Page 45 of The Russian's Kidnapped Bride
“Is your newbrideback in class?” Ivan asks, putting a teasing emphasis on that word.
Nodding, I send the text before slipping my phone away again. “As promised.”
“Do you think she’ll try to bolt?” Nikolai asks, looking a bit more skeptical.
Without needing to think about it, I shake my head. “No, not now. She’s too smart to toss her future away like that.”
They both cock their brows at me, but Ivan asks, “You think she’s coming around?”
I hum, not fighting my grin. “I know she is.”
Later, I watch as the city passes by through my tinted windows, and I don’t even notice at first that I’m not even listening to music.
Instead, I’ve been cataloging everything in my head.
Overall, I feel good, and I don't want to let go of that confidence. Lily is mostly staying in line and is unable to completely deny her pull to me. I can feel Maxim’s trail getting warmer, and the rage I’d otherwise be feeling towards the situation has been quieted by the memory of Lily’s touch. By the feel and taste of her, so fresh in my mind.
I can still feel the way she trembled for me, and I can see how perfect she looked while coming undone in my arms.
It’s a greedy thought, but I just want more. I need to feel her surrender regardless of what it takes.
And if I have to go through every last one of Maxim’s dogs to keep those moments in my future, then so be it.
Lily can deny it all she wants, but what’s between us is real, and I don’t plan on letting her forget it.
Chapter 15 - Lily
Moving through campus feels much different today, but I can’t deny that Mikhail has kept his word.
Still, being watched isn’t something I enjoy, especially not when it makes me look paranoid, given how I keep glancing over my shoulder.
I see him everywhere, regardless of trying to focus on my schedule and all the places I need to be.
He’s a looming figure standing across the street, a harmless man sitting on a bench pretending to scroll through his phone, and he’s the guy standing in line for coffee wearing a ball cap and sunglasses despite being inside.
No matter how quickly I move from my lectures and labs, and regardless of assuming I’ve managed to shake him off, he somehow appears out of thin air again.
At this point, I don’t know what’s more haunting—my security detail or the ring on my left hand.
It’s still foreign, and it doesn’t feel like any real vows are tied to it.
I can’t help but assume nothing will feel normal anymore. Not while I’m Mikhail’s wife by law.
Adjusting my back on my shoulder, I press forward and try to ignore both the guard following me and the knots in my stomach.
This is exactly what I begged Mikhail for. This is what I signed my freedom over for. To return to what’s left of my life, my classes, and my future, so long as he doesn’t screw that up.
The cost has been far more strenuous than I ever imagined, but it can’t be helped.
It’s either cooperate and feel normal, or defy him and be shut in from the world forever.
Even if it still doesn’t feel true, I’m someone’s wife now. I’m his wife.
But I’m also back, and that has to count for something.
Slipping into my last lecture, the hall is filling in quickly, but I secure a decent seat near the middle. From here, I feel like just another face in the crowd. Just another student. If I focus hard enough, I can even forget about the insane weekend I had.
I’m still Lily, even if my last name changed. I’m still chasing after the thing I’ve wanted for far too long.
