Page 14 of Nobody Wants Me (Volkov Bratva #5)

Sliding off the bed, I made my way to the bathroom.

I should have known Ivan’s home on his own island would have every detail of luxury.

The taps appeared to be golden and shiny.

The sinks were white. Everything looked so clean and fresh.

It was like we stepped into one of those super posh advertisements.

It reminded me of the places my father went to.

The places he boasted about. The luxury he demanded from everyone around him.

Thinking of my father, I couldn’t help but stare in the mirror and wonder where he was and what he was doing. He had put a hit out on my name.

I wanted to cry, and yet no tears would come. I didn’t know where my brothers were. My family hated me so much they would rather see me dead than happy. They married me off, and now this.

What exactly should I do?

I felt a little sick, but I knew it wasn’t because I was pregnant. I had already finished my menstrual cycle. Nothing had come from my and Victor’s wedding night. I didn’t know if I should be happy with that, or sad.

Since I was not pregnant, that meant Victor and I would have to have sex again. The first time had been bad enough. I didn’t want him to touch me.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and then splashed some cold water onto my face. Afterward, I cleaned my teeth, brushed my hair, and decided to check out the island. I didn’t need to worry about changing my clothes, because, well, no one else was on the island.

I stepped out of my bedroom and saw Victor’s door was still closed. I knew I should probably go and get dressed but I didn’t know where any of our bags were. Making my way down the hall, I rub at the back of my head and stifle a yawn. I’m not even that tired, so I don’t know why I was yawning.

I make my way toward the main house, which is open plan. You can see the kitchen, dining room, main sitting room, and there are a couple of doors that take you to a small library. Victor and I had to find the bedrooms last night.

The sun was shining and I loved the sound of the ocean outside. Much to my surprise, there was also a distinctive sound of the birds as they sung, which I loved. I walked toward the main doors leading out onto the beach, and they were in fact open. Victor and I closed them last night.

“You’re awake.”

I spun around fast and there was Victor.

He must leave his door closed once he gets up.

In the short time I have known Victor, he is never without a suit.

I started to think one was sewn onto his skin, which just sounded so gross.

He was in the kitchen, and the shirt he wore only had a couple of buttons done up, the rest were open, showing off quite the heavily muscled and inked chest. For some reason, I had a feeling he wasn’t in long pants.

I don’t know why I felt that way, I just did.

At first, I had no idea what to say to him.

We hadn’t exactly gotten along, and he didn’t like that I was attempting to pull down the shelves he installed for me.

Also, I had rejected his beautiful cabinet, and it was so lovely.

It would look wonderful in my closet, but I was not going to accept his gifts when he didn’t have the same courtesy to accept mine.

“Morning,” I said.

My voice sounded a little croaky, and I was desperate for some coffee.

The scent of it finally wafted over to me, and I found myself walking toward the kitchen.

I had assumed being on a private island, Victor and I could hardly see each other, and pretty much live on either end of the island.

The house was slap-bang in the center of the island.

There was no way of getting away from it.

We were in this together. Kind of.

I don’t know. If he started yelling at me for no good reason, I wasn’t going to be a doormat and take it.

All of my life I had taken all kinds of shit thrown at me.

Accepting it was always my fault because of the way I looked, or it was something I did or didn’t do.

My dad and my brothers always had a way with words. I accepted it. Not anymore.

I get that I’m not the perfect wife. I’m probably not even close to the wife Victor wanted. But that didn’t mean he could be verbally abusive anymore. I was not going to be yelled at for no good reason.

“Morning. I made coffee,” he said. “And I’m currently dealing with breakfast.”

“You cook?”

“Only if I have to.”

Rounding the kitchen, I saw he had cut up a bunch of fruit. There was even toast, jam, and what looked like yogurt. With the warmth of the day, I don’t think breakfast could have been any more perfect.

My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it, and instead opened a couple of cabinets until I found a mug.

Grabbing the coffee jug, I poured myself a nice large mug full and went to the fridge to find some milk.

I tended to be a plant-milk kind of girl, but I also wasn’t too picky, so I grabbed the full-fat milk and poured a little dash into my mug.

