Page 13 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

I had nothing to work with, and that left me feeling even worse than before.

Once I'd had enough of being in that room, trapped with the idea of being completely cornered and alone, I went to the door and turned the handle. My brows went up in surprise as it moved with ease. With a small push, the door opened, and I could hardly believe it.

It was unlocked.

Despite the initial rush of triumph, that feeling immediately fizzled out when I realized that was likely intentional. He wouldn’t have been so careless as to leave it unlocked…right?

There was no way.

Regardless, I was tired of being in that room, so I opened the door further and stepped out.

Even if I was still technically trapped in the house, it was almost freeing to get out of there and walk down that hallway.

The more steps I took, the more anxious I was for the chance to leave. To find an escape and run away as fast as I possibly could. With every movement, my mind began to spin with the idea, and I couldn’t stop myself from trying to formulate some sort of plan.

I needed to slip by undetected and find another unlocked door, or even a window I could climb out of. Maybe then I’d have a fighting chance.

Yet it was easy enough to realize the windows would likely either be locked or trigger an alarm, and I had the feeling the way down wouldn’t be an ideal drop for me. I had to look for a door.

Carefully, I reached the stairs and slowly crept down them, keeping my eyes peeled for any movement. Hyperaware of my surroundings, I kept going, afraid he might appear around the corner or step in front of me.

Luckily, the stairs didn’t creak even as I reached the ground floor and glanced around, not seeing him anywhere. Pulling in a breath, I rounded the railing and saw a door not far from me, just down the hall. As I set my sights on it, my heart pounded in my ears.

“Going so soon?”

My skin went cold all over, and I froze where I stood, eyes closing instinctively as if that would help matters at all. Glancing to my right, I saw Alex standing in the kitchen, bare back turned to me. I sighed.

I was caught and lost my chance at being sneaky.

As I straightened myself out, I approached the kitchen, knowing I couldn’t avoid him forever. Plus, whatever he was cooking caught my attention more than I cared to acknowledge. It had been hours since I last ate.

Alex threw a glance at me over his shoulder before returning his attention to the frying pan in front of him. He towered over the stove with gray sweatpants hung low on his hips. “Get in here. This is almost ready.”

I hated how long my gaze lingered on him, and I also hated how compliant I was as I entered the room and took in the tempting smell of breakfast.

Despite being aware I was technically his hostage, and he’d have to feed me if he wanted to keep me alive, I wassurprised to see both plates sitting on the counter as he filled them both with bacon, scrambled eggs, and a stack of pancakes.

Standing by the island somewhat awkwardly, I watched as Alex grabbed a plate and put it in front of me on the quartz countertop, eyes lingering on me for a moment. They flickered down briefly to check out the clothes I had on, and the corner of his lip turned up slightly.

“You found the closet, I see. That’s good,” he said with a quiet hum, gesturing to the plate. “Go ahead. You likely need it.”

As much as I didn’t want to accept anything from him, I knew I couldn’t withhold food from myself forever. I sighed and sat on the stool and got started.

Wordlessly, Alex grabbed his plate and dug in as he leaned against the opposite counter.

At first, the kitchen was quiet aside from the sound of cutlery against our plates. The silence was uncomfortable, and while I didn’t expect him to be overly chatty, he seemed a lot more subdued than the night before. It made me wonder if he was on the quieter side and if his demeanor the previous night had simply come from his excitement about winning the auction.

Regardless of the silence, I ate what had been put in front of me and didn’t argue about it. I felt like I had been starving, and I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. I braced myself at the same time, since I couldn’t help but wonder where we would go from there—what he wanted from me.

I had a sinking feeling as I finished the food, and it wasn’t from the awkward silence, or from being tense having him so near. A sense of dread surrounded me, and I didn’t appreciate how it made my stomach ache.

“I didn’t know what you’d want to wear, so I got you a bit of everything,” Alex said, circling back to the topic again. “Hopefully, whatever’s there is suitable.”

“It’s fine.”

He nodded at my response before he finished the last of his breakfast and put the dirty dishes in the sink. “Good. If you need anything specific, let me know.”

The offer caught me somewhat off guard, but at the same time, it seemed half nice, at least. I nodded.

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