Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
My gaze found Valerie.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
My elegant swan.
My heart stopped.
My world stilled.
My knees weakened.
My soul howled.
Agony seized me.
My beautiful elegant swan…naked…writhing in bed…in tears…whimpering…shaking…begging…
Silently begging Valentin to fuck her.
Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted as she gasped.
There was a pillow between her thighs and she rubbed herself against it, desperately. As if she were trying to find release and fuck—
My thoughts halted, and my eyes met Valentin. He was standing beside the bed, one knee on the mattress, naked, with a cigar between his lips, and he was looking down at my sweet myshka.
He glanced up at me and his lips quirked up to the side. He smirked and then waved a hand at me, urging me forward.
He opened his mouth and destroyed my world.
“Perfect timing, son. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter 17
Viktor
Time slowed, although the clock was still ticking. My vision grew hazy, and the world couldn’t seem to stop spinning. My blood roared violently, and I could feel my heart beat through the bulging veins in my neck. I could hear each thump in my ears.
My mouth went dry and my heart sank into the lower pit of my stomach, heavy and hurting. It almost caused me to double over, but I fought the urge. Instead, I took a step forward, stood up straighter, and faced my nightmare.
The door closed behind me, locking the three of us inside this room, this cage, Valerie’s hell and now mine.
This place used to represent our freedom, a little piece of heaven, but with Valentin here, he has tainted that for us.
My eyes went back to Valerie, and I had to swallow up the bile in my mouth, fighting the urge to throw up. Chill skated over my skin, and I was frozen to the bones.
Tick…tock…tick…tock.
The Devil laughed louder, and he mocked me to move forward.
I couldn’t.
Tick…tock…tick…tock.
My feet stayed where they were. If I moved, I would do something that would end our lives tonight. If I moved, I would rip Valentin’s heart out with my bare fucking hands.
If I moved, I’d wring up his intestines and wrap them around his neck before hanging his lifeless body from the ceiling—it would be a warning. A warning not to touch what belonged to me.
But if I moved…if I did all the things I wanted to do…
It would be the end.
There was no way I would make it out alive.
And there was absolutely no way Valerie would still be breathing.
If I breathed my last, she would too.
Or worse, they would take her away and sell her to the most depraved men.
My sweet myshka wouldn’t be able to make it out alive.
I stopped myself; I fought my urges, and I stayed silent.
For her.
I am sorry, Valerie. I am so fucking sorry.
I wished she’d open her eyes, she’d look at me, stare into my own eyes, and see my guilt. To see how broken I was. For her.
I wanted to go on my knees and beg for her forgiveness. I used to think I was on top of the world and was winning this game.
But it seemed Valerie had only fallen in love with a weak, useless…helpless man.
I couldn’t save her, not from this. Not at this time.
So I had to sit back and watch her hurt…watch her silently scream in agony. While my own soul would bleed into the ground, a wound so deep—there was no fixing it.
Valentin tsked, and I forced myself to pull my eyes away from my woman, my beautiful swan…now so broken. I wanted to pull her into my arms and erase all the hurt.
Tick…tock…tick…tock.
Valentin motioned me forward, and my legs worked on auto-pilot. I walked further into the room and stopped in the middle. “Join us, Konstantin.”
Konstantin.
Konstantin Solonik.
I had to play the cards right, while wrapping an iron cage around my bleeding heart.
I had to breathe Valerie’s pain silently because I wasn’t her lover. No, right now…I was Konstantin, the heir to the Solonik Empire. A heartless, brutal man.
Solonik’s son. And I had to follow in his footsteps.
“What are you doing?” I grunted, forcing the words past my lips.
My fists clenched at my sides at the smug look on his face. He looked mighty proud of himself.
His brows quirked up, and he inhaled the cigar before blowing out the puff of smoke. Putting the rest of it in the ashtray, he gestured around the room.
“What does it look like?” he questioned with a small laugh.
Letting out a heavy breath, I steeled myself against his words. Raising an eyebrow of my own, I stared him down. “It looks like a fucking live porn.”
Valentin threw his head back and laughed, the walls echoing with his laughter. It sounded harsh to my ears, and I imagined myself clawing his face and disfiguring him like Alessio did to Abram.
“It is. It fucking is, son.”