Page 63 of Bound to the Bratva
I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. “You can’t be angry at me for the fact you were passed up. Obviously you had something the Volkolv family didn’t want.”
Natalya steps forward, her hands balled into fists. “You stupid fucking bitch,” the woman snaps. “You’re going to wish you never said that.”
I stand, my composure cold as stone. “No, I’m not. If anyone’s going to regret something, it’ll be you. You never should have come here.”
“I’m not going to let you get away with this.” Natalya says, her voice laced with determination.
She pulls a knife out from her pocket.
I feel a chill run down my spine as I realize what she’s prepared to do—kill me. My mind races trying to figure out why she would be so determined to do this.I mean, I get it to a point, but she’s really this angry about not marrying Maxim?
Still, I’m not going to act afraid. “Don’t you think it’s pretty sad that you’re going this far because you weren’t chosen?”
The woman's lips curl into a smirk. “No, it just means I need to take out any obstacle in my way. Once you’re gone, I’ll get what I was supposed to in the first place.”
My heart drops into the pit of my stomach. “No, you won’t. Even if I were dead, Maxim would never marry you. He’d kill you for hurting me.”
“Oh sweetheart, he’d never know it was me.” She circles around my desk, her fingers trailing along the surface. “You see, Aria, I’m very good at manipulation tactics, and Maxim will eat from the palm of my hand.”
I can’t help but laugh. She really is delusional. “No, he won’t. He knows you’re the one who tried to have me killed on our wedding day. Maxim isn’t some foolish man you can manipulate. He’s intelligent, witty, and knows the way people like you work.”
“Oh, but he would be putty in my hands.” she interrupts, a cruel smile spreading across her face. “You give him nothing, while my family could give him everything he’d ever need or want. After all, you’re a bastard. I don’t know what he sees in you, honestly.”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. “I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m his wife and you’re not, so.”
Natalya steps forward, her eyes narrowed. “Look at you, getting all spunky. You have a lot of nerve for someone who is about to die.”
I can feel the tension in the room, the air thick with the threat of violence. I know I need to tread carefully, but I’m not backing down. “I’m not afraid of you, Natalya. Now, get the fuck out of my office. If you actually came here to kill me, you would’ve done it by now.”
Her eyes flash with anger, and for a moment, I think she’s going to lash out. But then, she takes a step back, a twisted smile playing on her lips. “Oh, you think you know me so well.”
Natalya lunges at me, her teeth bared like a wild animal. I instinctively dodge to the side, my heart pounding in my chest.
This is it. This is the moment I need to fight harder than I’ve fought for anything my whole life.
She can try to kill me, but I’m not going to let her succeed. Fuck that.
I grab the award on my desk, a heavy glass trophy, and swing it toward her head.
The impact is jarring, the trophy connecting with a sickening crack. Natalya staggers, dazed, but she doesn’t go down. She recovers quickly, her eyes wild with rage.
“You dumb fucking bitch!” she snarls, and lunges at me again. We grapple, knocking over chairs and papers as we fight. I bring the trophy up again, aiming for her temple.
This time, the blow lands squarely, and Natalya crumples to the ground, motionless. I stand there, heart hammering in my chest, adrenaline coursing through me. I can’t believe I just did that, but I had to. I didn’t have a choice. It was either me or her, and I chose to be the victor.
My office door slams open, and Andrei rushes in, his face a mask of concern. “Aria! What the hell happened? I go downstairs to grab some food and this shit. Fuck!”
I turn to him, my voice shaking. “Natalya... she came in here talking a whole bunch of nonsense and then attacked me. She kept saying she was going to kill me, take what should’ve been sure.”
Andrei takes in the scene, his expression unreadable as he shuts the door and locks it. “Maxim needs to know about this. Now.”
I swallow hard and grab my phone, calling my husband. By the fourth ring he’s answering. “Everything okay?”
God, how the fuck do I answer that? “It is now. Natalya stormed into my office, Maxim.”
He’s silent on the other end for a few moment’s before his concerned tone filters through. “Are you okay?”
I look at Natalya’s lifeless body. “Yeah, I am. I told Andrei the same thing I’m telling you—she came in here, started talking a whole bunch of bullshit about how I took what was hers, how she was getting it back, how she was going to kill me, and then it escalated.”
