Page 47 of His Grip

She wanted to speak—to apologize, to explain herself, but the words stuck in her throat, trapped behind the wall of his anger. She had shattered everything. He had trusted her, and she had lied to him.

Viktor, though, didn’t say a word. His hands, now clenched into fists at his sides, twitched with restrained violence. He was still fighting to tame himself, to not let the rage he was feeling spill over completely. But it was there—thick and heavy, every breath a struggle to stay composed.

Then, without warning, he moved. It was fast, swift, as if the last shred of control he had was being ripped away. He grabbed her by the wrist, rough enough to send a shiver of fear through her. His face was inches from hers, and his voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut through her like a blade.

“Do you understand what you’ve done?” His words were harsh, venomous, and his breath was warm against her skin. “You think you can just walk in here, confess your sins, and expect me to forgive you? That’s not how this works, Sofia.”

Sofia’s mouth went dry, her pulse quickening at the sharpness of his words. Her eyes searched his face, trying to find the remnants of the man she once knew beneath the storm ofanger and hurt. But there was nothing there. No softness. No warmth. Only a coldness that made her stomach churn.

She should’ve expected this. She’d known the moment the words left her mouth that this would be the reaction. But knowing it didn’t make it easier to bear.

Her breath hitched as he pulled her toward him with a force that left her gasping. “You lied to me,” he growled, the words heavy with accusation. “You kept this from me, and now you expect me to just forgive you?”

Sofia's stomach twisted painfully. The truth was out, but it didn’t feel like the relief she had hoped for. It felt like the end of something—something that she wasn’t sure she could salvage anymore.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she managed, her hands instinctively pressing against his chest, as if she could push away the storm brewing between them. “I thought... if I kept it hidden, it wouldn’t destroy us.”

“Get out.” His voice was low, so low that she thought he might not be speaking to her at all. But then his eyes darkened further, sending goosebumps racing up her arms. It wasn’t just fear this time; what she felt was something far more distinct, causing her to withdraw. Flinch, to be more accurate. “Get the hell out of here, Sofia.”

“Please—”

He shook his head. He wasn’t screaming at her like before, nor was he throwing things. He stood before her, rocking slightly, his hands hidden in the pockets of his trousers. His shoulders were rigid, as if he were bracing for something more, but his expression had fallen slack. He seemed on the verge of giving up, holding on by a thread. “You found out something as devastating as this and kept it from me under the pretense of protecting me. But you’re just a hypocrite. You sayyou want total honesty and inclusion between us, right? Well, congratulations, you just managed to ruin even that.”

She started to reach for him again, but he held up a finger. As quiet sobs escaped her, he continued, “If this were anyone else, I’d have done the unimaginable. But you’re you. Sofia. My wife. And that’s the problem, isn’t it? This… right here is the problem.”

“I can… I can make this work. Please give me another chance?—”

“I said get out!” This time, his voice erupted in a growl that reverberated across the room. He was angry—and rightly so. Even though she knew he would never physically hurt her, it didn’t stop her from feeling trapped in something irreversible.

So, she turned and walked away from him. She made her way to her room and crawled under the sheets, pressing her face against the pillows to scream. The sound was muffled, but that was the trick, in a way—releasing some of the pressure just to feel a little better.

She was not the one who’d killed his parents, but alone in her room she realized she might have twisted the knife deep in his heart. And that hurt, too.

CHAPTER 18

Viktor

Viktor stood at the window, his eyes scanning the sprawling city below, though his mind was miles away. The revelation about Konstantin’s betrayal gnawed at him relentlessly. He had spent his life calculating, building his empire with a cold precision. But now, it felt as if everything was slipping through his fingers. And Sofia—his once-trusted partner—was at the center of it all.

Her confession had left a wound, one he wasn’t sure could ever heal. Her father's treachery, the lies, the deception... It had shattered the fragile trust he’d allowed himself to place in her. She had been his ally, his friend, but now, she was nothing more than the daughter of the man who had ruined his family. Could he ever forgive her? Could he ever see her as anything but a reminder of his pain?

He clenched his fists as his thoughts strayed to her. A part of him wanted to scream at her, to rage against the betrayal. But another part... a part he refused to acknowledge, wanted to holdher close, to take her in his arms and pretend that none of it mattered.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He didn’t need to hear the sound to know who it was. Sofia. The one person who had the power to make him forget everything, even when he knew he shouldn’t.

“Come in,” he called out, cold and sharp.

The door creaked open, and there she was. Sofia. Her being filled the room, even though she walked lightly, cautiously, as if afraid of what awaited her. He didn’t turn to face her immediately, choosing instead to remain by the window, his back rigid. His thoughts were still in turmoil, but he couldn’t bring himself to push her away. Not yet.

“I need to talk to you,” Sofia said, laden with uncertainty.

He didn’t answer at first. What was there to say? The damage was done. The lies had been exposed. She was as much of a traitor as her father.

But she persisted, stepping closer until her shadow fell over him. “Viktor,” she whispered, trembling with emotion. “Please... I never wanted this. I never wanted to hurt you.”

He could feel the ache in her words, the guilt that weighed heavily on her. But it didn’t change anything. Nothing could undo what she had done. “Your father’s actions have consequences,” Viktor finally spoke. “You’re just as guilty. You kept this from me. You lied to me.”

Sofia flinched at the harshness in his tone. She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn’t let her.

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