I force myself out of the bed, grabbing my robe and wrapping it around me before marching toward the bedroom door, wondering if I’d imagined that he left without locking it. When the handle turns and the door clicks open an inch, a wide smile spreads onto my lips.
Whether he left it open intentionally or not, I’m not sure, but I don’t care.
Freedom is within my grasp and I’m not going to sit around wondering if it was a mistake or not. Instead, I’m going to grab it and hold on to it. Not that I want to escape this house, as I have nowhere to go. There’s no way I’d escape one prison just to return to another, especially not as my father had been gearing up his search for my husband.
I shudder as I think about the man he introduced me to the other night. He was creepy and almost old enough to be my father, and I know deep down that’s the kind of man my father will pair me with in the end. Sickness twists my gut at the thought.
Valery may have captured me, but there was no doubt from the moment our eyes met there was an electric connection. The kind you read about in books or watch in movies. A connection I never expected to find with anyone in my life, as I’ve been resigned to my fate since I was little.
Walking down the corridor, I head for the stairs and descend them as I did the other day with Dina, turning down the corridor toward the kitchen to find her. I enjoyed chatting with her yesterday, and I ensured I didn’t let it slip she was the one who let me out of the room, as I know what would happen to her.
Dina is in the kitchen, singing while she chops onions.
“Morning, Dina,” I say.
She practically jumps a mile at the sound of my voice, spinning around, still clutching the knife. “What are you doing out of your room?”
I shrug. “Valery left the door open. I think he’s happy for me to roam the house now.”
Her eyes narrow. “Did he tell you that?”
I bite my bottom lip and shake my head. “No, but why didn’t he lock the door if he doesn’t want me to leave it?”
“I’m not sure,” she says, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “All of us were told off about you getting free. Thank you for not revealing it was me.”
I smile. “You are welcome.” I sit down at the kitchen island. “I know what men like Valery are capable of, so I wouldn’t dare snitch.”
“Thank you,” she says quietly. “How about some breakfast?”
I nod as my stomach grumbles. “Sounds good.”
“I’ll whip you up some Blini and I’ve got some homemade jam in the fridge.”
“That sounds amazing.” I relax a little, thankful that Dina is starting to relax, too. I wonder how Nadia is doing at home, knowing that I may not ever see her again. Sitting here with Dina reminds me of her. The woman who has been my salvation for so many years during my imprisonment in my own home.
“It won’t take long.” She nods toward the fridge. “Help yourself to juice in the fridge.”
I do as she says and then sit at the table, waiting for the food as the scent of blini cooking makes my mouth water. Dina is just as good a cook as Nadia, but I can’t help but miss the woman I spent my days with back home.
* * *
“What areyou doing out of your room?”
That deep voice follows me as I was walking down the corridor, forcing me to freeze at the sound. I can feel the tension coiling through me as that question answers what I’d been contemplating all day, whether he left my door unlocked on purpose.
I turn to face him. “You left the door unlocked. I assumed…” A pain claws at my chest, which is silly. I assumed that perhaps after the information I gave him the other day and the fact I let him take my virginity, that he’d give me the benefit of the doubt.
“You assumed that because we fucked, that means I trust you to walk around my home now?”
Heat flares across my skin as I look down, unable to meet his gaze. Ashamed that he hit the nail on the head and that it hurts to know he doesn’t actually trust me.
“Look at me,” he orders, that alluring dominance clear in his tone.
I bring my eyes up to his. “I thought you left it unlocked on purpose.”
Valery marches toward me and I can see the conflict warring in his eyes. “What have you been doing all day with your newfound freedom?” His hand wraps around my throat tightly and my heart rate gallops faster as I look into this beautiful dark eyes.
His reaction to me being out of the room is uncalled for. “I had breakfast and then explored the grounds this morning. They are rather pretty.”