Page 63 of Blood Oath Christmas
Ivy nods. “Konstantin is right. I'm safe now."
"Safe?" Frank's voice rises again. "With him? Ivy, look around you! He just broke down your mother's door! He attacked me for knocking! This isn't safety—this is insanity!"
Before I can respond, Trisha's voice cuts through the argument like a blade.
"Enough."
We all turn to look at her. She's standing in the living room doorway, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her face is pale, but there's something in her dark green eyes that I recognize—the same steel that Ivy has, the same refusal to back down when pushed too far.
"All of you," she continues, her voice shaking with emotion. "I want all of you out of my house. Now."
"Mom—” Ivy starts, but Trisha holds up a hand.
"No, Ivy. I've heard enough." She looks directly at me, and I see something in her expression that makes my chest tighten. Fear. Not just of me, but of what I represent. "I won't have this in my home. I won't have violence and threats and… and whatever this is."
She gestures at the broken door, at Viktor standing like a silent sentinel, at me with my barely controlled rage.
"Mrs.—” I begin, but she cuts me off.
"Don't." Her voice is sharp, final. "I know what you are, Mr. Mikhailov. I've always known, even when Andrei tried to hide it from me. I know what that world cost me, what it cost Ivy. And I won't let it destroy what's left of my life."
The mention of Andrei—Ivy's father—sends a chill through me. There's something in Trisha's voice, a pain that goes deeper than just tonight's chaos.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Ivy's voice is small, confused.
Trisha's eyes fill with tears, but her voice remains steady. "As long as you're married to him, Ivy, you're not welcome in this house. I'll have no Mafia in my life. Never again."
The words hit the room like a physical blow. Ivy staggers backward as if she's been slapped, her face going white with shock.
"You don't mean that," Ivy whispers.
"I do." Trisha's voice breaks slightly, but she doesn't back down. "I lost your father to that world. I won't lose you too."
The silence that follows is deafening. Frank looks between us all with growing horror, finally understanding that he's stumbled into something far bigger and more dangerous than a simple love triangle. Viktor remains motionless, but I can feel his readiness to act if needed.
And Ivy… Ivy looks like her world is crumbling around her.
"Get out," Trisha says again, her voice barely above a whisper. "All of you. Get out of my house."
33
IVY
The silk dress Anya laid out for me this morning hangs on the closet door like a beautiful prison uniform. Deep emerald green, it's stunning—the kind of dress I would have admired in a store window but never imagined wearing. Now it feels like another costume I'm expected to put on for Konstantin's world.
I've been avoiding him for three days now, ever since the disaster at my mother's house. Every time I think about Frank's hurt expression, about my mother's horrified face, my stomach churns with a mixture of anger and something else I don't want to name.
A soft knock interrupts my brooding. "Come in," I call, expecting Anya with her gentle smile and motherly concern.
Instead, Konstantin fills the doorway, looking devastatingly handsome in a black suit that probably costs more than I used to make in six months. His green eyes find mine immediately, and I see the familiar flash of heat there before his expression becomes carefully neutral.
"You're not dressed." His voice is calm, but I catch the edge underneath.
"I'm not going." I cross my arms, very aware that I'm wearing nothing but a silk robe that barely reaches mid-thigh. The way his gaze drops briefly to my legs before snapping back to my face makes my skin flush with unwanted warmth.
"Yes, you are." He steps into the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click that sounds ominous. "This isn't a request, Ivy."
"Everything with you is a command, isn't it?" The words come out sharper than I intended. "Marry me. Attend this party. Smile and pretend you belong. Well, I don't belong, Konstantin. Your people look at me like I'm some exotic pet you've brought home."