There was no need for sugar. Blowing across the surface of my mug, I turned to look at Victor, to make sure this was not a ruse and when I least expected, he was going to kill me.

He was, indeed, in shorts. I’d never seen his legs exposed. Not even on our wedding night. He had ink on his legs as well. It looked like two snakes curving around his calves. They were kind of sexy. Scary as well. Who put snakes on their body? But it did look sexy.

I’ve always been fascinated with body ink.

I don’t even know why. Not that I would ever have any done to myself, because I don’t like any kind of pain.

I heard somewhere that it’s like a thousand pinches all over your body, so I attempted to pinch my skin and see if I could take it.

I couldn’t. Even pinching myself. So, I was only ever going to admire someone else’s tattoos. I was a fucking coward.

My stomach growled again, just as Victor turned, holding the tray of food.

“Breakfast is ready.”

I’m not used to Victor being so ... friendly. He seemed quite cheery and approachable. I didn’t know if I wanted him to yell at me, so I could convince myself that he is in fact the same person.

Following him to the dining room table, I saw a bowl and a plate set up for each of us, complete with a fork, spoon, and a butter knife.

“Have your pick,” he said.

All I wanted was to sip my coffee. “I’ll just have some coffee to start.”

He nodded his head, then reached out and started to fill his bowl to the top, and even dome it with fruit. Before he even started eating the fruit, he took a slice of toast, some jam, and spread it thickly, taking a bite.

For me, I had a sip of my coffee, and the milk wasn’t half bad. Was I seriously thinking in terms of the taste of milk, rather than the fact we had to come to a damn deserted island because people are going to kill me?

“What happens if they kill me?” I asked.

“They won’t.”

“But, I mean, if they do, does it just go away?”

Victor took another bite of his toast, and he looked at me a little sternly. I was not going to back down.

“If they kill you, then yes, in theory, it all goes away.”

“Can’t we just fake my death?”

Victor chuckled and I wasn’t sure if he was entertained or not.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because we can’t.”

I found that hard to believe.

Victor ate some more of his fruit, and my stomach rumbled so I reached for some to add to my bowl.

“If we attempted to fake your death, or if they even succeeded in killing you, there would be knock-on effects from it.”

This made me frown. “How? It’s not like I’m anyone important. I’m a complete and total nobody.”

“You’re now part of the Volkov Bratva. If anyone attempted to kill you or if they succeeded, it would show Ivan as weak.”

“How does it not show him being weak now?” I asked.

“Because, while we’re here, he is hunting down the ones who are willing to take the hit.

There is going to come a point where people will realize to get to you risks death.

Even if they kill you, Ivan will not stop until he kills everyone responsible.

Your life is important,” Victor said. “There is no way anyone is going to get away with killing you.”

“Your life is important.”

Those words rang in my head. I couldn’t believe what he had said. Was this even real? It didn’t make any sense to me at all.

I felt a little sick. Tears filled my eyes. I’m not important. I had never been important. I’m the girl no one wants. I didn’t want Victor to see me cry.

“Excuse me.”

I don’t know if he detected the croak in my voice, but I don’t linger to speak to him. I just get to my feet and rush like crazy to get the hell out of there.

Taking a deep breath as I get outside. I exhale slowly. Then, I do the same all over again. I’m trying to stop the tears from falling, but today they are giving me some real trouble. All I want to do is sob. Only, I can’t just do it. The outside and the beauty that surrounds me is breathtaking.

I clench my hands into fists.

“Why are you crying?” Victor asked.

I spun around and sure enough, he is standing there.

How can he look so good now? I mean, I know my husband looked good, but back at our house, where he was dressed the role, he didn’t seem quite so handsome. Also, he was showing more concern in the past half hour than he had just the past month and a half of our marriage.

“I’m not important,” I said. “I’m nobody.”

He looked at me and then surprised me and took me into his arms. I had no idea what the hell was happening. Why was Victor hugging me? Why was I in his arms? It made absolutely no sense to me, and I tried not to freak out.

Only, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face against his chest. I held onto him, and I didn’t want to let him go.