Page 21 of The Russian Pakhan's Forced Bride
At this, Victoria stiffens, and her brows furrow, as if realizing she found that boundary after all.
“I could be the monster you think I am…surely we both know I’m capable of it,” I mutter, hardening my expression. “But I don’t want to do that. It’s not how I want this to go. Regardlessof how you want to look at it, I’m giving you the space to breathe and adjust. I’m trying to show you that this doesn’t need to be your personal hell.”
Even if she seems to take in every word, there’s still contempt in her gaze. She’s far more stubborn than I initially expected of her.
“So then why does it feel like exactly that anyway?”
My lips form a tight line, and I try to hold back that frustration despite how she continues to push.
“Because I have the feeling you don’t know what that feels like yet.”
At that, Victoria’s eyes almost glaze over as a solid mask consumes her face, giving away that I hit a sore spot of some kind.
Before I can say anything else, she pushes back from the table and gets to her feet, looking far more livid than she initially had been.
“You don’t know the first thing about me or my experiences…don’t pretend like you do.”
Obviously, I said something I shouldn’t have, but I still find myself trying to understand what set her off. Wondering what that means to her.
She isn’t what I had expected…Well, I expected this kind of attitude from Viktoria Nikolaev—not Victoria Evans…the woman who looked so soft and complacent while sleeping in the spare room.
Still, she’s more proud and fiery than I ever could’ve guessed, and it seems she’s not holding back like she did last night.
She’s been allowed to see the situation with fresh eyes and to note each way I’ve wronged her despite my efforts to lessen those blows.
Something about her fury stokes my need to correct her, but another part of me just wants her even more because of it.
She’s an enigma to me, and despite myself, she’s making me feel off-kilter.
Regardless of her resistance, I need this to work, and for that to happen, I need her to cooperate.
Right now, it seems she’d rather bring the whole house down than meet me halfway.
Chapter 8 - Victoria
At one time, I had been proud of my progress, and I had every reason to be.
Despite my previous circumstances and all the reasons I had to be anxious before…all the ways I had been damaged…I managed to pull myself out of it and followed a different path. I put in the work and found a way to manage those crushing emotions.
And yet, Roman somehow managed to reverse those years of progress in such record timing that I never stood a chance.
That heaviness hasn’t left my chest since the moment I was surrounded in the parking lot, and since he decided I was going to be something he could control.
Everything has unfolded in a way I never could’ve seen coming, and I have consented to none of it.
It’s a terrifying thought, and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Despite it being a beautiful day with the sun shining and a low breeze sweeping around us, the tension is far too thick for either of us to truly appreciate it.
I certainly can’t…not while I’m on my feet across the table from him, feeling as if anger courses through me even stronger than before.
He seems to think I came from nothing but privilege. That I couldn’t have possibly experienced more than my fair share of difficult times from a young age.
Roman seems somewhat surprised by me, but he doesn’t make it too obvious as he corrects his face to suppress it.
He sits there with that neutral expression that irritates me more than anything, seemingly unfazed by my insistence. He might be in his private paradise, but it’s a prison for me, regardless of how he wants to look at it. As much as I try to, I can’t ignore the clench in my chest whenever I look at him.
We remain like that for a long moment, stuck in that stand-off. My teeth nearly ache from clenching my jaw.
