Chapter 5 - Jamie

Shocked to the core, I watched him leave the room. He must be insane if he thought I would accept such an offer. Standing, I walked to the large window. Looking out over the city, I breathed out loudly.

“Marriage?” I uttered. “What is this guy thinking?” Placing my hands on the window frame, I leaned forward. My mind was whirling. Even considering this was preposterous. I closed my eyes and felt the warm breeze cool the sweat on my forehead. How dare he, I thought, feeling my anger rising. Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket before I could formulate any reasoning.

As I pulled it from my pocket, I turned and leaned against the windowsill. There was a new message. Opening it, I saw it was Pedro.

There was an address, and the message read: Meet me here in an hour. You must keep your promise. The enemies are searching and closing in. I know where you are. I will keep you safe but don’t disappoint me, sugar.

Keep me safe, I thought. Look what you have brought me, my life, for safety. What kind of safety is this? Then I shivered, thinking about Pedro’s hands all over me. I didn’t want this, and I didn’t want to sleep with him. Sliding down the wall, I felt my heart beating faster. A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to die either.

As I sat there, I felt the first tear slip from my eye. It rolled down my cheek slowly as my heart sank to my feet. I lowered my head between my knees. I had no choice. I would have to marry this man. If I didn’t, he would surely throw me out and where would I go then?

This thought brought an image of me and Pedro hiding out. I suddenly felt sick, he was a truly ugly man with broken teeth and rotting breath. If I wasn’t so drunk the first time, it would never have happened.

Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t even consider this an option. In fact, I would have laughed this Ashan guy off. He wasn’t the kind of man I would be seen with not that I was sure what kind of man I wanted. At this stage of my life, I was focusing on me and getting my life together.

“You did a swell job of that, Jamie,” I said out loud as pain streamed up my tight shoulders into my neck. My head felt like it was swelling as tears burned my eyes.

But being honest with myself, except for the obvious reasons. There was something about him, though. When he entered the room, I felt a strange pull. There was a pounding at the walls I had built, weakening them. His aura attracted me, and I wanted to know more about him, but I wasn’t sure this was the way.

Taking a deep breath and wiping my eyes, I thought about my options. There were three options. Leave and take my chances alone out there, go to Pedro or marry Ashan.

I glanced up as the door opened. Ashan strolled in and stood next to the table, looking down at me. “Have you come to a conclusion?” he asked.

Pushing up against the wall, I rose to my feet. Meeting his eyes, I slowly nodded as I answered. “Yes, my answer is y--yes.” My whole being screamed as I spoke, but I knew this might be my only safe option. I didn’t dare go out there alone and Pedro wasn’t even on the cards.

Ashan’s grin lit up his entire face as he replied. “Good choice. Right, we will be married right away then. But first, you should shower and clean properly.”

Shocked at the urgency he showed but also relieved in a way, I simply nodded. No words could ever portray what I felt inside. This would be a temporary thing, I thought, I would get myself out of this somehow.

“Come, come,” Ashan continued as he walked back to the door. Holding it open, he waved for me to exit the office with him. “I’ll take you up to my suite, where you can have a shower. While you do that, I’ll get everything ready.” He suddenly sounded light. If he had smiled, I would have known he was happy, but his face remained straight.

I followed quietly as he led me down a passage to a reasonably large room. It was pretty bare except for two luxurious couches. In one corner stood an old oak desk with a computer on it, and in another corner was what appeared to be a small serving station. It had a couple of cups, a kettle, and tins which I presumed held coffee, tea, and sugar.

There were no decorations and the room felt cold. Almost void of life. How could anyone live like this? I felt a sliver of fear run down my spine as he ushered me through a door to the left of the empty room. There were no cupboards or shelves in this empty room. No portraits, photos, or even books.

The brown walls and red carpet filled the room with a strange darkness. Ashan opened the door before me to the left and pushed me inside. I felt my anger wanting to surface as I was being led and pushed around like an animal heading for slaughter.

Turning to face him, I wanted to protest. Yet, his green eyes appeared to have a spark in them, turning his hard look soft. As he spoke, I could hear a tenderness in his voice. “Right, you have a shower while I get things set up.”

Still tired and sore, I asked pleadingly, “Could I get some sleep in first?”

“Once it’s over you can get some,” he calmly replied. “I promise to make it quick and painless.”

Knowing I had no choice, I nodded and waited for him to close the bathroom door. As the door closed, I turned to study the bathroom. It was astonishing, a total contrast to the other room. The bathroom looked like something you would see in a high-end fashion magazine. I felt my breath catch as I studied it.

