Page 57 of His Forced Bride
"She's not available."
"Then you leave me no choice. I'll be filing papers with the court tomorrow morning. Annulment proceedings based on coercion, and a legal challenge to the business contracts signed under duress."
The line goes dead, and Inessa growls and stomps her foot.
"She's my mother!" she hisses, and I slide my phone back into my pocket as I back away from her.
"And you're my wife." The phone receiver dangles from the wire still clutched in my hand.
"And you're staying here. I'll handle the warehouse. I just thought you should know."
I walk out, but the second I shut the door, I hear something explode against the wall behind me.
She fancies throwing things.
Well, let her throw a tantrum.
Maybe next time, I won't even inform her of the threat.
She has no idea what I'm saving her from.
11
INESSA
I'm mixing charcoal with fixative when a knock at the door startles me.
The art room door opens before I can even turn, and Kirill steps inside.
His usual composed expression wavers when he sees me hunched over the easel, my hands stained black from the drawing.
It's how I cope, getting lost in the art, and now I'm being interrupted.
I'm not fond of interruptions.
"What?" I don't look up from the sketch—a design for a winter coat that will never be made, for a collection that may never exist.
Maybe it's my inner self trying to tell the world how cold this place seems.
"There's been another incident, Mrs. Gravitch."
The charcoal stick crumbles between my fingers as he says that name.
It still infuriates me that they call me that.
It's not my name, and I won't accept it.
"Another incident?" I ask, dropping the broken pieces and turning to face him.
"Your second warehouse. The Nevsky location." He shifts his weight, seeming uncomfortable with delivering bad news.
Though I know the Gravitch men. They don't shy away from horrible things.
"Fire started around three this morning, and it was a total loss."
The easel tilts as I push back from it, sending the drawing pad sliding to the floor.
"What about the people? The employees?" My first thought isn't my stock or my business, but the men and women who work tirelessly for me to build our dream.
