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She blanches, but doesn’t back down. “I’m a Bratva wife. I should have some power.”
“I’m sorry the reality isn’t living up to your fantasy.”
“This isn’t about some fantasy I have, Ivan! I’m not a little girl with stars in her eyes. I’m notCora.”
Her name hits me like a bolt of lightning. I go rigid. I feel every breath. Every inhale and exhale.
I’ve toed the line between pushing Francia away and drawing her in. I’ve held my tongue and let her buy new pillows for the sitting room. I’ve sat back and let her play House, all so she’d think there was even the vaguest chance that I could come to accept her as my wife.
But now… fuck it.
“No,” I snarl, my voice pure venom. “You’re not. You’re a fucking business deal and not a goddamn thing more. If you’re alive to say, ‘I do,’ then that is good enough for me. Beyond that, you’re useless to me.”
Truthfully, I have no intention of ever letting this bullshit get that far. But I don’t need to reveal all of my cards at once. Not when a peek at this hand is sending Francia into shock.
Her eyes are wide as she blinks at me, silent for the first time in a long time. Thank fucking God.
“You wanted a strong, capable bride.” Her voice is unsure like she hasn’t fully convinced herself. “You wanted a partnership. That’s what you said. How can this be a partnership if… if I’m disrespected?”
“I’ll make sure you are respected in public,” I tell her. “It does me no good if you are a laughingstock amongst our peers. But in this house, I won’t lift a finger to make your life easier. I won’t go out of my way to make sure the staff cuts the crusts off your sandwiches or makes your bed.”
“But… but we’re engaged! I—”
“You forced me into this marriage,” I remind her icily. “If you thought I would take kindly to that, you severely underestimated me. And if you don’t like the way things are going here, you have no one to blame but yourself. The moment you decided to double cross me, this is the life you signed up for. You are my bride, not my beloved. And you never will be.”
I expect Francia to throw another fit. To scream and shout until she gets her way.
Instead, she glares at me for one second, two, three… Then she turns and twirls out of the room, leaving as silently as she came.
Konstantin Sokolov wants to bump up their time frame. Well, I have yet another great reason to bump up mine.
Francia is not going to quit this easily.
30
FRANCIA
I thought he would come around.
Cora is wide-eyed. Naive. She doesn’t know how to take care of herself. How can Ivan think she’ll be able to take care of him? She is a helpless little girl trapped in a useless woman’s body.
I hate that I was right.
I hate that I knew Ivan would choose her. All I had to do was send her teetering in his direction and he fell for her.
No—he fell forme.
Everything he wants is because I told him to want it. So why can’t I make him want this? Wantme?
I lift my chin as I pass through the kitchen. The maids think they are hiding well enough in the pantry, but I can see the light coming from under the door. Tittering. Mocking me.
I’ll come back for them later.
Right now, I need to take care of my husband-to-be.
Men know what they want, but they have no fucking clue what theyneed. Ivan needs a real woman. He needs a partner who can carry the weight of power alongside him. Cora would buckle under the strain. She can’t do for Ivan what he needs. She can’t do what I’m going to do for him.
He’ll see it. I know he will.
