerous, electric current that pulsed between us, stronger than it had ever been before.

He didn’t speak at first, just watched me with that maddening calm, as if he already knew why I was here. As if he already knew what I was going to say. But I wasn’t going to let him win this time.

“We need to talk,” I said, my voice trembling with barely restrained anger.

Maxim leaned back in his chair, his expression as cold and unreadable as ever. “You look tired, Anna,” he said, his tone patronizing, like I was a child throwing a tantrum. “This isn’t the time?—”

“Don’t you dare,” I spat, cutting him off before he could finish. “Don’t you dare try to dismiss me like that.”

I was shaking now, with rage, with frustration, with all the emotions I had been holding back for too long. “I know you’ve been lying to me. Hiding things from me. And I’m done being in the dark. Tell me everything now!”

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. That silence was worse than anything he could have said. It felt like a slap in the face, a reminder of how much power he still had over me. But I refused to back down.

“You owe me the truth, Maxim,” I continued, stepping further into the room. “No more half-truths, no more lies. I want to know everything!”

Something flickered in his eyes at that last part, but it was gone so quickly, I almost thought I had imagined it. He stood slowly, his movements deliberate, measured, like he was trying to contain something inside himself. His gaze never left mine as he walked around the desk, closing the distance between us until he was standing just a few feet away.

The tension between us was thick, suffocating, like the air itself was charged with the weight of our unspoken words, our unacknowledged desires. I hated how close he was, hated how my body reacted to him, my skin prickling with awareness. My breath hitched as I stared up at him, trying to keep my voice steady, trying to keep control of myself.

“Anna,” he said, his voice low, almost a warning. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I’m asking for the truth,” I replied, my voice shaking with a mix of anger and desperation. “Why is that so hard for you?”

His eyes darkened, his jaw clenching as he looked down at me. I could see the struggle in him, the way he was fighting to maintain control. “The truth will destroy you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Maybe,” I said, stepping even closer to him, daring him to push me away. “But it’s my choice to make. Not yours.”

For a moment, I thought I had broken through his icy exterior. I thought I had reached something deeper inside him, something real. But then his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist, pulling me close until I was pressed against him, his body heat radiating through me. His grip was firm, not painful, but enough to remind me just how much control he still had.

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