Page 12 of Poisoned Roses

They scurry away and Nadia throws me a sympathetic smile as she rushes to my dressing room and I swallow hard.

“Inside my office—now!”

He points to the open door behind him and as I pass through it, he pushes me roughly into the room, causing me to stumble.

“How fucking dare you!” He yells, slamming the door behind him and striding over to his desk, banging his fist hard on the already splintered wood.

Rodion is known for his temper. It’s legendary, and many dancers have been reduced to quivering wrecks when he unleashes his angry tirade on them.

It appears that it’s my turn today, not that it’s the first time, and so I cower in fright on the seat in front of his desk as he heaps his verbal abuse on me.

“What did I say? What were my last words to you last night?”

He glares at me and I whisper, “Don’t let the Bolshoi down.”

“So you did!” He shouts, hitting his forehead several times with his fist, a move that makes him appear even more deranged than he is already.

“Now what am I to do? My prima ballerina, the one I have invested all my efforts in, has betrayed me. For what? A soullessmarriage to a bastard rather than a life of thrilling the world with her dancing skills.”

“I’m still–” I make to plead my case and he holds up his hand.

“You are stillnothing.” He spits, his face purple with rage.

“You are nothing now, Tatiana, because as soon as you walk down that aisle you become his.”

“But–”

He roars, “But nothing! I’ve been here before and I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. He will demand all of you. He will put his baby inside you and then you’re done. Forever. You will never recover, even if your body does. Your mind will no longer be firmly focused on dancing and you effectively signed your resignation letter last night when you accepted his proposal.”

He sinks wearily into his chair and places his head in his hands.

“There’s Maria I guess. Alice, if I’m desperate, I suppose.”

He raises his weary eyes to mine and sighs deeply. “Until then, you will have to work harder. Minimize the disruption and teach Maria and Alice to succeed you.”

“I’mnotleaving.”

I’m not sure where the determination in my voice comes from and his low, bitter laugh doesn’t make me feel any better.

“You may as well accept it, Tatiana.”

His tone softens, which surprises me more than anything.

“You may want it all but in ballet there is no room for anything else and you must come to terms with the fact your career is over. I’m guessing that Titus Romanov is not a man who likes to share his possessions, and whether you like it or not, you belong to him now. As his wife, you will be required to follow him around to suit his agenda – not yours.”

He shakes his head and I almost believe he’s going to cry and then he sighs deeply and whispers, “But you’re mine until that happens, so get to work and I expect your best performancetonight because if you’re going to take your final bow sooner than you thought, you may as well go out as a legend.”

His brief smile does something strange to me inside. Rodion is cruel, heartless and a bastard, but he’s also, along with Nadia, all I have left. A strange emotion creeps over me, which can only explain what I do next and as I stand, I move around the desk and wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry, Rodion.” I gulp and as his arms fold around me and he holds me tight, he whispers, “So am I malysh, so am I.”

We both realize this an ending, the end of an era in fact and as my heart breaks, the tears drench his chest as I sob like a baby in the arms of the man who gave me everything I ever wished for.

CHAPTER 7

TITUS

It’s all over the news and I’m glad I briefed my family on this before Tatiana was informed herself because the constant deluge from the press is hard to deal with.

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