Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
It messed with my head.
What was this? What was I to him?
The only constant was I was always naked, or practically naked.
Now I had clothes that were fairly modest and more expensive than anything I had ever bought.
The contradiction left me unsettled, but I did as I was told and got dressed.
Pavel didn't say a word as we left the hotel room and rode the elevator down to street level, where a car was waiting for us. Without being asked, once we were settled he reached over and adjusted the air conditioning, his eyes flicking to me briefly as if checking my comfort.
"You need to behave," he said. "I'm taking you to see your grandmother." His fingers drummed against the steering wheel. "There are people who would use her to get to me now. The only way to keep both of you safe is if you're officially mine."
"What do you mean, officially?"
"Married," he said simply. "It's not a romantic gesture, Alina. It's protection. For my family’s business interests, for you, for her."
Wait. What?
He said married.
Like married, married?
That word ran over and over in my mind as I tried to understand what had just happened.
Married.
He drove us across town, and it wasn't until we hit the highway that I worked up the courage to ask a question.
"Marriage... that's really necessary?"
"Yes," he said, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "My family needs some assurance on where you stand. And while my enemies won't touch my wife, they will torture and kill my captive." His eyes flicked to me. "Which would you prefer to be?"
The cold logic of it settled in my stomach like a stone.
Pondering all the ramifications of marrying into his family, I wasn’t paying much attention to where we were until Pavel pulled the car into a parking lot, in front of what looked like a large house. He held my hand as we walked through the doors like we were any normal couple there to visit a relative.
The facility, however, was breathtaking.
The main lobby and adjacent rooms had a homey and casual atmosphere, while there were more staff than I had ever seen at any of the nursing homes that Medicaid paid for.
There were actual doctors walking while talking to family members. A full nursing staff, and it smelled like someone was cooking a feast.
In a rare moment outside of my gilded cage, I walked into my grandmother's cage.
Pavel signed us in then led me down a hallway, where I could hear my grandmother's bell-like laughter before I saw her.
She was in a spacious room, sitting in a full-body massage chair watching episodes of Murder, She Wrote.
"Oh, Alina, darling," she said when I walked through the door. It took her a moment, but she stood and walked over to me, giving me a hug.
She held me tight, with more strength and energy in her body than I had seen in well over a year. Her eyes were clear, her smile bright, and I had to push back tears of joy because I actually recognized the woman my grandmother was, not the shell Alzheimer's was creating.
"Grandma, how are you?"
"I'm fine, dear, just fine. Your new beau has me set up in this wonderful place. Tell me, why did you not introduce us sooner?" She leaned in and stage-whispered, "I like this one. He's such a sweet boy."
I looked back at Pavel, who gave me a smug smirk.
"Grandma, I don't think anyone has called him a boy in many, many years."
Pavel chuckled as my grandmother dissolved into a fit of giggles.
He let me sit and visit with her for some time.
He even played a hand of gin rummy with her, and I was surprised to see genuine amusement flicker across his face as she filled him in on the facility gossip.
He patiently listened to all her reports about which one of the nurses was cheating on her fiancé with a doctor, and who had a crush on the handyman. When my grandmother made a particularly sharp observation about one of the other residents, Pavel actually laughed—a real laugh that transformed his entire face for a moment.
He was kind to her, sweet.
I watched him adjust her blanket when she shivered, saw the way he made sure her water glass stayed full. Small, caring gestures.
For a moment, I almost forgot how much of a monster he really was.
Or at least I would have if he hadn't kept his gaze on me, the intent behind it clear. But even that gaze felt different now. Determined, rather than threatening.
If I wanted her here, if I wanted her happy, I needed to behave.
My freedom paid for her comfort and care.
The second I fucked up, her life was over.
When the nurse came to let us know that visiting hours had ended over an hour ago, Pavel glanced at me first and, seeing I wasn't ready to leave, shot that man a look that turned even my blood cold. The nurse backed away murmuring we could stay as long as we wanted.