I ignored him, and he waited for a guard to come. They spoke in what I assumed was Italian before the guard nodded and left. 

“He’s gone to find you a guard that speaks English.” Viktor said and sighed. “My words in the lounge were inappropriate and for that, I apologize, Nikita.”

“Forget it. I’m going back inside.” I muttered and turned around, heading back to the Villa. Viktor followed me inside the entire way to the bedroom. I took my shoes off and my hair down, and threw the blankets back, before getting underneath them.

“Shut the light off when you leave the bedroom. I’m tired.” I hissed at him before covering my face with a pillow. I heard the light flick off, and took the pillow away from my face, and Viktor was still in the room. He was sitting in the lounge chair, texting on his phone. I watched him, and he looked up at me. 

“Nikita, listen. The next time you want to leave the Villa you must take someone with you. Don’t go off on your own, it isn’t safe,” he said, and went back to whatever he was doing on his phone. 

“I want you to apologize to me, and mean it. Until then, don’t bother giving me a hollow apology, Viktor.” I said and rolled so I couldn’t see him and closed my eyes. 

“I’ll wake you up for lunch.” Viktor said, and I didn’t respond. There was no point. I was trying to go to sleep again. The only thing I wanted was to go back to the Russo mansion, at least there I didn’t feel so helpless. Here I couldn’t even rely on Lev for help. 

I woke up to Viktor yelling. I had no clue how long I had been sleeping, but he was definitely angry about something. Part of me knew getting out of this bed was a bad idea, but I still did it. The closer I got to Viktor, the louder his angry tantrum was. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes before I knocked. 

“What!” Viktor snapped from behind the door, and he yanked it open. He looked at me and his face softened. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“You could wake the dead with all that screaming.”

He pulled a hand through his hair, and I finally decided to ask him what happened and why this was occurring. 

“I was on the phone. The useless men I employ fucked things up for me yet again. I will have to head back early and—-”

“I’m alright with postponing the rest of our honeymoon for another time.” I said, and Viktor narrowed his eyes at me. He clearly didn’t like that idea. “What the hell are you up to, Nikita?”

“I don’t like it here. I don’t know where I am, though I’m sure I have a clue now, and I can’t speak Italian. At least at the Russo family mansion, I have my choice of languages to speak. I also know the Russo mansion.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Though I’m sure that is why you brought me here. So I couldn’t run away, but I never thought about it.” 

“If I knew this ring and a piece of paper were the best way to tie you down, I would have done that first.” Viktor chuckled and closed the space between us. “Best collar and leash going, Nikita.”

“You devalued the commitment of marriage alone with that mindset. It’s disgusting.” I hissed and reached out, grabbing him by the hair. “You don’t deserve me, or this marriage.”

His hand wrapped around my wrist and he whispered dangerously, “Nikita, you would do well to let go of my hair now.”

“Or what, Viktor? What are you going to do?” I snapped, his very presence getting under my skin. 

Viktor sighed and applied pressure to my wrist. And it wasn’t comfortable. But I doubted he was going to break my only good wrist, right here like this. I slowly released my grip on his hair and he let me go. He stepped away, his gaze cold as ice. I stood there, my heart racing, and wondering if there was a moment he thought about doing something worse to me. I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I could feel the adrenaline still pumping through my body. I knew I had to get out of there before things got out of hand. Everything in me wanted to get violent, just like I had been trained. 

“When you give me this look, Nikita, it makes me feel you’re trying to make me prey, but then I expect nothing less from you,” Viktor said, practically purring and it made my stomach turn. Shaking off my anger, I left the room. 

I knew he was following me. I could hear his footsteps. I knew he was still trying to get me to break. He was looking for a reason to force me to comply with him, and I would not give him that chance. If I wanted to keep my freedom, this marriage couldn’t get violent. 

“Viktor, I know what you want from me. You want me to get violent, so that’s a reason for you to force me to bend to your will. But I won’t. I don’t want a marriage, let alone a violent one.” I said, stopping and turning around, crossing my arms. 

“I could force you to bend for me, right here and now, but I’m not, am I?” he replied.

“No, you just took me on a honeymoon far away from the only people who would help me, and you did it on purpose.”

“The people that would help you, huh? Did you know, Lev, your precious brother was willing to trade you, and your freedom for Ilya’s?” Viktor said, plainly like he didn’t just try to land a crippling blow to me. 

“I don’t put it past Lev. I’m worth something to you, and if he needed to use me like that, I was fine with it. What reason do I have to refuse him?” I said honestly, swallowing the feeling of sickness down. “If you’re done, I’d like to be alone now.”

Viktor didn’t follow me anymore. Heading to the bedroom, I grabbed my phone and headed to the balcony. It did not surprise me to see the guard standing out there now. Viktor would not let me do what I did again. I dialled our sister’s number, and she picked up. 

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Nikita, You couldn’t have called me any sooner?”

“Oh, Lev must have called, huh?” I breathed. 

“Of course he did.”

“Do the kids need anything? You know my—-”

“Nikita, are you ok?” she asked, concern in her voice. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m ok,” I lied through my teeth to her. 

“Nikita, I know when you’re lying. I know you. You’re my baby brother.”

“It’s nothing, believe me.”

“If you say so,” she sighed. “The older you get, the more you shut us out, Nikita. We are your family.”

“I miss you…” I whispered. 

“Come see me. Bring that new husband of yours too when Lev and Alessio’s son is finally born. We can welcome—-”

“Son? Since when?” I replied, shocked. 

“Lev didn’t tell you?” 

“No. Lev didn’t.”

“Oh, I’m sure it just slipped—--”

“Stop trying to cover for him. I have to go. I’ll call when I can.” I said, hanging up on her before I lost my cool with her and yelled. Pulling my cast covered hand through my hair, my stomach was rolling. Before I shoved my phone into my pocket, I texted Yuri and asked him to have some things sent to Alessio and Lev for their upcoming son. 

Heading to the kitchen, the staff noticed me right away. 

“Would you finally like something to eat? Lunch will be a bit.”

“Please.” I said, and they brought me a nice-looking sandwich, and a drink of something iced. 

“There is a dining room across the hall.” one staff member said, and I said, thanks and went across the hall with the food. I set it down and pulled out a chair. Sitting down, I picked at the food until it was gone. My phone rang continuously, and I set it on the table. Lev’s contact information flashed, and I silenced my phone. 

His sister had probably called and given him trouble for not telling me about the baby. Right now, I would just rather avoid speaking with him. My phone finally laid silent. The annoying buzzing was just that, annoying. I honestly didn’t put it past Lev to call Viktor and demand I pick up my phone. But that didn’t seem to be the case. 

My phone buzzed as I stood up, and Alessio’s contact flashed across the screen, and I silenced the call again. He didn’t call again and, for some reason, dodging his call felt worse than Lev’s. Tucking it into my pocket, I went to look around the Villa. This was also just another way I could avoid Viktor, too. 

Heading outside through a side door into the backyard again, the sun was nice on my skin. I wanted nothing more to congratulate Lev and Alessio, but Lev didn’t tell me himself, and that alone was telling. I had taken his parents, and until now, Alessio and his sister and her child were all he had. I didn’t blame him for wanting to protect the news, even from me. I just didn’t think that being excluded like this would be this uncomfortable.

Walking around the backyard, I avoided being too close to the house. I was being watched, but I didn’t know if that was by Viktor, or someone Viktor asked to watch me. Sitting underneath a tree in the backyard, I watched the leaves blow in the wind. Under any other circumstances, this place would have been really beautiful, but to me, it was just a prison. I felt trapped and alone here.