Page 37 of His Forced Bride

"I hate you," I tell him plainly.

"I know."

He leans down until his lips nearly brush my ear.

"But hate can transform into other things, given time and proper encouragement."

"It won't."

"We'll see."

He steps back, releasing me from his proximity but not from his influence.

The space between us feels charged with tension and unresolved conflict.

"Rosa will escort you back to your room. I suggest you rest. Tomorrow will be demanding."

I want to argue more, to find some flaw in his logic or weakness in his resolve, but the threats leave me without hope.

Batya bound me to this marriage before his death, leaving me with no legal or moral grounds to refuse.

Rosa appears as if summoned, her kind face carefully neutral as she waits by the door.

I follow her without another word, leaving Yuri alone with his victory and his wine.

She opens my door with a key card and waits until I'm inside before speaking.

"Is there anything you need for tonight?"

I almost laugh at the question.

What I need is freedom, choice, a different father who wouldn't have sold me to secure his business interests.

What I need is a world where twenty-three-year-old women aren't traded to settle debts and forge alliances.

"No. Thank you," I mumble as I walk toward the bed where I want to collapse and cry now that he can't see me break.

She nods and locks me in again to stew in fury and fear.

I sink onto the bed and stare at my reflection in the darkened window.

The woman looking back at me appears fragile, defeated, nothing at all how I see myself.

But appearances can be deceiving.

If Yuri wants a wife, he'll get one.

But he'll also get everything that comes with marrying someone who hates him—the rebellion, the resistance, the constant battle for dominance that will define every day of our shared future.

He thinks he can shape me into something stronger. Tomorrow, he'll learn what I'm already made of.

8

YURI

Isign the last shipping manifest and push it aside.

The numbers check out—territory secure, revenue steady, no unexpected losses from the docks.