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“Did he now?” She reapplied her lipstick. It was a blood-red color that suited her perfectly.
“His name is Aslanov.” I wouldn’t let her drive a wedge between Kristoff and me. Yet there was something sinister about her smile and my heart rate sped up.
She put her lipstick back into her bag and turned around, breaking our connection through the mirror.
“And did he also mention that you are Aslanov’s daughter?”
A supernova exploded behind my eyes, its shrapnel heading for my brain.
“You are lying,” I croaked.
She huffed, then eyed me from head to toe. “Look at yourself. Do you really believe he would prefer you over me?”
Her claws dug into my skin, going deeper with every word.
When I was rendered speechless, she continued.
“I bet he didn’t tell you about the millions you will inherit once he’s dead, either.”
I swallowed hard and brushed away a tendril of hair that clung to my now sweaty forehead.
Her eyes narrowed when she spotted my engagement ring. It was a huge diamond rock which couldn’t be missed. A minute ago, it had been a symbol of Kristoff’s love. Now it felt like shackles. No! She had to be lying.
“So, he put a ring on your finger? Of course he did.” She brushed her hair off her shoulders. “You silly lamb. You’re living with a wolf and don’t even know it. Ask him about his blood vow if you don’t believe me. Think, you stupid girl. Why else would he take a strange girl into his house?”
Ants crawled in my stomach, sickening me from within. I stayed rooted to the spot, while Svetlana departed with a cackling laugh.
37
KATYA
I didn’t quite remember how I’d made it back home. I’d hastily said goodbye to Mia, who had watched me go with an open mouth.
My world had come crumbling down around me. I had nowhere to go, but to him. Kristoff Romanov was going to be my downfall, and perhaps my executioner.
All I could think of was how my bubble of happiness had burst in less than a week. I got out of the cab and it felt like I was seeing the mansion for the first time. This place had been a house of fear for me the night my mother and I stopped outside its gates. Now it had turned into both my haven and a golden cage.
My stomach felt heavy as I walked in the front door. All words had left me, not a single one remained to even greet the guard who’d opened the door for me. Which was weird, because I had a thousand questions inside, all of them like little demons fighting to burst out of me. Flames danced underneath my skin, making me antsy to face Kristoff head-on.
I knew I shouldn’t take anything that Svetlana had spewed at me for truth. She had an agenda of her own. It was more than obvious she wanted me out of the way, yet something about how she looked had struck a chord with me. Dread washed over me.
Svetlana was lying. She had to be.
My feet seemed to trudge through cement as I made my way to the gym. At this time of day, Kristoff would either be training or in the library. I couldn’t face him in his study, surrounded by my beloved books. I’d lived a thousand lives with the stories hidden away in paper and ink. Adventures that had given me hope and the courage to want more out of life. To know that evil wizards, dragons, and droids existed, but so did princes, knights in shining armor, and rogue warriors with hearts of gold. My story, my fairytale that had just begun after I’d been kissed by the prince, couldn’t end like this. It couldn’t end with me eating a poisoned apple provided to me by an evil sorceress.
Kristoff was exactly where I’d expected him to be. In the gym’s corner, going at his punching bag. His hits seemed harder, tougher, as if he wanted to break the bag in two. A sign of a guilty conscience maybe? Or perhaps I was imagining things.
He more sensed than heard me come in. He’d always had that uncanny ability. Sometimes I feared he could look straight into my soul and unravel me.
He was so attuned to me that he immediately noticed something was off.
“What’s wrong?” He stepped away from the bag.
The lump in my throat grew. If I didn’t say it soon, it would grow larger than life, making it impossible to speak at all.
“Is it true that I’m Aslanov’s daughter?”
He stilled. Then his eyes locked onto mine. “Yes.”
