“You can’t marry Milana.”
“Calina, stay out of this,” Arytom drawls, his tone dripping with annoyance.
“I’ll take Milana’s place,” I say, the words leaving my mouth before I can even think them through. “I will marry you instead.”
CHAPTER THREE
Maxim
I lean back against the leather couch, watching Artyom pace like a caged wolf, flipping through the contract pages for the third time. His jaw is locked so tight I’m surprised it hasn’t shattered.
My old man always said being the creditor is better than being the debtor. Because the debtor lives every day wondering when the collector will finally come knocking. Right now, I understand exactly what he meant.
I have come to collect.
This plan has been in motion for months. Ever since I fully took the position of Pakhan, things have not been easy. Most of the men in my clan still don’t fully accept me. They see an orphan who was raised by Oleg Orlov, not a true Orlov by blood.
No matter how much blood I’ve spilled for the Bratva, how much money I’ve made them, how many enemies I’ve crushed to make us stronger, some of those bastards still look at me like I’m temporary. Like I can be replaced.
I need this alliance.
That is why I decided tonight was the night. I’ve been watching the Morozov sisters for weeks. I always intended to take the younger one, Milana. She seemed quieter. Softer. More malleable. Easier to control.
But the ride here changed everything. Calina would not shut the fuck up. The entire drive she kept running her mouth, defiant, sharp, fearless even while terrified.
At one point I genuinely considered tossing her out of the moving car just to get some peace. And yet… the most annoying part is that I liked the sound of her voice. Low. Husky. Full of fire. It irritated me how much I liked it.
Now she’s standing in front of me, chin raised, eyes blazing with pure defiance.
“I’ll take Milana’s place,” she repeats, voice steady despite the fear I can smell on her. “I will marry you instead.”
The words hit me harder than I expected.
Shock ripples through me, quickly followed by something darker. Something dangerously close to interest.
I slowly rise from the couch, towering over her. The room goes silent. Artyom looks like he wants to murder me. Milana looks horrified. But I only have eyes for the bold, reckless woman before me.
Calina Morozova.
She’s so small. That’s the first thing that hits me as Calina steps forward and stares me down like she’s the one holding the power in this room. Tiny compared to me, barely reaching my chest, yet she lifts her chin and dares me with those sharp blue-gray eyes.
I study her for a long moment, letting the tension stretch until it’s almost painful.
Then the corner of my mouth twitches. “Interesting,” I murmur, my voice low. “Very interesting.”
A part of me wants to say no. To stick with the original plan and take the younger, quieter one who would be easier to break. But the truth is… I want her. This feisty little thing who talked my ear off the entire ride and still has the balls to offer herself in her sister’s place.
This was never supposed to be about attraction. This marriage is purely convenience, a way to tie the Morozov name to mine and silence the whispers that I’m not a real Orlov. But looking at hernow, daring me, probably already plotting how to make my life hell, I feel something dangerously close to excitement.
A smirk pulls at the corner of my mouth.
“So,” I say slowly, letting my gaze drag over her, “you think you’ll make a better wife than your sister?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” She fires back without hesitation.
Artyom steps forward instantly. “Calina, stay out of this?—”
“No,” she cuts him off, voice fierce. “If he’s going to take one of us, he’s taking me.”
