Mistresses were common in our world. I knew for a fact my father had several. My mother never made a scene.
Tears spilled down the corners of my eyes, and I closed them, hoping to stem the flow and to stop feeling like this. I hated all of this. The pain was more than I could bear.
“Aurora.”
“I know you have … women,” I said.
“You do, do you?” he asked.
With how he held my arms, I couldn’t cover my face. I couldn’t hide away, and at that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to hide.
He wouldn’t let me.
“Please, get off me. Leave me alone.” I was in control now. I didn’t yell but spoke the words calmly.
“No,” he said, and this made me open my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck that was all about.”
Why did this have to happen? I felt so embarrassed.
“Can we just forget the whole thing?”
“First, I come home and see my wife has spent most of the day here. I open the door and you were leaning against it. I try to talk to you, and you freak out.”
“I know … you have needs. I don’t want you touching me with the hands you touched her with.” I hated this woman so much. I didn’t even know who she was, but I despised her.
“You are my wife. You will do as you’re told and submit to me. You don’t get a say, and if I decide to fuck other women, then you will do what all women do and learn to live with it.”
His words shattered my being.
They struck me more than any blow could.
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information, Aurora, but I don’t have the time to fuck. Ever since we’ve been married, you’re the only woman I’ve been with.” He pulled away from me.
“What?” I asked.
“You heard me.”
I rubbed at my temple, already feeling the headache start. “You haven’t been with any other woman?”
Slavik merely glared at me. “And if I was with other women, you’d deal with it.”
“So, I can take a lover as well?” I asked.
He grabbed the back of my neck with a snarl and pulled me close. “No. No other man will ever touch you. If you so much as try, I will fucking kill him. Do you understand me? You do that and you’ll be signing his death sentence.”
Slavik shoved me back, and I landed on the bed. He’d been so close, and it was crazy, but at that moment, all I could think about was the fact we’d never kissed. Not even after the priest pronounced us man and wife. He’d kissed me on the cheek. Even the lack of passion had been something to talk about on our day. People had laughed at how he couldn’t even stand to kiss me on the lips. He never had.
Touching my lips, I couldn’t believe how I felt.
I hated him, but I’d wanted him to kiss me.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Clearly, the pain and years of being neglected had gotten to me.
How could I even want to be kissed by that kind of monster? Getting to my feet, I left the bedroom. With these thoughts running around my head, the last place I wanted to be was anywhere near when he’d finished in the bathroom.
I hid in the spare bedroom and stayed there. He didn’t come to find me. For the rest of the night, I stayed in my special chair, wishing for a life that I knew would never come to me.
****
Slavik
I stood in the dance hall with my wife on my arm, and I stared around the room, checking for any possible attackers. Our enemies would be close. I wouldn’t put it past them to try to take Ivan out even while we were in a room full of civilians. Parties like these were unnecessary in my opinion. I saw no reason to mingle with the world who pretended the horrors taking place behind closed doors and in the cover of darkness didn’t occur.
Ivan needed his top six men all in one place. This was a political ploy as Roger Hampton, an up-and-coming public figure, was trying to gain popularity by threatening people like Ivan. He promised the public he’d drive out the threat and stop the flow of illegal activities. How men and women would be able to walk the streets without fear.
The truth was it would never happen. Anyone who offered that kind of freedom was a fucking idiot who didn’t know what they were dealing with.
Aurora was tense on my arm, but I didn’t let her go.
A passing waiter offered us some champagne, but I sent him off before she could reach for one.
Ever since our confrontation about my possible mistress, it had been even more tense between us, which pissed me off. I had a feeling I knew who was responsible for filling her head with lies. The moment I caught him, Sergei would learn to keep his mouth shut. The very fact he’d tried to turn my wife against me made me want to kill him.