Chapter 24 Red Cheeks and Wicked Eyes
“Wife… wife.”
A soft voice calls out to me, pulling me slowly back to consciousness. My eyelids feel heavy, but after a moment I manage to open them. Everything is blurry at first, until my vision finally becomes clear.
Nikolai’s face is the first thing I see.
I gasp and flinch away from him on instinct. My heart begins to pound fast and loud. I quickly look around. I am in a bedroom. A large, beautiful room I have never seen before. The bed is soft underneath me, the blankets warm. Thick curtains cover the windows, letting in only a little light. There is silence everywhere.
But what truly shocks me is my clothes.
I am wearing a simple dress… something clean and soft. Not the clothes I remember wearing earlier. Memories rush back into my mind... the dangerous town, the moment everything went dark. I must have fainted.
“I thought you would sleep for at least three days,” Nikolai says with a little smirk. He is sitting right beside me on the bed, leaning forward like he is studying every part of my face. “How do you feel?”
I open my mouth to speak, but I don’t know where to begin. There are so many questions spinning inside my head.
My voice comes out small. “Can you please… move back a little?”
“No,” he answers quickly, without any hesitation. He doesn’t even blink. “Do you have a problem with your husband being this close to you?”
I want to shout yes! I want to push him away. But I stop myself. Nikolai never listens when I tell him to stop. He only does what he wants. There’s no point wasting my energy.
So I swallow my frustration and ask the next question that bothers me the most. “Where are my clothes?”
He raises an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. “You would rather wake up in a bloody outfit?” he asks calmly. “I changed your clothes.”
My whole body goes stiff.
“You… changed me?” I repeat, disbelief and anger rising inside me.
Nikolai doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t look guilty. He looks satisfied.
“You were unconscious,” he says simply. “Of course I changed you.”
“How dare you!” My voice shakes with fury. “Why would you see me naked?”
His lips lift into a small, teasing smile. “Is it such a horrible thing,” he murmurs, eyes darkening, “for a husband to look at his wife’s body?”
I stare at him, shock and embarrassment spreading through me. My hands grip the sheets tightly.
Oh no.
This man… this situation…
Things between us are not just bad, they are getting worse by the second.
“You…” I choke out, closing my eyes tightly as frustration boils inside me. “You keep doing crazy things. And I don’t like them at all!”
He leans back slightly, his smile slow and wicked, like my anger is a compliment.
“I thought you’d have figured it out by now. Your husband is a twisted man,” he says proudly. "Our honeymoon officially begins now that you’re awake.”
“Don’t change the topic.” I glare at him. “You saw me naked. That is the issue here!”
He tilts his head, eyes glimmering with mischief. “If you want us to talk about that, we can,” he offers, sounding almost polite. “I remember the perfect curve of your chest… the round, soft shape of your bottom. I squeezed a little too hard by the way, and your—”
“Stop!” I scream, my eyes widening so much they feel like they might fall out. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
He looks at me with a fake confused expression, like he truly doesn’t understand what he did wrong. I know he’s doing this on purpose. He enjoys making me flustered.
“What is it, love?” he asks, and that wicked smile slowly spreads. “I thought you wanted us to talk about it. I’ll do anything you ask me to.”
I roll my eyes hard.
As if he’d ever listen if I told him to let me go.
Another thing to add to his long list of flaws, he is shameless.
So shameless.
How dare he describe my body like that?
Round and soft?
Oh God.
Heat floods my cheeks and I turn my face away, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing how flustered I am.
“Already so red,” he clicks his tongue softly. “I can only imagine what will happen tonight… when I claim the kiss you owe me.”
My breath freezes.
Right… the kiss.
I’d forgotten for a moment.
This is horrible. Completely horrible.
This is all for Adrian.
Every sacrifice, every humiliation, every moment trapped with this monster is for him.
If I ever escape Nikolai one day… I will celebrate that date every year like a new birthday.
A deep, exhausted sigh escapes me. I close my eyes briefly, trying to steady myself, then open them again.
“What happened after I fainted?” I finally ask.
His smile fades… just a little and I see something dark flicker behind his eyes.
“I burned the town down,” he says sharply, as if the words are simple and ordinary. “They dared to touch my wife.”
A cold shiver runs down my spine. My hands grip the blanket automatically.
“No…” I breathe out, shaking my head. “You punished everyone for what only a few men did.”
His jaw tightens.
“I only killed the ones who deserved death,” he says firmly. “But I burned most of the houses. Consider that a small punishment for the town’s stupidity.”
Small punishment?
Entire homes gone… because of me?
I remember the men surrounding me with their disgusting intentions.
If Nikolai hadn’t arrived when he did, I know for certain… I wouldn’t have survived. Or if I did, I would have wished I hadn’t.
What those men did was unforgivable.
But what Nikolai did… feels like too much.
Still, I can’t deny the truth.
He saved me.
“T-Thank you,” I whisper, the words stiff on my tongue.
He tilts his head, curious. “For what exactly, love?”
“For coming in time to save me,” I say honestly. “If you hadn’t shown up… I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”
Something in his eyes softens, only for a brief moment.
“It is my responsibility,” he says quietly. “To protect you. To make sure no harm ever touches you.”
His words take me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting gentleness. I look away quickly, unable to handle that sudden shift.
Without another word, Nikolai rises to his feet and rolls his shoulders, as if brushing off the intense moment we just shared.
“Don’t think too much about what happened,” he says. “Let me show you around first.”
He extends his large hand toward me. I stare for a second, unsure… but refusing would only cause more trouble. So I place my hand in his, and he helps me up from the bed.
When we step out of the room, I finally look properly at our surroundings. It’s not a hotel or a mansion with endless hallways, it’s a large luxury apartment. The design reminds me of those stunning Greek villas I once saw in a travel book.
“It’s beautiful,” I mutter before I can stop myself.
“You’re right, love,” Nikolai says beside me, a small smile touching his lips. “This is my private villa in Santorini."
So I was correct. We’re in Greece.
“How did we get here so fast?” I ask, confusion rushing in. “And… how long was I asleep?”
“We traveled through the night." he answers simply. “Marcus drove while I treated your wounds. You slept the entire time.”
My cheeks burn at the thought.
He watched me sleep.
Probably saw me drooling or mumbling nonsense.
And of course, he treated my wounds… then even changed my clothes.
The embarrassment is so strong I could melt into the floor. If there was a hole nearby, I would gladly jump right in. Not that it would matter, Nikolai would drag me right back out and remind me that my life is not mine to escape.
“Five days, right?” I ask cautiously as we continue walking. “After five days, Adrian will be released from prison… right?”
“Yes,” he says with a calm expression. Then he adds, “Don't forget you will give me a kiss every night.”
My stomach twists. He just had to mention that.
We walk outside, and the sunlight hits me instantly. The sky is clear, the sea is so blue it almost doesn’t look real. It’s peaceful here… which feels strange after everything that happened.
Nikolai glances at me and gives a lighter smile, like we’re just a normal couple.
“Let’s go watch a movie,” he says.
A movie date. He says it like this is normal. Like this union is normal.
But nothing about my life is simple now.
I’m in paradise…
with the devil holding my hand.
And if I stay here long enough… I might forget he’s the villain.