Page 66 of Virgin Bratva Prisoner

I don’t know how I am supposed to feel after Oleg told me that he didn’t mean what he said.

I so desperately want to believe him—but I am too scared. I am scared of how much it hurt before—and what if he’s just manipulating me? Then I let my guard down and when I find out again that it’s not real, I will be even more hurt.

Sighing, I stare down at my study notes. I have been sitting at the desk for an hour and I haven’t even managed to start today’s sessions.

I wish I had my study friends. People like Jenna, Matthew and Blake. It’s so hard doing this alone. I never planned to do it this way.

And now it’s not only the stress of studying—it’s Oleg, too.

My mind is a frayed mess. My heart is all knotted and twisted and fearful.

Maybe I need to take a break today and just spend some time outside in the garden. Get some fresh air—clear my head and hopefully figure out what to do about all of this.

I push my notebook away, along with my textbook and my pen.

Heading downstairs, I go to sit in the garden for a little when I walk straight into Oleg as he comes out of his bedroom.

“Oh,” I say, embarrassed. I wasn’t ready to see him yet. I still have so much I need to think about.

“Raisa,” he says, reaching out and grabbing my shoulders as we collide.

“Sorry,” I mutter, stepping away.

He sighs softly. I steal a glance at his face and notice how tired he looks. My heart aches to see him like this. But—it shouldn’t—he is the one who hurt me.

He shifts his weight and runs his hand through his hair. “Listen, I was headed out to the warehouses this morning. Do you want to join me?”

My first instinct is to decline the invite—but then I pause and realize that apart from the fact that I wanted to get out of the house for a bit and clear my mind—the idea of him inviting me to see his warehouse is pretty big. It shows trust. I will be able to see a lot of what he does and how he operates.

Things he probably wouldn’t really want my brothers knowing—but he is willing to risk showing me.

“Sure. I’ll come along for the ride,” I say.

“Super. We can leave now if you are ready?”

I nod.

The drive to the warehouse is tense. Being this close in an enclosed space with Oleg is difficult. I don’t know what to say. I am not the type of person who can have a fake conversation when there is something massive going on between us.

So, I stare out of the window and watch the world go by. It’s a lot better than sitting at my desk staring blankly at the small textbook font, anyway.

Oleg must sense my tension because he doesn’t try to speak to me either.

We just drive in silence while I sit her,e wishing that we had never drifted apart in the first place.

Outside the warehouse, Oleg opens my door for me. I climb out and admire the size of the building. It’s double the standard size, taking up a massive stretch of land.

“This is one of several that I manage,” he says, placing his hand on my lower back and leading me towards the entrance.

His touch sends shivers down my spine, but I do my best to ignore it.

“This place is massive,” I say, more to myself than Oleg.

“It is a really impressive space. Over here is where we have the products arriving, and on the far side there is where they get packaged for distribution. We specialize in this specific product. We are the only people on this continent who sell this product at this quality. So, when people come in and start offering the same product at a lower price but also a lower quality—the buyers assume it is our product and that effects our relationships with customers.”

“But can’t people just sell the same product at the same quality?”

“No. We have the best chemist on the planet. No one can match our formula. Your brothers tried and they tried to sell it to our clients, too. We had a number of very pissed-off people blaming us—“ he sighs.

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