Page 73 of Dangerous Beginnings

“I could leave you here,” I say, my voice barely more than a whisper, testing the boundaries of this strange power he’s given me.

Aslanov leans back, his wrists bound, but there’s no fear in his eyes. Instead, a calm, unsettling confidence lingers in his gaze. He watches me intently, as though reading every thought that crosses my mind. His lips curve into a faint smile, his voice a low, velvety threat.

“The real question is…will you?” His eyes flicker with something dark, challenging. “You have the power, Isabella. You could end this—right here, right now.”

“Leave me here. Walk out that door. Run as far as you can.” He tilts his head, his eyes darkening with a sinister gleam.

He lets the words hang in the air, his smile curving into something more dangerous. It’s my silence that gives him another opening to get under my skin. “You feel it, don’t you? That pull inside you, the part of you that’s already given in. You don’t want freedom—you wantthis.” His eyes bore into mine, unrelenting. “Because leaving means walking away from the chaos, from the fire I ignite in you. And we both know…you’re craving it.”

The confidence in his words stings, and I bite back a retort, knowing deep down he’s right. Despite everything, despite the horror of what he’s done, I can’t leave him. I can’t run away. He knows it. And he knows that by giving me the key, he’s still the one in control.

“I hate you,” I whisper, the words escaping before I can stop them. But I’m mostly hating myself, for feeling this, for wantinghim.

Aslanov

The cool metal digs into my wrists, causing rather awful memories to fill me from within. But if it reassures her, it’s worth it.

“Can the man with the big ego now explain?”

Her cheeks light up with red, blood gushing towards them as she finally clicks her teeth shut and nods.

“After ourinteraction,I took time apart from you to recollect my thoughts. I went away on a mission to establish a deal. While I was busy doing so, I noticed men around me seemed to have gained interest in the so-calledsoft spotI have for you.” Her lashes flutter at my statement. “After a couple of days, I noticed most men in my organization seemed to know, although nobody spoke about it. However, that was not the problem, the problem was that other men also heard the rumors. Other criminals, rivals.” I try to hide my anger while I continue, “After another couple of meetings andinteractionsI concluded that there could not exist an ‘us’.”Isabella is fidgeting with her fingers as she’s looking anywhere but at me. Her eyes are glossy and she’s nervous. “At least not to the public eye.” She stills.

“I made up a plan to sweep away all rumors. Nobody knew about the plan except me. I figured that I wouldn’t let you in on it for it to come across more real, intense.” I gaze at her, trying to stay gentle with her. Yet her dismissive gaze irritates me.

“I had the intention of protecting you, even if that would cause other damage to your feelings. Feelings are invalid when it comes to this world, to these men. I intended he would bluff, and he did.”

‘“I would have never sold you like a fuckingtoy.’“

She twitches her lip. A lone tear falls from her right eye

“I never intended to hurt you. I would never sell you, Isabella.I just needed a believable story for them to lose attention.”

Isabella

Tears slip silently down my cheeks, trailing hot lines along my face that I can’t seem to stop. I know he’s watching me, I can feel the weight of his gaze, intense and unyielding. It’s as if he’s trying to reach inside me, to find some part of me that still belongs to him. But does it?

“It was an act,” he says, his voice carrying that unmistakable authority that makes it hard to look away. “The whole thing.”

I flinch at his words, the memory of everything that’s happened between us crashing over me like a wave. “Not contacting you,” he continues, his tone measured, “contributed to the image of it being real. It had to look real. It’s how I can best keep you out of my business, out of danger.”

His voice carries a sincerity that feels like it should soothe me, like it should ease the pain and confusion that’s been tearing me apart. But it doesn’t. His words, as much as I want to believe them, are too little, too late. The trust I had in him is shattered, lying in pieces at my feet, impossible to put back together.

I can’t help but want to believe him, to cling to the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a reason behind all the pain. But it’s harder than I ever imagined it would be. He’s broken something inside me that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fix.

“I don’t trust you,” I admit, my voice trembling with the weight of that truth. It’s not just anger or betrayal that I feel—there’s a deep, aching sadness too. “You completely shattered me, Aslanov. Your world… it’s changed me. I don’t know who I am anymore, but I know I’ll always be afraid of you.”

He doesn’t respond right away, and we just stare at each other, the silence between us heavy with everything that’s gone unsaid. His presence, even now, chained and supposedly vulnerable, still radiates that dominance, that power that he wields soeffortlessly. He doesn’t need to say anything to control the situation, to make me feel like the weaker one.

Finally, I bury my face in my hands, my fingers tangling in my hair as if I can somehow pull myself together, pull myself out of this nightmare. But there’s no escape from what he’s done to me, what he’s made me feel. The confusion, the fear—it’s all too much. I don’t know how to think, or how to process any of this.

The silence stretches on, his Russian accent still echoing in my mind, a reminder of the world he’s dragged me into, the world that’s consumed me.

“I don’t believe you,” I say finally, my voice raw, stripped of all the defenses I’ve tried so hard to build. It’s not just a statement, it’s a plea, a desperate cry for something real, something that isn’t just another lie or manipulation.

Aslanov

I feel my anger rising, a hot surge of frustration coursing through my veins. “Do you have any idea what I’ve done for you?” I demand, my voice rising with each word. “Do you know the risks I’ve taken; the sacrifices I’ve made to keep you safe? My reputation at last.”

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