Page 15 of Taming a Ruthless Heart

“That I am,” she laughs.

“Tell me about you and Pete.”

For the next hour, Nadya talks about adorable Pete.Her tone gets even dreamier when she switches to her amazing husband Ray Flanagan.I nod and smile politely.I don’t bring up the fact that Ray is also lethal, since he works as an enforcer for the Boyle family.

“Mama, can we go swimming?”Rose asks, running up to me, her cheeks flushed.

She beams, her excitement infectious.But her joy can’t chase away my thoughts.I glance back at the house, its grand facade standing tall and imposing.These walls might keep Igor out, but they can’t protect me from all the secrets I’ve been hiding.

The sun dips low, casting long shadows in the landscape, increasing the sense of doom.

“Maybe tomorrow, sweetheart,” I reply, forcing a smile.“It’s getting late.We should go back inside.”I stand up.

“Let me help.”Nadya unfolds from the chair as well.

“No need, thanks.I want to spend time with Rose tonight.”

“Of course.”She nods, gathering Pete and his pirate paraphernalia.“Goodnight.”She heads toward a small building to the right of the main house.

I lead Rose upstairs to her room.The soft nightlight casts a warm glow across her room, and the sound of the waves lapping at the shore drifts through the open window.

After giving her a quick, warm bath, I tuck her in and sit on the edge of her bed, brushing her hair out of her eyes, savoring every second of this small slice of normalcy.

Rose snuggles beneath the covers.“Mama, tell me a story,” she murmurs, her eyelids heavy.

“Once upon a time, there was a little bunny who lived in a cozy burrow beneath a tree…” My voice trails off as her eyelids close.“Goodnight, moy zaychik.”

“I like when you call me bunny,” she whispers, half-asleep.“Like Nanny Alina called you.”

The mention of my sweet Alina is like a knife to the chest, the pain sharp and unforgiving.She is gone, another casualty of Igor’s cruelty.

I press a kiss to Rose’s forehead, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill.I vow to keep my daughter from becoming his next victim.

I’ve escaped one prison only to step into another.And this time, the bars are made of my own lies.

6

Alexia

After making sure Rose is fast asleep, I stand and slip quietly into the adjoining room.The door clicks softly shut behind me, but the weight of everything I’ve done—everything I’ve hidden—feels heavier than ever.I sink onto the edge of the bed, my gaze drifting to the French doors that lead to the balcony.The full moon hangs low, its pale light casting a cold glow over the bay.The water ripples beneath it, dark and endless, like shards of glass scattered on the surface, sharp enough to cut.

Although I watch the black waves, all I see is the past, churning like a nightmare that refuses to drown.The boats sway, their shadows long and haunting like ghostly specters.Inside me, there’s no peace.I am untethered, adrift in the storm of memories that tear at me, relentless, unyielding.

Igor.

The name alone makes my skin crawl.I try not to think about him, about the life I was forced into.But tonight, it’s impossible to escape my past or the life that was stolen from me.

I remember my father coming to me, his face lined with worry, his voice shaky as he told me he owed Igor millions of dollars.And that the only payment Igor had accepted to spare my dad’s life was me.I became the currency he demanded.

It was all a blur after that.The sham ceremony.The promises made under duress.The cold grip of fear tightening my throat as I stood at the altar, staring into the eyes of a man I did not love—a man I could never love.

Igor’s presence was suffocating even then.His smile was a lie, a mask that barely concealed the monster underneath.And yet, I had no choice.I was trapped.

My mind drifts back to that night, the nightmare that followed.A wedding night is supposed to be a moment of bliss, a new beginning for most brides.For me, it was the start of never-ending torture.

Igor dragged me by the hair down a winding stone staircase to his dungeon, his grip tight.He was angry because my heart belonged to Dave, a man Igor despised, from a family he loathed.

My body shook as he threw me to the floor, his hands ripping at the delicate lace of my wedding dress.The fabric tore with a sickening sound, leaving me exposed and vulnerable in the cold, damp room.My skin prickled with fear as he pulled off my underwear and cuffed me to a chain hanging from the ceiling, his fingers digging painfully into my wrists as he tightened the restraints.

---