Page 9 of The Payment

Jarek turned to her with a stoic expression.“I didn’t even know of your existence when I arrived, but as soon as I did...I knew I had found the perfect payment terms since death was too good for Gregor.He had to suffer like I did.”His smile was Cheshire-like, and it cut through her with the precision he intended.“It’s nothing personal, Tatiana, but you being his granddaughter perfectly aligned with my end goal in unexpected ways.”

“So, in the end, you orchestrated every detail.Every meeting...even us meeting at The Pearl Icon.”

Jarek responded with a negligent shrug as the elevator doors opened to the executive floor.He showed no remorse for the course of action he had taken...nor for the hurt he had caused her.

Hate didn’t come close to describing what rushed through her at that moment.A cold fire burned in her chest as it spread outward until her fingertips tingled with it.Her throat tightened around words unsaid that tasted as bitter as unripe fruit.Behind her composed exterior, a storm raged—not just of anger, but a profound betrayal that cut to her very core.Ten years of calculation, of seeing her as nothing more than a chess piece to claim the debt her grandfather owed.

Each breath she took suddenly required effort, as though the very air between them had grown toxic.The worst part wasn’t the manipulation itself but how thoroughly he had executed it.Building her a beautiful prison with her own designs was all done while he viewed her as currency to be traded.

A wife with an expiration date.A vessel for his heir.Her dignity lay in tatters at her feet, invisible to all but her.

Wordlessly, Tatiana stepped out of the elevator.Her lips thinned as she noted how this floor also mirrored her Atlanta office layout but with grander dimensions and finer materials.

“Your office,” Jarek said as he gestured to the corner suite with panoramic views of the airport.

Tatiana walked inside.The space was already furnished according to her preferences—the exact desk she used in Atlanta, similar artwork, and even the executive leather chair was positioned at the precise angle she preferred.The thoughtfulness of it only deepened her resentment.Such attention to detail, such care in the setup—all part of a decade-long scheme.

“You’ve recreated everything perfectly,” she said as she ran her hand along the desk’s edge.“If I didn’t know better, I might almost believe you cared.”

“That would be a mistake, my dear wife.I loved Lisbet, and I’ll never share my heart with another...especially not you,” Jarek’s words clipped out through thin lips.“However, the arrangement between us—”

“The arrangement,” Tatiana cut him off as she turned to face him.“Let’s call it what it is.Manipulation and a forced marriage under the guise of a debt owed.”Her voice dropped two degrees colder.“This,”—she gestured around the office—“is just a gilded cage to keep me on a leash.”

Jarek’s expression hardened, but he kept himself in check with visible effort.“Yes, you’re paying his debt, but our marriage doesn’t have to be a boxing ring, Tatiana.It could be an opportunity for a new life for both of us.”

“How romantic...and an utter crock of shit,” she spat out.

Again, he offered that shrug she was coming to resent.

“But you’re wrong about these offices, this building,” he continued.“They’re not just about keeping you here.They’re about recognizing your value to this industry.Your vision and dedication have shaped TAP into a powerhouse, Tatiana.”

She turned to the window, pressing her palm against the cool glass.Below, airplanes taxied in, and others took off—all tiny models from this height.

“Yes, my vision aligned perfectly with your manipulation.”

“Five years, Tatiana.We have five years together by contract.Once it’s over and if you still want to, you can walk away.”

She cackled out a shrill laugh.“You believe there’s a chance I won’t?”

“Somehow, I don’t visualize you as the kind of woman who would walk away from her child.”The reminder only turned her anger to rage.

“I have five years,” Tatiana said in a quiet voice that was edged with steel.She turned from the window to face him and lifted her chin in defiance.“And believe me, mylovinghusband,”—the endearment twisted on her tongue like poison—“if you continue to insist on me giving you a child, I will make damn sure the baby is born on the day the contract expires.”

Her eyes, now as hard as sapphires, locked with his.Since her hands trembled slightly, she balled them into fists at her sides.

“Baby or not, I will walk away, make no mistake about that.”Each word fell like ice between them.“If you thought for one second that I would stay with a man who married me out of vengeance and forced a child from me as payment, you are sadly mistaken.”

Jarek’s jaw tightened.He took a step toward her, but she backed away, adamant to maintain the distance between them as if his very proximity burned her skin.

“The child would be ours.”His voice was strained.“Our blood.”

Tatiana’s laugh was a harsh sound that echoed against the glass walls.

“And you keep reminding me I’m a Polov, so my blood is tainted.You want to have my child...excuse me if I don’t buy into your vision of familial bliss.”She pressed her palm against her chest, where her heart hammered against her ribs.

“What you don’t know, you won’t love or miss,” she whispered as if each syllable was carved from the bedrock of her resolve.Her lips curved into a smile that never reached her eyes.“And I have no intention of even looking at that baby, let alone keeping it.”

She watched the impact of her words register on his face.His eyes widened, and there was an almost imperceptible flinch across his features.For the briefest moment, satisfaction flared within her chest.The architect of her captivity was finally confronted with the ruins of his perfect plan.

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