Page 66 of Auctioned to the Russian Pakhan
“And if you’re wrong?”
“Then at least we tried.” Her eyes softened. “I can’t sit on the sidelines while you risk everything for my family and our future. I won’t do it.”
He wanted to argue, forbid her from going, and lock her in their bedroom until this whole mess was resolved. But the set of her jaw told him she’d find a way to that restaurant with or without him.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “But if this goes sideways, you get behind me and you stay there. No arguments.”
“No arguments,” she agreed, though the glint in her eyes suggested she was already planning to do exactly the opposite if the situation called for it.
The restaurant was dimly lit and relatively empty when they arrived, the kind of place where conversations could be held without worrying about eavesdroppers. Matvei’s hand remained firmly on Irina’s lower back as they were led to a corner table, his eyes scanning the room for potential threats.
Viktor was already there, seated with his back to the wall and a clear view of all entrances. Smart. Matvei would have done the same thing. The man’s dark hair was slightly disheveled, as if he’d been running his hands through it, and his pale blue eyes were cold as arctic ice when they landed on Matvei.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve showing up here,” Viktor said without preamble as they approached the table.
Irina slid into the seat across from her brother before Matvei could pull out her chair. “Hello to you, too, Viktor.”
“Don’t.” Viktor’s attention remained fixed on Matvei. “Don’t act like this is some happy family reunion. This bastard bought you at an auction like you were cattle.”
Heat flared in Matvei’s chest, his pride stinging at the accusation even though it was technically true. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Bullshit. You always have a choice.” Viktor leaned forward, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “You chose to participate in that sick fucking market. You chose to treat my sister like property. You chose to marry her while planning to destroy our family.”
Every word hit like a physical blow, and Matvei felt his temper rising. His hands clenched into fists on the table. “You think I’m proud of what I did? You think I don’t regret every second of how this started?”
“I think you’re exactly the kind of predator who preys on innocent women and calls it business.”
That was it. Pride roared through him, demanding he defend himself, demanding he put this arrogant Nikolai in his place. He started to rise from his chair, ready to walk away from this disaster before it got worse.
“Stop it. Both of you.”
Irina’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. Both men turned to look at her, and Matvei was struck by the authority in her tone, the way she commanded the space despite being the smallest person at the table.
“Viktor, sit down and shut up for five minutes. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her gaze shifted to Matvei, and there was something fierce and protective in her expression that made his chest tight. “And you sit down too. We came here to fix things, not to get into a pissing contest.”
“Irina, you don’t understand what this man has done to you,” Viktor said, his voice gentler but still edged with anger.
“I understand perfectly.” She turned back to her brother, and Matvei found himself leaning forward, desperate to hear what she would say. “He bought me at an auction, yes. But do you know what he did after that? He married me to protect me from worse fates. He gave me a choice about consummating the marriage instead of just taking what he’d paid for. He brought me into his business because he recognized I had skills and intelligence worth utilizing.”
Viktor’s expression was skeptical. “He was using you to get to us.”
“Maybe that’s how it started,” Irina agreed. “But that’s not how it continued. He defended me to his own family when they questioned his choice. He taught me self-defense because he wanted me to be able to protect myself. He listened to my ideas and implemented them in his operations because he valued my input.”
Matvei stared at her, amazed by the passionate defense, by the way she was painting him as something far better than he’d ever seen himself.
“When I was sick,” she continued, “he took care of me himself instead of leaving it to his staff. When I needed space, he gave it to me even though it was killing him. When I told him I was pregnant, his first reaction wasn’t concern about how it would affect his plans or his business. It was joy.”
“Pregnant?” Viktor’s voice was strangled.
“And when I told him I loved him,” Irina pressed on, ignoring her brother’s shock, “he didn’t use it against me or see it as another tool for manipulation. He told me he loved me back, and I believed him because everything he’d done up to that point proved it was true.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Viktor stared at his sister as if he’d never seen her before, and Matvei felt something profound shifting in his chest. The way she’d defended him, the conviction in her voice, the absolute faith she had in him despite everything... it was humbling and terrifying and beautiful all at once.
“You’re pregnant,” Viktor repeated, as if he couldn’t quite process the information.
“Yes. And the father is a good man who’s been twisted into knots trying to figure out how to protect me and our baby while still doing right by both our families.” Irina’s hand found Matvei’s across the table, her fingers threading through his. “So maybe instead of throwing around accusations and insults, you could listen to what we came here to tell you.”
Viktor looked between them for a long moment, then exhaled heavily. “Alright. I’m listening.”
