Page 1 of The Payment

Chapter One

Tatiana

The luxurious estateof Gregor Polov, Lakeshore Drive NW, Berkeley Lake, Georgia...

“The debt must be paid.And you are the currency.”

Tatiana’s world came crashing down where she stood frozen with her heart drumming against her ribs.Jarek’s cruel words echoed through the lavish estate.The crystal chandeliers that had seemed so magical yesterday now cast harsh shadows across the marble floors.

Her mind refused to process the words at first, clinging desperately to the remnants of her love fantasy, but reality pummeled through her defenses as she watched Jarek’s transformation.The gentle smile she had fallen for twisted into a foreign predator’s smirk that must have been lurking beneath the surface all along.

She caught sight of her grandparents’ reactions in her peripheral vision.Elizabeth’s face was drained of all color as she pressed a perfectly manicured hand against her throat.Gregor’s complexion was an alarming shade of purple.His legendary control was fracturing further with every word Jarek spoke.

All the love songs told you that love was such a beautiful song...Fuck that.Love is nothing other than a cruel taskmaster.One who had proven over and over again never to open your heart.She should have listened.

Tatiana’s mind spiraled through fragments of memories with Jarek as she recalled the hushed phone calls that were silenced when she entered the room.How her questions about his past evaporated into vague non-answers and that strange, haunting chill that would settle over his face when he thought she wasn’t watching.Before, there had always been a flicker, a moment whenherJarek would return to her with warm eyes and gentle hands.

Not now.Not a single muscle in his face betrayed any regret for what he was doing to her.

The truth crashed through her like ice water.Her knees wobbled, and she had to brace herself against the wall.He didn’t love her...he never had.

God, it hurts so much!The realization burned in her chest as she struggled to breathe.She had been nothing but a chess piece he had strategically moved across the board of his obsession with revenge.All the warning signs flashed before her like a movie reel.She had been too wrapped up in her romantic delusions to believe it had all been a lie.

That was why those three words had never crossed his lips.The pain clawed viciously at her insides.

“It’s going to be so much fun,” he taunted her grandfather in a voice that was honey-coated poison, “watching you hate your own grandchild because the man who fathered him brought you to your knees.”

Each word was a dagger, shredding what remained of her heart.Tatiana’s throat tightened as she stared at this stranger wearing the skin of the man she had fallen in love with.The warm gray eyes she had once lost herself in were now gray and lifeless, with arctic emptiness.His handsome face, which she had traced with fingertips in the dark, was now twisted with vindictive pleasure as he watched her grandfather struggle to maintain composure.

Tatiana finally found her voice.The menacing sneer emerged from the bleeding depths of her soul.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that too much.”The steel was as sharp as a razor’s blade as fury replaced shock.“There will be no child, Jarek Farrel.Ever.If you believe Gregor Polov owes you one...then fuck him and have him bear you the brat you so badly want because it sure as fucking hell won’t be me, you self-righteous piece of shit!”

Jarek’s mocking amusement vanished to be replaced by a dangerous stillness.His jaw clenched, and a muscle ticked dangerously beneath the surface as his eyes narrowed on Tatiana.The transformation from a calculated tormentor to the Dark One was instantaneous.For the first time, Tatiana stood face-to-face with a man who gave new meaning to the words lethal and cruel.

He covered the distance between them in two fluid strides to tower over her.With hard fingers gripping her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze.The touch that had once brought her comfort now made her skin crawl, but she refused to let it show.Let him believe she feared him.She, too, could play a role.

“Such fire,” he drawled, but the playfulness was gone from his voice.“You seem to be under the impression you have a choice in this matter,princess.”His thumb traced her lower lip in a mockery of tenderness.“Since you need a reminder, let me be clear...you signed the marriage contract.You’re my wife now.Your body, your future, all of it now belongs to me.”

The possessive gleam in his eyes sent a chill down Tatiana’s spine.This was the real Jarek Farrel—not the gentle lover who had courted her or the powerful Dom who had been so patient and caring, but a man carved from violence and vengeance.She sensed the warning in the pressure of his fingers as his grip tightened fractionally.

“And trust me, my dear wife,” his voice dropped to a whisper that was only meant for her ears, “you will give me exactly what I want.Fighting me will only make this more...interesting.”

“It seems all the men in my life believe they have power over me...over my body, my feelings, and decisions I make.”Her gaze crystallized and turned icy and brittle.“Well, newsflash, you demented pig, you fucking don’t.This isn’t the medieval era.I may have signed thesupposedmarriage contract, but you broke the very thread upon which it was woven.You’re the one who didn’t honor the contract.”Wearing triumph like a blade, she took deliberate steps to carve out distance between them.

“Which I now know you never intended to, anyway.In case you don’t know how contracts work...they’re not one-sided, and believe me, I scrutinized ours from A to Z.So, you don’t have a legal leg to stand on or to force me to do anything.I can turn around and walk away right now, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do to stop me.I don’t have to GIVE you shit, Jarek Farrel!”

“You made a mistake showing your hand this early, Farrel,” Gregor interjected forcefully.His face contorted as the mask of civility cracked to reveal the fury beneath.“We’ll have the marriage annulled.”

Tatiana’s breath caught as a memory sliced through her defenses.The marriage contract—so many pages of legal terminology she had scrutinized diligently.Yes, the contract was aimed at protecting both parties, but one specific clause had made her pause, and it now burned in her mind with perfect clarity.They had been in her office that day, and she still remembered the sunlight streaming through the windows.Her finger had trailed over the words as she read them aloud.

Five years.A simple timeline with devastating consequences.Any divorce within that period would strip the initiating party of everything.All property, accounts, holdings, and every single asset would be transferred to the other spouse.The scene was vivid in her mind as her laughter at the severity of it now rang hollow in her mind.

“This seems extreme,” she’d said as she addressed him with complete confidence that he would agree.

His response at the time hit her now with new meaning.He hadn’t smiled back, nor did his expression soften the harshness of his words that echoed through her mind.

“I have no intention of breaking this contract, Tatiana.The question is, do you?”

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