Page 64 of Obsession of the Bratva

“He isn’t my fiancé.”

“He apparently disagrees.”

My pulse accelerated. “What happened? What did Viktor say?”

Nico looked genuinely irritated now. “He’s at my headquarters.”

I blinked. “What?”

“He showed up twenty minutes ago and apparently wants to see me.”

I stared at him. Surely, I had misunderstood. My father and Adrian could not have found out that Nico had me.

“Why?”

His laugh contained absolutely no humor. “That’s an excellent question.”

My stomach twisted. Adrian had never been brave. Never. The idea of him willingly walking into Romanov territory made no sense whatsoever. I hated the very thought of it.

“Are you going to see him?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

Nico nodded wordlessly, grabbed his keys, wallet, and suit jacket, and within seconds, he was gone. I knew everything would eventually be alright. Nico would handle it. But then why did I feel as if this was just the beginning of something terrible?

Chapter 15 - Nico

“Nico Romanov.”

I looked up just as I entered my office and immediately regretted it. Adrian Petrov stood in the middle like he belonged there, even though I had made him wait almost an hour already. The man seemed rather invested despite that, clearly wanting to have this conversation.

For a second, I genuinely considered shooting him.

Not threatening him or intimidating him, but straight up shooting him in the forehead. That was how much I hated the man. The urge arrived so suddenly and so completely that it almost made me laugh.

Across the room, Viktor shifted slightly as if he could read my mind and was signaling me not to do it here. Adrian either did not notice our eye contact or did not care. Neither possibility improved my opinion of him. I completely ignored his greeting and walked behind my desk, sinking down and leaning back in my chair. I motioned towards the chairs in front of the desk as I finally looked at him properly.

“Sit.” He wasn’t ugly or old. If someone looked at him from a neutral point of view, they might even consider him handsome. He was tall with a good muscular build, and his black hair reached his shoulders. His face was clean, and his black eyes seemed sharp. Despite that, to me he would always be ugly.

I couldn’t help but hate him.

He stepped forward and sat down right across from me, appearing completely at ease. However, the tick of his jaw betrayed his true emotions. I could see he was on edge about something, and if I was right, this was about none other than Vera. The woman I had been fucking not one hour ago. The woman I loved. The woman who loved me. And in this equation, Adrian was the outsider.

“You’re either very brave or very stupid.”

His jaw tightened at my assessment, but he remained levelheaded. “You know why I am here, Nico.”

“I truly have no idea,” I replied, feigning innocence. That was the best thing I could do.

“I came here for Vera.”

Of course he did. I folded my hands together and studied him closely. I could see he looked fairly exhausted and definitely angry. There was a hint of desperation somewhere in his posture, alongside dark circles beneath his eyes and tension pulling at his shoulders.

Good.

At least someone else was miserable too.

“I wasn’t aware she belonged to you.”

His face darkened. “Stop acting dumb, Romanov. You are damned well aware she was supposed to marry me a couple of months ago, but she disappeared from our wedding day.”