Page 292 of Legacy
Ayla looks past him—right atSanto.
And something shifts.
“I don’t want to stay here,” she says.
Maksim huffs a laugh. “Don’t be difficult,beda.”
He grabs her arm, a little too hard.
My hand twitches at my side. Maksim knows better than to manhandle anyone in my house.
But before I can say a word.
My wife steps in.
Chapter 49
Adriana Scarlet
Idon’t think.
I just move.
“Maksim,” I say sharply, voice cool, even, the kind of tone that makes men freeze.
His hand stills on her arm.
She’s small. But more solid than I expected. Mousy brown hair, the kind that looks like it hasn’t been properly cut or conditioned in far too long. Straight and limp, just brushing her shoulders. Her sweater’s thin, pulled at the sleeves. The jeans she’s wearing have rips at the knees, not the curated kind, but the kind you get from actually living in them. Worn raw, seams fraying.
She looks like she doesn’t belong here. Not beside Maksim Korsakov in his designer shirt, metal glinting from his eyebrow and lip, his dyed hair styled like chaos wrapped in money.
She’s meek to his eccentric. Poor to his rich. Quiet to his storm.
And he’s manhandling her like she’s his to direct.
I step closer.
“Let go of her,” I say, not louder, just firmer.
Maksim turns, eyes narrowing. “Adriana—”
I raise a hand. “Don’t Adriana me. I don’t care what this dynamic is. You don’t handle a woman like that. Not in front of me. Not ever.”
His jaw ticks, but he drops her arm.
Ayla doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t look up. She just steps slightly back, the way someone does when they’re used to disappearing.
Which only makes me angrier.
I shift my focus to her and soften, only slightly. “Ayla, right?”
She nods once.
“You’re welcome here,” I tell her, and I mean it. “No one touches you without your permission.”
Her eyes flick up at that, wide and startled. Like maybe she didn’t expect anyone to care.
Maksim huffs under his breath.
