I snap away from him, wrapping my arms around myself, shielding. Grounding. "Just let me go in. I want space."
Silence.
I don’t expect him to listen.
But then, the door opens, and I step inside when he gestures for me to go first.
It’s warm in here. Bright. Clean. And I immediately feel my pulse begin to slow.
I wasn’t prepared for the way the word home would hit me.
But I’ve been living a nomadic existence for so fucking long.
And I’m angry with myself for even wanting this.
What I love about being able to change my appearance and slip from place to place is that I don’t have to put down roots.
I’ve spent my life running—from control, from the identity forced upon me by my father before he died.
It’s made me put my guard up. Made me use my skills in deception and forgery to craft my ultimate escape plans.
It’s forced me to trust no one.
Maybe… maybe I’m tired of running.
Maybe I don’t want to anymore.
Does that mean I’m giving up?
I won’t give up. I can’t.
I need to stay until an opportunity comes. Until I can run again.
Matvei doesn’t love me.
I’m only a tool to him.
A prize.
I need to remember that.
Then why do I watch him when I think he isn’t looking?
Why can’t I help but notice the nervous energy he hides by tapping his foot or checking his phone?
Why does it feel so dark and absolutelythrilling…when he calls me his?
Chapter Fourteen
Matvei
She knowswhat she's doing.
For days, I’ve kept us secluded at my house, and she doesn’t seem to mind it. I don’t know why. Maybe she has a mild case of agoraphobia—she was fun at first when I took her shopping, but something changed. She got uneasy. Unsettled. And she wouldn’t tell me why.
She’s made no mention of wanting to leave, and instead, she’s making herself at home. She knows she can escape. But she doesn’t. Not that I’m complaining.
She’s beautiful. So fucking beautiful, my girl. And she knows exactly what she’s doing.
