Page 19 of The Russian Pakhan's Forced Bride
Still, the space shared between us is quiet. It’s partly nice, but mostly chipping away at my patience.
Victoria still hasn’t said much of anything to me since the clothes were brought in, and that nagging feeling in me persists, wanting to dispel that quiet.
While across from her, I note how the light settles over her hair, catching those blonde highlights and making them shimmer. She’s bare-faced. Raw and completely real.
Even if her features are youthful, there’s something behind her eyes, like a type of exhaustion one can’t shake. One born from some sort of trauma.
I’ve come across enough people in this business to be able to pick out that look. Many who have turned to my line of work did so out of desperation due to their circumstances.
And while I still don’t believe Victoria knows anything more than she let on before, I have the feeling she has seen her fair share of darkness regardless.
Still, through her silence, that anger remains. It may be quiet, but it’s present.
I want to tell her to look at me…to let me look into her eyes, if even for a moment. But I don’t. And she doesn’t lift her gaze.
The buzz of the cell in my pocket stirs me from my thoughts, yet I leave it and try to focus on the meal. Then it goes off again. And again.
Relenting, I sigh and slide it out before glancing down and quickly scanning the message on screen from Sergey.
Another Nikolaev problem at the docks… Ivan covered it, but we lost a few…Alerting their families now.
My eye twitches at the text, and it takes far too much power to keep that irritation in.
Of course…leave it to Maxim to continue his shit while I’m trying to figure out my own.
I don’t need it right now. Not while I’m trying to connect with the woman I forced into marriage with me.
Tucking my phone away again, I glance over to find Victoria watching me, seemingly studying every shift in my expression.
After a moment, I murmur, “You’re not eating.”
She waits before returning in a slightly clipped tone, “I’m not hungry.”
“Surely that’s not true…the housekeeper said you’ve been ignoring your meals lately.”
“I’ve been confined to a room.”
My jaw clenches, and I force myself to relax it. “You’re not in there now.”
To my surprise, Victoria holds my gaze and allows more of her displeasure to come through. “No. But I’m still being locked down in this place anyway. But that’s completely different.”
That sardonic tone is riddled with sharp edges, and I know I should shut it down, but I let it linger instead.
It’s tempting to reprimand her, but that doesn’t feel like the right move.
“You’re safe here, even if you don’t think so.”
Her eyes narrow slightly, and she shakes her head, not saying anything else.
Through her disbelief, I put my utensils down and look at her directly, imagining there isn’t anything on the table between us.
“I mean it...nobody is going to hurt you under my roof.”
“Nobody? Not even you?” She counters, allowing more of those claws to come out.
While it irritates me, I can’t help but find this side of her fascinating anyway.
Keeping my eyes on her, I try to gauge her every angle, anticipating what she might say next. “I haven’t hurt you.”
