Page 113 of Fortress of the Heart

I’ll never even fucking like him.

He’s part of the reason I am trapped. And now I may have enlightened uncle Aleksi to this fact, I may have a slither of a chance of having him as my ally.

It may not be so, but I have to try. I have to make someone see sense.

Though I never wanted to be a sex slave and shipped away to never be seen again, I’d rather be dead than be Vlad’s whore.

He has no trouble treating women like shit and expecting them to love it. Yet, he acts like the dutiful husband-to-be in front of everyone else. It makes me so sick.

“Are you fucking deaf?” Aleksi roars when Dimitri and Maxim both grab onto his arms as he begins to struggle against them.

It’s a beautiful sight.

Seeing him ruffled.

I let him see how pleased I am, making him all the more furious.

“Katiya!”he bellows as he gets dragged off. “Say something!”

I keep my head held high as he disappears through the doors, my father’s face fuming.

He steps closer toward us. “That was uncalled for!”

“Was it?” Aleksi fires back.

I stick to his side even though the ice in this room feels glacial.

“She has you under her spell, I see.” He glares at me. “She always knew how to get under your skin, didn’t she, brother?”

I don’t see it coming because it all happens so quickly.

My uncle swings and punches my father in the face, fucking hard. His head snaps back as I gasp in shock, my hands flying to my mouth.

I stand in silence as my father holds his jaw and shakes his head, trying to gather himself. He doesn’t attempt to fight back.

“Grabny mudak,” Aleksi mutters.Fucking asshole.

“What the fuck was that for?” My father blithers as I do not even dare blink.

“Allowing Vladimir to speak when I did not permit it.”

He looks bewildered but doesn’t look at me. “He is her future husband!” he snarls. “It was decided!”

“We have much to discuss, none of that concerns Vladimir at this present moment. Katiya’s well-being is far more important than any of this nonsense. I don’t ever want him to set foot in my house again until this matter is settled.”

“What matter is that?”

“Your daughter,” he spits, “was just kidnapped and almost shipped to the Middle East to be a fucking sex slave! What do you have to say about that, brother? And I’d think carefully about what comes out of your mouth next.”

My father stares at me. Admittedly, he does look a little shocked. “That can’t be! How in the hell did this happen?”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with my last name,” I hurl at my father. There is no point in him acting like he gives a shit now. He cares about his own interests, nothing else.

“I’mgetting to the bottom of how and why,” Uncle Aleksi spits back at him. “Now we have the fucking Medicis to thank for her rescue! That’s a whole other story.”

“The Medicis!” My father practically turns purple upon hearing that.“What have they got to do with this?”

Oh, that piques his interest, of course. I can’t help but feel a little smug inside that it was them that helped me, it’s quite the conundrum. I can see it ticking over in my father’s brain.

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