Page 145 of Cruel Juliet

But of course that’s not the case. Nikolai Danilo doesn’t change. He bends the world to his will and forces everyone around him to change, even if it leads to their deaths.

Like he did to my brothers.

“Take her away.” He waves his hand dismissively. “Lock her up until I have use for her.”

Maksim’s hand finds my arm. He pulls me up, but his grip is softer than it has any right to be.

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t protest this time. “Yes, Otets.”

Our father doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. His men already have their orders.

And I already know what happens to people he plans to use.

56

SIMA

Maksim leads me to a room fit for a princess.

Unfortunately, I’ve had enough experience with the kind of luxury that comes at the price of a lock, so I’m not exactly impressed.

But then I piece together the walk here. The turns we took on the stairs, the direction of the windows.

“This is where my old room was,” I whisper.

Maksim nods. “Dad had it remodeled a couple of years after… well, after.” He clears his throat. “But I thought you’d rather be here than anywhere else.”

“So it’s a guest room now?”

“… Of sorts.” Maksim sounds uneasy. His eyes keep darting around to the luxurious red velvets, the flowy silk sheets.

Belatedly, I realize what he means. “Ew.”

“Yeah,” he agrees with an angry curl of his mouth. “Guess he didn’t like Mom spending all her time in here. She still sneaks in sometimes, though. When he’s away.”

My heart twists. I’ve tried not to think of how badly I hurt Mom by leaving. I told myself she’d abandoned me first. Even though she was present in the house, she didn’t lift a finger to protect us. Not me, not Lara.

Except that I’ve been on the other side of that now. Only briefly, but I have. If Petyr hadn’t changed his ways, this might have been me.

I can see how long it must have taken for her spirit to be crushed, how many small and big things piled together. By the time I was born, she was no longer capable of standing up for me.

But she never forgot me. Even after Dad turned my childhood bedroom into a sex parlor for his mistresses, she still kept mourning me.

I sit on the carpet. I have no guarantee it’ll be cleaner than the bed, but the last thing I want is to let my ass touch those sheets. “Thanks,” I say dryly. “You can go now.”

Maksim lingers by the door. I wait. He doesn’t leave.

“I’m sorry, Sima.” For a second, he sounds like a little boy again. Like the sweet brother who snuck me candies when we were little. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“Then why did you tell Anatoli?”

“To bring you home.” His fists clench at his sides. “Mom’s a mess. She hasn’t recovered since—” He sucks in a sharp breath. “She needed you back. I couldn’t let her think you were dead for one more second.”

“Then where is she?”

Maksim’s eyes fill with hurt. “Dad didn’t tell her. She has no idea.”

“Great. Is he planning on telling her? Or are you?”