Page 12 of Owned By the Russian

Valentina blinked, taken aback by the venom in his voice. It was always meaningless banter between them, butthis, this was serious.

As concerned as she was, she quickly grew irritated by his tone. “I’m just trying to help.”

Ilya chuckled, the sound bitter and hollow. “What do you know about help?” He was closing the gap between them, sneering at her beautiful face. “You’re nothing but Daddy’s little pawn, Valentina. Just another piece on the Romano’s board. Don’t pretend like you’ve got a mind of your own. Everything you do, every bullshit you say, it’s all for him, isn’t it?”

Her expression shifted, the clear hurt flashing across her face too quickly for her to mask. His words had hit the exact spot he was aiming for, and for a moment, he felt the satisfaction of shutting her out.

But almost immediately, it turned into something heavier, burning even more than the ache in his ribs. The hurt in her eyes left a bitter taste in his mouth, like vinegar being shoved down his throat.

Valentina stiffened, rolling her shoulders back with a frown. “You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?” she said quietly, her voice steady now despite her eyes burning through his.

“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Keep whatever you’re hiding and die with it. I don’t give a flying fuck.”

After that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him standing there, his hand still tugging at his tie.

Ilya exhaled harshly, his chest tight as he watched her retreating figure. The room was loud, buzzing with chatter and laughter, but all he could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

He didn’t know what he hated more—her concern or the fact that he’d pushed it away.

For the rest of the night, Valentina did a perfect job of ignoring him. At some point, his siblings sidled next to him, smirking in amusement as they watched him stare at her from a distance, a frown on his face.

“I think you really did it this time,” Kostya tsked, following Ilya’s line of sight. To Ilya, Valentina looked like a goddess, laughing and clutching her belly in response to whatever Irina and Rhi said to her.

Unconsciously, her eyes strayed to Ilya and his siblings, and his fists clenched when the smile faded from her face with the speed of light.

“I wonder what he did this time,” Viktor chuckled, responding to Kostya like Ilya wasn’t there. “She seemed genuinely pissed.”

Fedya frowned. “I’ll admit that watching you two bant and bicker can be amusing, but there’s a limit to these things. I don’t know what you did, but she was trying too hard to smile.”

“Val is stronger than most women I’ve met,” Viktor grinned. “She’ll get over it.”

Ilya spared his brothers a glance. They were amused by what had happened, but he silently wondered if they noticed the cut on his neck like Val had.

The incident with her stayed on his mind. It bothered him, tickling every inch of his brain like an itch he so desperately wanted to scratch away.

He was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to apologize. His outburst wasn’t part of their usual games and he feared that he might have genuinely hurt her feelings, even though she tried to hide it.

He ignored his brothers, searching the room for her, when he found the spot she was occupying earlier, empty.

Ilya excused himself from his brothers and went over to his sister. She was unimpressed, her lips pressed into a thin line as she downed her glass.

“If you’re here to be an asshole to her again, then I’m pleased to inform you that she just left.”

“Left,” he reiterated, like he had never heard the word before.

Irina frowned. “Don’t expect me to tell you where she is.”

Ilya lifted a brow, his curiosity piqued. “So, she’s not home?”

But Irina refused to answer. She walked past him, trying to escape the conversation, but he grasped her elbow and pulled her back.

“Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you,” Ilya scowled. Sure, she was Valentina’s close friend, but she was his sister first. And he was not about to tolerate any disrespect from her, especially not in the mood he was in.

Irina’s frown deepened. “She wouldn’t like me to tell you.”

His grip around her elbow tightened. “You tell me where she is right now, Irina.”

Her jaw grew taut, and after a hot minute, she ripped her arm away from his grip. “Fine. She has a condo outside the Romano estate where she hides away when she wants privacy. Only Rhi and I know about it.”

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