Page 162 of His Forced Bride

Her lips curve into a faint smile.

“I love you too.”

I kiss the damp line of her spine, every ounce of me sated and raw, and wrap my arm around her waist to hold her there, unwilling to let her go even now.

Inessa is mine, in blood and vow and bed, and I know I will never let another day pass without reminding her of it.

29

INESSA

The elevator climbs toward my mother's penthouse, and I know I'm ready for this confrontation, no matter what Yuri's voiced concerns were before I left him in the car.

The woman reflected in the polished steel doors bears no resemblance to the frightened girl who once begged her father to let her mother come home.

I've grown so much since that time, and I owe most of that to Yuri.

The doors slide open to reveal her apartment, not the hallway I expected.

She knows I'm coming because I called her, played the waif, acted like I needed "Mommy" to come to my aid after all.

And she bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

I step out of the elevator and immediately, I'm smacked by how pretentious my mother's tastes are.

The entire place with its white marble and leather seems designed to showcase how much money she has, which is the polar opposite of what I pictured for more than a decade of my life as I wondered what she was doing, where she was.

Now I know.

My mother waits near the windows, wearing an elegant dress in cream silk that emphasizes her figure, and from behind, she could pass for a woman decades younger.

But when she turns, the coldness in her eyes reveals what she truly is.

And she doesn't look so happy to see me at first, but I didn't expect her to be thrilled.

She's hoping to destroy me.

Of course her acting will slip out of place now and then.

"Inessa. My beautiful daughter."

Her feigned smile radiates warmth.

Too bad I know what hovers beneath the surface.

"I knew you would eventually see reason."

I came here for one reason only, to keep her distracted and busy while her empire falls, and if I must suffer her for a few hours, that's what I have to do.

I remain near the elevator, feeling stiff and out of place.

Months of living with Yuri and the genuine warmth he shows me in spite of his dominating personality have helped me know what safety feels like, and this apartment does not feel safe at all.

"You said we needed to meet," I tell her.

My feet inch closer to her as I study her face.

I'm amazed that I look so much like her, yet my heart isn't at all black and marred with hatred the way hers is.