Chapter 153

Elena:

My bedroom door opened, taking me off guard at the force that the door made as it hit the wall.

My eyes widened and I stood, taken by surprise when I saw Konstantin standing in front of me.

His eyes were wide with rage and I took a step back, fearing his reaction and what he was going to do. I looked at the door for a second too long, a part of me hoping that Vladimir would suddenly show up, make a racket, or a sudden emergency was to happen. But I knew, judging by the man’s expression, that I was stuck.

“Your family,” he said, throwing a picture in front of me. “Their latest picture, living their lives, as they forgot about you.”

I frowned in confusion as the picture landed on the floor. I kneeled down, careful as I lifted the picture in my hand. I looked at it, and my heart ached at the sight of my little sister who would now be seventeen. She wouldn’t have understood what happened or why her eldest sister was no longer in the house, but I was thankful to know that she was safe and had managed to live her life. 

My parents, who grew in age, a small part of them changed as they did. But at least I knew that they were happy, they were watching their youngest daughter live her life. I didn’t know whether or not I was ever going to be free, but I knew that they were living their lives, and somewhere, deep inside, I knew that even if I was to be, I wasn’t sure that I was ever going to be able to look at them again.

I took a deep breath and walked toward him, taking careful steps as I did before extending the picture, handing it to him.

“You aren’t going to beg for this one?” He asked, shaking his head in question. His tone was filled with mockery, and I couldn’t help but find myself wondering why he even showed me the picture in the first place. It wasn’t even my birthday, and I knew that it was the only day when he did. It marked our ‘anniversary’, and he was always sure to remind me of that when it came.

I shook my head and he chuckled. He grabbed me by my chin, and I flinched as his hand touched the bruise that I had on my face. Batrov’s nails had cut my skin and I knew that the man could see the mark. His eyes met mine as he frowned, and he shook his head in question.

“Who did this to you?” He asked, taking me back by his concern. I knew that it was nonexistent toward me, but the idea of someone else laying a finger on me was not something that he accepted, not without his permission anyway. His eyes were fixed on me, but I looked away from him, fearing to meet his eyes as I knew better than to find myself thrown in between him and his right hand. Batrov was someone that he valued and if he lost him because of me, then he was going to be taking more anger out on me, and that wasn’t something that I wanted. “I asked you a fucking question, Elena.” 

“Have you fucking spread your legs to another man while I was gone?” He asked, wrapping his hand around my throat. My eyes widened in surprise, and I had to fight back the yelp that almost escaped my lips in surprise at how fast his fingers wrapped around my neck. His eyes were fixed on mine, and I could tell that he was more than willing to tighten his grip. 

I shook my head in response as I fought back the urge to wrap my hand around his wrist, wanting to push it away from my neck. The last thing that I needed to do was resist. The man got more aggressive when I did that and I didn’t want to risk getting more hurt right now.

His eyes darkened and I looked down at my feet before a shadow appeared behind him. My heart raced against my ribcage and my chest ached, the feeling unusual for me despite being used to what Konstantin mostly did. 

“I asked a fucking damn question!” He snapped, pushing me back as he let me go. My body dropped because of the force and I hit my back against the edge of the bed. The man approached and I covered my face, fearing that he would punch me, but the blow never came. 

I stayed still, waiting for an impact, but when I was sure that none would come, I opened my eyes to find his hand raised in midair as none other than Vladimir stood in front of him, holding it. Both men kept their eyes on one another and the anger and surprise that I saw in Konstantin’s eyes was one that I don’t remember ever seeing before.

“A man does not lay a hand on a woman,” Vladimir spoke with an authority that sent shivers running down my spine. He didn’t look at me, but I could tell that his eyes held an apology that I could easily catch. 

“I do not think that you are to fucking interfere with what I do with…”

“I am to interfere because he is going to get away with it if I do not.” He said, stopping Konstantin. He looked at me for a second before looking at Konstantin. His eyes bore more anger now, and I could tell that Konstantin was confused at what Vladimir was about to say. 

“What are you fucking talking about?” He asked, glaring at Vladimir who let the man’s wrist go, knowing that he had his full attention. 

“You can ask your fucking right hand, Batrov, why he chose to threaten the woman when your daughter died.” He said, making me frown in confusion. “And you learn that the woman was not only framed because the idiot failed to check the cameras properly, but he physically hurt her too. And while I take it that it is a common thing among those of your kind, I doubt that even you would fucking allow a man to lay a finger on a woman that you call a ‘wife’. Or am I wrong, Konstantin…?”