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The doorknob turned and he peeked in, his curious, mildly concerned face hardening when he saw me sitting on the loveseat, fully clothed and looking at his laptop that I didn’t have permission to use. That wasn’t suspicious at all.
I snapped it shut just as he grabbed it from me, with no time to close the browser.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, moving to the counter to open the computer. “Are you messaging with someone?”
For a second it looked like he might be jealous of some mystery man I might be communicating with, but that would mean he cared. He was just being controlling.
I reached for it, my own anger flaring, because the last and only thing I had for myself was in danger. “Nothing, just online shopping.”
I was about to say some nonsense about it being a surprise for him, but he already saw the online college logo at the top of the page, along with the answers I’d typed into the test form. He turned to frown at me, but he was no longer angry, only confused.
“What is this?”
“What does it look like?” I returned sullenly.
“Are you taking an online class?” He shook his head, not waiting for me to answer the obvious. “Why are you keeping it a secret?”
Did he actually have the nerve to ask that, and seem upset about it, too? He sat down on the loveseat and patted the space next to him. “Explain this to me.”
I sat down, wary of an outburst, but he only seemed curious. “What’s there to explain?”
“When did you sign up for this?”
“Right before my father kidnapped me and sold me,” I said.
He made a noise with his teeth, ignoring the jibe. “Psychology?”
“It’s just a beginner course, to see if it’s what I’m interested in. So far I really like it.”
“You’d have lots of case studies between our families,” he said. Was that a joke? He wasn’t mad? “What other classes are you taking?”
“That’s the only one,” I admitted. “They’re really expensive and I used to work a full time job so didn’t have much free time.”
“Well, you can afford as many as you want now, and have plenty of time.”
So far Yuri had showered me with beautiful clothes and jewelry I could never have dreamed about wearing let alone owning, but this had to be the best gift I’d ever received. “Do you mean that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He began to sound a bit irritated. “I really don’t get why you think you needed to sneak around to take a class, for God’s sake.”
Half of me wanted to throw it in his face exactly why I kept it a secret, but the other half of me wanted to push my luck. “Do you think I could actually go to a class? There’s a community college I’ve checked into with campuses all over town. It’d probably only be a couple of bus rides, or you could drive me?”
His shoulders slumped and he put his head in his hands. It was as good as a no, but I was so full of hope I couldn’t drop it. “Please, Yuri?” I whispered.
His sigh actually hurt my heart. “Maybe one day. I just don’t think it’s safe yet.”
I flung my body off the bench and toward the door, the force of my disappointment worse than a blow. “What’s so unsafe?” I demanded. “Just admit you don’t trust me.”
“That’s not it,” he said. Even he didn’t believe himself based on the look on his face. “Start with more online classes and see how it goes.”
I snorted. “Why bother? Why work toward getting a degree if I can never leave the house to use it?”
“Kira,” he said, standing up and reaching for me. “Just try to be happy with what you’ve got.”
I stamped out of the bathroom and through the bedroom to hide in the kitchen with the cook. He wanted me to see things his way but he refused to see what I was going through. His life had barely changed, but mine had become a prison. But even people in prison had more hope than me. Until I could figure out a way to bring my father down, I was trapped in this life I never wanted, never asked for, and was sick to death of my so-calledhusbandthinking I should be grateful that my freedom had been stolen.
Chapter 11 - Yuri
Once again I watched my wife storm out on me. Shocked and angered by her reaction, I couldn’t shake the feeling it gave me to see the fire draining out of her eyes in a matter of seconds, when she’d been so happy and excited about the prospect of taking more online courses. I wasn’t sure what I did that was so wrong, and it was only needing to see her happy again that I trudged after her.
