Page 32 of Sweet Obsession
Not like this.
I found Yuri outside, pacing near the gardens, smoking furiously.
He turned when he saw me, anger etched into every line of his face.
“I didn’t know,” he said immediately. “I swear, Luna, I didn’t know.”
I wanted to believe him. I needed to.
“They’re shipping me off like fucking cargo,” I hissed, voice cracking. “To Russia. Today.”
He cursed under his breath.
“We can fix this,” he said, stepping closer, lowering his voice. “I’ll help you get out. Tonight.”
Doubt and relief crashed over me, sharp and desperate. I couldn’t let myself hope. Not again. But...
I looked at him. He was still the devil I knew.
I should hate him. He drugged me, forced me into this marriage, humiliated me. But at least he wasn’t a complete stranger.
Misha Petrov? I didn’t know him. I didn’t trust him. And after everything I had seen, the way this world worked... the unknown was more terrifying than the devil standing right in front of me.
I could feel the weight of Gabriela’s trust on my shoulders. She was fragile, like glass in a storm, and I couldn’t leave her behind. If I ran, what would happen to her? Papa had already threatened her before. It was only a matter of time before she became a target too.
“I can’t leave her,” I whispered, my voice shaking with the enormity of it. “She’s all I have left.”
His jaw tightened.
“She’s not part of this,” he said. “This is about you.”
“If I leave, they’ll force her into it instead,” I said fiercely. “I won’t let that happen.”
Yuri hesitated. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes.
But he nodded. “Fine. Both of you. We’ll find a way.”
I exhaled, trembling.
His eyes held the sincerity of someone who wanted to help, but was that enough?
But staying? Marrying Misha Petrov? Being taken like a slave to some no-man’s land?
That wasn’t survival.
That would be a slow death.
I packed fast. Only the essentials. A few changes of clothes. Money I had stashed away.
A knife I kept hidden beneath my mattress.
Gabriela watched me from the doorway, wide-eyed.
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“Away,” I said, heart twisting. “Somewhere safe.”
Her hands shook as she clutched the worn teddy bear she never admitted she still slept with.
