Page 21 of The Russian's Kidnapped Bride
She nods almost too quickly. Far too fast to truly consider anything. “Yes, anything.”
My lips pull slightly.
There’s always a better angle if you wait long enough, and this one can fix everything for me.
“Then marry me,” I say as simply as anything else.
Lily blinks back at me, not hiding her disbelief. “What?”
“Marry me,” I repeat, unfazed by the notion. “If you do, you’ll have your freedom. No locks, no boundaries, and noquestions. You’ll be free to fulfill your little medical dreams without having to worry about anyone trying to track you down.”
She looks entirely stunned, just barely managing to get her words out. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
Her words leave her slowly and deliberately, as if making sure she heard me right. “You want me to marry you…so you can what, keep me quiet?”
“No,” I murmur, gently hooking a finger beneath her chin while barely guiding her face up. “So I can protect you officially.”
She swallows hard, steeling herself against my proximity. “That’s insane.”
“If anything, it’s practical,” I hum, tracing every feature of hers with my gaze.
“If you do this, you’ll be safe, and if anyone else happens to see you near the alley, they won’t be able to touch you. You’ll be family.”
“Family,” she utters, almost spitting it out like the thought is poisonous. “I never asked for you or anyone else to be my family.”
“That’s true, but the more the merrier, right?” I hum, letting that smile pull on my lips again while I hold her gaze. “I don’t have to force you, but the alternative is complicated. And far less agreeable.”
Lily doesn’t move, and she tries everything in her power not to hold my gaze, but I don’t give her much of a choice. It’s almost like she’s hoping I’ll disappear if she doesn’t say anything, but she can’t get rid of me that easily.
“Don’t be so quick to resist it, Lily,” I say, voice still smooth. “You won’t have to go back to that shitty apartment of yours, you won’t go anywhere unprotected, and you’ll never have to worry about making ends meet again.”
Her brows furrow slightly. “You know where my apartment is?”
I hum again, this time amused. “I do.”
She looks almost appalled by the idea, trying to pull back. Really, she shouldn’t be surprised.
But I lightly place a hand on her waist, keeping her contained to the spot. “I’m offering you a way out—one that will allow you to keep most traces of your former life intact.”
Well aware that her struggle is for nothing, she stops and can only look up at me. “But it doesn’t keepmeintact. You don’t even care what that would do to me.”
I lift a brow at her. “Don’t I?”
My grip on her chin becomes a tad firmer, not letting her eyes settle anywhere else but on my face. She looks like she both wants to bite me and maybe even cry.
“I’ll be very clear about this…you were only supposed to be a one-night distraction, as I’m sure you intended for me to be too. But I didn’t drag you here for fun. Now, you’re something else entirely. This is me protecting you and protecting my family the best way I can.”
She doesn’t believe me, shaking her head in refusal. “This isn’t care. It’s manipulation.”
“If that’s how you want to see it, then fine. But it’s also the truth.”
Letting go of her face, I step back to give her space to breathe, letting my offer linger between us.
“Marry me, and you walk free. You can keep studying and keep your future. As easy as it would be for me to do, I won’t take that from you,” I say, staying as neutral as possible. Even if I could force her, I don’t want to. “Nobody threatens you, and I make any problem disappear. The paperwork can be finalized as early as the end of this weekend, and you’ll be sitting in class by Monday.”
Lily stands there, hands shaking, eyes glossy with unshed tears.
