Page 60 of Beautiful Cruelty

"What if I'm just fooling myself? What if all of this is just delaying the inevitable day when Idotake all choices from her?”

“Is that what you’re afraid of, Vadim Petrovich?" Lenka's question cuts straight through my defenses. “That you’ll forever walk in your father’s shadows?”

The question hangs between us like a loaded gun. I stare into my glass, watching the amber liquid swirl. My throat tightens.

“Shouldn’t I be?” I breathe life into the fear that's haunted me since I first took control of the bratva “This is my real inheritance. Not this house of pain, or this bratva, but his darkness." The crystal bites into my palm. "I don't deserve anything better. Least of all to be loved. To be trusted.”

"You think you don't deserve those things?”

"Do I? Look at what I've done already. I’ve forced Lacey into a marriage. I’m keeping her a prisoner behind these walls. I intend on using her for my plans. Is that the behavior of someone who deserves love and trust?”

"Everyone deserves love and trust, Vadim Petrovich." Lenka’s voice softens. "Especially the little boy who was ripped from his mother's arms to become heir to a monster."

"That boy died a long time ago."

"No." Lenka’s eyes drill into mine. "That boy is still here. He grew into a man who questions himself, who stops before crossing lines his father never hesitated to cross. A man who still remembers what it means to feel pain—his own and that of others. A man who knows right from wrong."

I stare at my empty glass, letting Lenka's words sink in.

"You underestimate her, Vadim Petrovich." Lenka's lips curve into a knowing smile. “But above all, you underestimate yourself.”

“Some things are not meant to be revealed.”

"What do you think will happen if you tell her?" Lenka's asks after a long moment of silence. “What are you afraid of?”

The question hangs in the air between us. Silence stretches as I wrestle with thoughts I've kept buried.

"If I tell her about what Pyotr did..." The words catch in my throat. "She'll understand exactly what kind of danger she's in by being here. By being with me."

"And?"

"And she'll see that there's no happy ending possible here." The truth claws its way out. "That everything beautiful within this house will inevitably be broken.”

"Is that what you're afraid of? That she'll run?"

“No.” The words scrape my throat. “I'm afraid that she'll stay. That she'll try to fix what's broken in me. And in doing so, it’ll inevitably destroy her, piece by piece"

The intensity of my response surprises even me and I stop myself, recognizing the dangerous territory my thoughts are entering.

The glass trembles in my hand. "I can't... I won't let that happen to her."

"You want to protect her." Lenka's voice carries no judgment, only understanding.

I nod, unable to voice the rest.

18

LACEY

I fidgetwith the altered neckline plunging down my midnight-blue dress as I wait for Vadim. I might have gotten carried away with the neckline, making it dip as low as it does. The hem too. It now feels almost scandalously high on my thighs.

The fabric whispers against my skin as I shift my weight against the crutches. My ankle throbs less today, but I'm not ready to test it yet.

Last night's dinner plays through my mind on repeat—that moment when Vadim's carefully constructed walls cracked just enough to let me glimpse of what lies beneath.

A pain that feels oddly familiar.

"Don't be stupid," I whisper to myself. "There's nothing here between the two of you.You'rejust a means to an end."

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