Page 120 of Captive Prize

I knew they knew I was responsible for the violence that had swept through their lives over the last few months.

I was used to hostility. I thrived in it. But this?

This wasn’t because of my name, my family, or even my gender.

The whispered comments, the side-eyed glances, and the thinly veiled hostility felt different. Personal. And it hit different coming in a group setting.

I could see it in the way Viktoria tightened her jaw every time she glanced my way, in Samara’s careful restraint, and in Nadia’s complete avoidance of me now.

She didn’t look over my shoulder, or above my head like the others.

Nadia didn’t look at me at all. It was like she was pretending I wasn’t even here. Maybe I had imagined her and Samara’s basic kindness the days they helped me. I wondered if they regretted it.

When we had spent enough time in the sauna, the women got up and filed out and I followed behind, keeping a careful distance.

Just outside the sauna was a massive cold plunge whirlpool. The women all dropped their towels and secured their hair above their heads and stepped into the cold water. I followed suit, sitting on the opposite edge.

If I wasn’t here, I would bet the women would be evenly spaced throughout the pool, taking up all of it with lively chatter and gossip.

Instead, they were all crowded to one side, whispering about nothing really. It was almost like they were talking in code, just in case I overheard.

I’d been beaten, tortured, hunted—but nothing compared to sitting in a pool surrounded by beautiful women who wished I didn’t exist.

And after growing up in my family, that was saying something. In my family I was forgotten. Here, I was ignored.

That was a big difference.

The door opened behind me, and everyone stiffened.

A few were visibly concerned.

Viktoria’s eyes went wide, and she stared behind me at the person who came in while Samara’s eyes flicked between me and whoever it was.

I didn’t have to look. I knew exactly who had just come in.

Alina.

I froze along with everyone else and didn’t even breathe as I waited for whatever judgment she was going to pass on me.

Alina, all long lines and ethereal confidence, walked past us to the lockers and dropped a bag and her robe.

“Thank god you’re all in here. I won’t be able to go in the sauna until after the baby is born, but I finally got the doctor to tell Pavel I could join you girls for the cold pools.”

She looked around at the other women, her brows furrowing, and then her eyes landed on me.

I waited with bated breath for the recognition and the hatred.

It never came.

She didn’t hesitate; she didn’t shrink from the awkwardness in the room.

Instead, she smiled at me. It was warm, welcoming, and a little conspiratorial, like we were old friends, like we had some secret bond no one else understood.

She glided across the room with a confidence and grace I didn’t know was possible outside of the ballet. Carefully, she stepped into the pool and moved to take a seat directly next to me.

She didn’t give a damn what anyone else in that pool thought about me or her.

“Finally,” she said, dramatically settling into the plastic seat and placing her hand on my arm. “A woman in this house who doesn’t pretend to be perfect.”

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