Page 46 of The Mafia and His Obsession Part 2 (Tainted Hearts 5)

I just loved my fucking life. Did you hear the sarcasm? Because I heard it. Loud and clear.

I could drink away my sorrows, but that wouldn’t help. Not really.

If Valerie were next to me right now, I’d find my release between her creamy thighs.

The feeling of loneliness ate at me, piercing my skin viciously and leaving me scarred. I didn’t realize it would be this hard to be away from her…so far away from her warmth.

Getting off the bed, I pulled up my black sweatpants and put my shirt on. It was in the middle of the night, but there was only one way to douse my frustration.

I was going to release all my tension on the punching bag. Pound the shit out of it until I was sweating like a motherfucker and unable to even lift my arms.

Then…then I was going to make my next move.

This game had to continue. Everyone was vicious and vile. It was a lethal game.

And Viktor Ivanshov was no failure.

Chapter 13

Valerie

Yegor paid me no attention as he sat on the sofa chair and stared down at his phone. Since Viktor left, he had been keeping me company. Sometimes he’d wander into my room, sit on the couch, and fade into the shadows. Yegor wouldn’t speak to me. Maybe he knew there was no point, because I chose not to converse.

I sat in the silence on my bed and continued to knit the black scarf I was making for Viktor.

The winter in Russia was harsh, and I knew Viktor could make good use of the scarf. I liked the thought of making something useful. If he wore it, it meant that I would be with him, keeping him warm even though I wasn’t physically there. My presence would still be a balm to his soul, like he once said.

I had been working on it for two days, and I was almost done. There was nothing else for me to do. Being trapped in the room, this cage…it became sickening.

When Viktor was here with me, it was the perfect escape. My solace. Being trapped wasn’t so bad. With Viktor, my cage became a paradise. He knew how to make it all better with his humor and his sweet touches. He was my saving grace. And I’d rather live under Viktor’s dark halo than be alone and Valentin’s caged doll—at my husband’s pleasure.

I was confined here like an animal. Fed three times a day and then left alone, with nothing else to do than wander around the four walls of this bedroom.

Seven years. Seven very long years.

My thoughts went back to Malory and my parents. It had been so long since I really thought of them. My days had blended together. Sometimes I’d even forget what day it was…what month…

But now, I wondered. How they were doing? Had Malory gone off to college? Was she happy? Did she have a boyfriend now? Malory had a pure romantic heart. She used to dream of fairy tales. Happily ever afters. A sweet girl, wearing her beautiful heart on her sleeve. It was one of the reasons why I felt the need to protect my sister. She didn’t deserve this. She was a pure soul, too young to become an object of pleasure for depraved men.

God, how I wanted to hold her in my arms once again. When I left, she was only thirteen years old. Now, she would be twenty. Did she miss me? Or had she forgotten her sister?

The thought was a blow to my stomach, and my knees weakened. If I weren’t already sitting down, I would have fallen over.

So many years had passed…did they all forget about me?

I felt a shift inside of me, and it was painful. My lungs clenched, and I closed my eyes, fighting back the stinging tears.

I breathed out shakily while gripping my knitting needles tighter in my hand. My knuckles hurt under the pressure, and I grinded my teeth together. Why…why do I cause myself more pain?

My family had always been my greatest weakness and my deepest torment. I was here in this hellhole so my sweet Malory could have the life she wanted, she deserved.

I dreamed of the day I’d meet her again, the day I would be free from these shackles.

One day. One day soon.

Viktor had promised me.

He was no Prince Charming, but I knew my dark knight would keep his vows. I trusted him with every fiber of my being.

Opening my eyes again, I stared at the wool scarf. I blinked the tears away and threw Yegor a glance. He was already looking at me. This had become a daily routine.

I didn’t think Yegor would be allowed in my room. But maybe he was my new bodyguard. He was a trusted man of both Valentin and Viktor. He was powerful and important.