Page 54

I’ve started my period.
Of course, my body has decided to betray me now.
My hands shake as the red is in my line of vision again, and I press one hand to my stomach once more, trying to ease the pain.
Nothing is helping.
At home, when I got my period, I relaxed for the full seven days, and a few more days too. Though Papa was a little awkward with it, and Dario would turn bright pink whenever he was aware of it, my family did their best to keep me comfortable, and distract me from the pain.
And now, I’m stuck here with these captors, unable to doanything.
I bite down on my bottom lip, wondering what I can even do.
If I ask them for help…
A fresh wave of shame crashes over me. They have already stripped me of everything—my freedom, my dignity—and now, I need to ask these very same men forhelp?I can’t let them see melike this. Even the idea of it makes me want to curl up into a ball, sobbing as I pray to wake up from this awful nightmare.
But I have no choice.
They need to know.
There aren’t any supplies in this room, and the bathroom doesn’t even have the basic necessities. There’s no way I can handle an entire week of bleeding all on my own. And even though I don’t really understand it, I know they care about me fiercely, and there’s no telling what they’ll do if I try to hide this from them.
Carefully, I pull my trousers over my hips, squeezing my thighs together to try and stop the blood from flowing, as I sit frozen on the edge of my bed, waiting.
I don’t need to wait for very long.
The door creaks open as Nikolai steps inside, his gaze immediately landing on me.
As he takes in my tense posture—the way my arms are wrapped around my middle—his eyes narrow in my direction. He remains in the doorway, watching me.
“What’s wrong?”
Nikolai asks, his voice low but commanding.
The words are stuck in my throat. I feel my face burn as I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I can’t eventryto speak, and that’s not even the most humiliating thing about this entire situation.
“Something is wrong.” He says again, more firmly this time. His eyes seem to darken as he steps closer towards me, his movements slow, and deliberate. “Tell me, Chiara.”
I swallow hard, my hands gripping the edge of the bed so tightly that I begin to feel my knuckles ache.
I clear my throat as I tip my head back a little so I can meet his eyes. His towering frame casts a shadow over me, and as hedrags his eyes across the length of my body, a small dip appears between his brows.
“What’s happened? Why are you in pain? Tell me so I can help you.”
Help you.
The words sting, a cruel reminder that I’m entirely at their mercy.
Here, I’m only a captive, and they are my captors.
I can’t do anything here without them knowing.
Before I can tell him, Mikhail steps into the room too, his sharp gaze moving between myself, and his brother.
“What’s going on?”
He asks, the question directed to Nikolai.