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The heels were high, and it would be impossible to run in them, but they were shoes.

I slipped off the teddy I was wearing and slid the new clothes on. The fabrics were buttery soft, silky and thick.

Everything fit perfectly.

Why was he giving me real clothes?

Should I be grateful or afraid? I didn't know. There was never any way to tell what kind of mood he would be in, what would happen when he came back each night.

Some nights were all about rough, kinky sex that left me satisfied but sore. More than once, I had a fresh set of lines whipped into my ass before he took me there.

Other nights he was kind; he would cuddle me, we would have a nice dinner, and he’d talk with me like I was his girlfriend, not a prisoner.

It messed with my head.

What was this? What was I to him?

The only constant was I was always naked, or practically naked.

Now I had clothes that were fairly modest and more expensive than anything I had ever bought.

The contradiction left me unsettled, but I did as I was told and got dressed.

Pavel didn't say a word as we left the hotel room and rode the elevator down to street level, where a car was waiting for us. Without being asked, once we were settled he reached over and adjusted the air conditioning, his eyes flicking to me briefly as if checking my comfort.

"You need to behave," he said. "I'm taking you to see your grandmother."His fingers drummed against the steering wheel."There are people who would use her toget to me now. The only way to keep both of you safe is if you're officially mine."

"What do you mean, officially?"

"Married,"he said simply."It's not a romantic gesture, Alina. It's protection. For my family’s business interests, for you, for her."

Wait. What?

He said married.

Like married, married?

That word ran over and over in my mind as I tried to understand what had just happened.

Married.

He drove us across town, and it wasn't until we hit the highway that I worked up the courage to ask a question.

"Marriage... that's really necessary?"

"Yes,"he said,his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "My family needs some assurance on where you stand. And while my enemies won't touch my wife, they will torture and kill my captive."His eyes flicked to me."Which would you prefer to be?"

The cold logic of it settled in my stomach like a stone.

Pondering all the ramifications of marrying into his family, I wasn’t paying much attention to where we were until Pavel pulled the car into a parking lot, in front of what looked like a large house. He held my hand as we walked through the doors like we were any normal couple there to visit a relative.

The facility, however, was breathtaking.

The main lobby and adjacent rooms had a homey and casual atmosphere, while there were more staff than I hadever seen at any of the nursing homes that Medicaid paid for.

There were actual doctors walking while talking to family members. A full nursing staff, and it smelled like someone was cooking a feast.

In a rare moment outside of my gilded cage, I walked into my grandmother's cage.