He thunders through the room and smashes his fists into everything he can. Splitting open his skin and making himself bleed. Then, he turns to me, his chest heaving up and down, eyes clouded with a mixture of emotions that I’m not able to decipher. Just one.
Hate.
My bottom lip trembles as he storms over and grabs me. Opening the door, he pushes me out into the hall, yelling, “Get out!”
Reaching for the straps of my nightdress, I cover myself, a sob breaking through my lips. “W-Why?”
He slams the door in my face without saying anything more, and I stumble back when he yells out, his fists colliding with the door. Every thunderous bang pushes me further away. Until Milton’s destruction resorts me to breaking down and crying.
Continuing to shuffle back, the door getting further and further away, I’m stopped when my back hits a pair of legs.
“Get up.” A voice I swear I know snarls. Looking behind me, expensive polished shoes that belong to a man are right next to me. Craning my neck, I glance upward, sucking in a breath when I see Milton’s friend. Maxim Koslov.
He’s standing above me, black eyes glaring at me with disgust. Anger. “I said, get up.”
I swallow nervously as I stand. Wearing a gray suit with a red tie, his steely cold eyes connect with mine before snapping to the room Milton is still wrecking.
I’m not sure what crosses his mind, though I get the feeling Milton’s outburst has perturbed him. And it’s clear as he puts his gaze back on me where he’s pointing the blame. But then, I am to blame. “Come with me.”
“I-I can’t.” I try to go back to Milton, to stop him, but Maxim grabs my arm and tugs me forward. I yelp, his grip like a vice. “You’re hurting—"
“You’d be wise to not disobey me,” he warns, tone dripping with so much darkness, I shudder. “I’m not opposed to giving a woman a good slap when needed.”
He drags me away, and he isn’t gentle about it. Throwing me onto one of the couches, he roars, “Lisa!” Coming from nowhere and stumbling in her heels, it’s obvious even Lisa is afraid of Maxim as he barks out, “YA khochu kontrakt Milton s etoy devushkoy.”
She pulls a piece of paper from her bag promptly, and when he grabs it from her, he turns to me. “You see this?” It’s the contract—the one I only signed tonight.
He rips it. Right down the middle. Until it’s nothing but pieces floating to the ground.
“Idti k nemu,” he says in an ordering tone. Nodding, Lisa goes in the direction we left. To Milton.
“In five minutes, you are getting in a car, and it will take you back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”
My heart drops to my stomach. No. He can’t do this. “I can’t leave—”
“I don’t want to see your face in this place again. Do you understand?” he demands, and the realization of what he’s doing sinks in. That he’s taking me away from Milton. Emotion clogs in my throat, and I start sobbing. He tuts. “Crying won’t get you anywhere with me.”
“You don’t understand—”
He pins me with a murderous stare. “Oh, I understand perfectly, suka. Whatever’s been going on between you and Milton ends tonight.”
“No,” I shout, despite the fear of this man. “I can’t leave him. He’s protecting me!”
“Not anymore.”
Grabbing me, he pulls me off the couch and marches me all the way to the entrance of the mansion, not caring that I’m shoeless, only wearing a nightdress and have blood down my chin. Not caring as I weep and plead for him to return me to Milton.
A car screeches around the drive, coming to a stop right in front of us. The man I remember to be Lucius gets out of the driver’s seat and opens the back door. Thrusting me forward, Maxim tries to push me into the car. “No!”
Attempting to run back inside is futile with a grip like Maxim’s. Slamming me up against the side of the car, he takes my wrist and glares down at my hand. My eyes drop. He’s looking at the ring. “You won’t be needing this anymore.”
Ripping it off my finger, I cry harder. “Please stop.”
He pushes me inside the car and slams the door in my face. Lucius is already in the driver’s seat and speeding away.
“It’s for the best,” I hear him say as tears fall like rivulets down my face.
“Shut up!” I kick his back seat. They don’t get it. Not that it bothers Lucius. He keeps driving until all I can do is fall against the seat and cry some more.
Breaking, breaking. Destroyed.
Milton’s reaction plays in my mind as we travel. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but what I do know is that I pushed him to the brink and I got more than just a glimpse into his world. His demons screamed, and mine called back. And leaving him now only makes me realize how much I do need him. How I need more than just his protection.
But in Fair Haven, things like that come with a price, and having Milton may just cost me everything.
~ Continues in Reign ~
About the Author
Living in the hills of Ireland and spending years writing books online, Lydia’s dream has always been to one day become a published author. When she isn’t escaping into the many worlds inside her head, she’s a devoted mother to three beautiful children and partner.
https://authorlydiagoodfellow.com
Also by Lydia Goodfellow
Club XXX
Worship
Reign
