Page 44 of Beautiful Deception

I feel myself falling to the ground.

Chapter Seven

Inessa

Viktorcatchesme.

I gasp and grip his arms. They feel so nice around me, which is a thought I should not be having.

“Inessa?” His eyes search my face. There’s worry in them. It warms my heart that he cares enough about me to be worried.

But it also hits me with guilt since I’m flat out lying to him about who I really am.

“Sorry,” I whisper. “Just… the blood. I got woozy.”

“Here. Let’s clean that up. Bandage it.”

Natasha’s eye roll is the biggest one yet. “She’s fine, Viktor.”

“Clearly she’s not fine. She almost passed out.” Then Viktor does something that surprises me to my core: he lifts me into his arms.

“She can walk.”

Viktor ignores Natasha and carries me into the bathroom and sets me on the toilet lid. “You’re bleeding all over the place.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m sure you didn’t mean to get cut.” He grabs a first aid kit from under the sink. Using an alcohol swab, he daps it against my skin, making me wince. My leg jerks back. “Careful. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“I can do this myself.”

“I know.” He doesn’t give me any other response. I try to keep the smile off my face but it’s impossible. Viktor gives me a curious look. “You rarely smile.”

“I’m always working.”

“Still. It’s nice to see you smile. You have a beautiful one.”

“You rarely smile yourself.”

His head is bent over my leg as he bandages it so I can’t make out his expression. “I don’t have much to smile about.”

“That’s sad.”

“I guess it is.” He doesn’t look at me as he puts the first aid kit away. “There. The cut wasn’t deep and there was no glass in your skin. You got lucky.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, we should return to Natasha. There’s something I need to ask you both.”

My heart begins to pound as I follow him back to Natasha. She’s still by the broken plates, trying to pick up the pieces. I’m shocked, actually, that she would do that after she broke them in the first place.

“Can someone explain how these ended up broken?” Viktor demands.

“She just threw them right onto the ground,” Natasha says before I can speak. “It was shocking, Viktor. I’m not sure how you can even keep her as a maid.”

“Why would Inessa purposely drop expensive fine china onto the ground when she knows it’s valuable?”

Natasha shrugs. “You have to ask her.”

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