Page 62 of Beautiful Deception

She stops when she sees me. “You,” she practically growls.

I let out a small squeak. “Do you need to use the bathroom? I can go.” I try walking past her but she doesn’t let me.

“You’re a thorn in my side,” she hisses. “You’re trying to steal my chance with Viktor.”

“I’m not trying to steal anything.”

“Liar.” She shoves me against the counter. Pain reverberates down my back. “You want him for yourself. Viktor told me about your date today at the botanical gardens. You think you can swoop in and steal him from me?”

“Not at all. He’s yours. Not mine. I don’t want him.” The lies roll right off my lips but none of them feel right.

Natasha narrows her eyes. “I don’t believe you. You need to get fired.” She shoves me away from the counter and wrenches open the top drawer and digs around for a moment before finding a pair of scissors. “Perfect.”

“What are you going to do with those?”

“This.” She opens the scissors and places it against her arm and right before my eyes, slices her skin. She winces, so I know she has the ability to feel pain. Blood drips down her arm onto the pristine white tile floor.

She grabs my hands as I stand there in shock and forces me to grab the scissors.

Then she screams. It’s a bloodcurdling, haunting scream. The fact that she can do it on command makes it all the more frightening.

Viktor comes running right away and barges into the bathroom. “What the hell is going on in here?”

“She cut me,” Natasha whimpers.

“What?” Frantically, he looks between me and Natasha. “Are you hurt?” he asks me.

“I’m the one who’s been hurt!” Natasha thrusts her bleeding arm into Viktor’s face. “Look. Look at what she did to me.”

It’s then that Viktor seems to notice the cut on Natasha’s arm and the scissors in my hand. I immediately drop them to the floor. Now that the shock of what Natasha just did is wearing off, I can move again.

“She cut me!” Natasha wails.

Slowly, Viktor picks up the scissors. “I see that.”

“So, you believe me.”

“I see that you have a cut on your arm and that Inessa was holding the scissors. It does look like she cut you.” Viktor sets his intense eyes onto me. “I’m going to ask you this once, Inessa. Did you cut Natasha?”

Natasha’s glare tells me to stay silent. She’ll hurt me otherwise and that’s something I can’t risk. But if I say I cut her, then Viktor may fire me.

My life is more important than a job.

No words escape me.

“Inessa?” Viktor asks. “Did you cut her?”

“Don’t you believe me?” Natasha asks. “I’m hurt and she was holding the scissors. I need a bandage.”

“You’re right.” Viktor quickly gets the first aid kit out and helps bandage up Natasha’s arm. “That should stop the bleeding but you might need stitches.”

“Couldn’t you stitch it up for me?”

“I’m not a doctor. I can’t do it all for you, Natasha.”

She rips her arm away from him. “You have to believe me. I wouldn’t cut myself. That would be crazy.”

“True. That would be. But I just can’t believe that Inessa would cut you without provocation.”

---