The biggest tub I”d ever seen sat to my left, and next to it was the shower. These two were huge and took up half the space. The shower had double glass doors. On the hooks next to the doors hung thick and fluffy robes. Stepping closer, I felt the material. It was so soft I couldn’t wait to wrap it around me. I had never felt something quite so luxurious. I quickly undressed and stepped into the shower. It was like walking into a fairytale.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in images of a forest. Before me, the wall displayed a realistic waterfall. To the sides were lush green forests. It was breathtaking. Opening the mixer tap, nozzles sprayed water from all sides. I couldn’t help but giggle as the lukewarm water greeted my skin. Turning in circles filled with excitement, I forgot all my problems for a moment.

I was enthralled by the staggering charm of the shower, feeling like a princess out in the wilderness. Who was this man, I wondered as I took a sponge from the shelve. There was an array of sponges and soaps to pick and choose from. After smelling all the soaps, I selected one that complimented the forest theme. It had an herbal earthy aroma with a hint of wildflowers.

Closing my eyes as I covered my skin in silky smooth bubbles, I breathed in deeply. My mind traveled far away from all the troubles on the other side of the door. Feeling the strain leaving my body, I wished I could stay in the shower forever. Any one that shared the kind of live I had lived would surely have grabbed such an invitation with open arms.

Yet, I have seen people like these, read many more articles online and knew the lives of the rich wasn’t as cosher as they made it sound. Especially when it came to Bratva. These people would kill you for looking at them funny.

Grinning at myself, I wondered if that was true and how they took rejection. Turning in slow circles I thought back at all the oldies I have watched with mafia in. It all seemed surreal until you stepped into one. I felt like I was watching a movie of myself.

But reality snuck back in as I heard a commotion in the other room. There were a couple of voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. After quickly washing my hair and rinsing, I stepped out.

Wrapping the fluffy robe around me, I walked to the door. Placing my ear up against it, I listened. All was suddenly quiet on the other side. Opening the door slowly, I peek into the room. It was empty; there was no one there. I wondered if I was hearing voices in my head from all the stress of the last couple of days.

Grinning to myself, I stepped into the room. My eyes fell on the computer just sitting on the bare table. The screen was giving off a bright light. It was off earlier but now it was on. Someone had been in here while I was showering. Carefully, I walked towards it. I listened for any sound outside, but everything was quiet.

Sitting down at the desk, I felt my heart rate quicken. Shaking my hands out and twisting my head left and right, I prepared to deep dive into his files. I had to know who he was. Seeing that there were no photos or other clues anywhere, I would do it with a quick search. Placing my fingers on the keyboard, I filled with excitement. “What will I find?” I whispered as I started my search.

As I opened one file after another, I smiled, feeling alive. The system lacked security, and I breezed through it without hassle. This was my passion, but my smile faded rapidly as I opened a ‘Family” file. Rising swiftly, I felt the chair pushing back a bit too quickly; it toppled over, landing with a loud banging sound.

“No, no, no,” I exhaled deeply, glancing around the room and at the chair. He wasn”t just a manager, as I had thought. Staring at the screen wide-eyed, I pushed my hands through my hair. He was one of the Morozov family.

I thought he only worked here, running the business for them. I had no idea that he was a Morozov. This changed everything. I couldn’t stay. Stepping back, I picked up the chair and pushed it back to the table. I had to get out; marrying him was no longer an option. With him knowing what I had done, there was only one reason why he would want to marry me.

My mind raced a hundred miles an hour. Sprinting back to the bathroom, I dressed hastily as I needed to get out before he returned. Exiting the bathroom, I headed for the door. I would sneak out and run, I thought.

Yet, as I touched the handle, the wall parted next to the door, opening into a secret room. Ashan stepped out, grabbed my hands, and swung me around. He moved in and pinned me to the door, pushing my hands up above my head.

He was a tall muscular man and I felt tiny against him. Looking up at him, he was grinning. His eyes reflected his strength and dedication. My stomach turned as his expression changed. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I had an intense need to try to rectify the situation. I didn’t know I was being watched.

“And now the sudden rush?” Ashan asked. His voice sounded calm but had a tinge of sarcasm or anger, I couldn’t be sure.

My nerves tingled, and so did my skin, where he held me. I was sure it wasn’t only from how he looked at me. But being up close, feeling his hands on me, absorbing his strong aroma was indeed messing with my mind. His grasp was like that of an old friend and made me uneasy.

“I was going to look for you,” I uttered, trying to pull my eyes from his. I felt trapped, yet I couldn’t look away. He smelled of peppermint and honey. His touch was gentle but firm. My eyes toured down his strong cheekbones to his slightly parted lips. They appeared soft and supple, inviting.

Suddenly, I had to fight the urge to kiss him. My body was reacting to the chemistry developing between us. We were planets from different dimensions on a collision course. Leaning my head back against the door, I closed my eyes for a second.

I had to get a grip on the emotions surging through my body. What was happening? This man was powerful, handsome, and so wrong for me. I didn’t fit into this world, I couldn’t be a showpiece, I was from another class.

It could never work, I assured myself, opening my eyes again. His stare made me uncomfortable, but his silence was worse. I wondered what he was thinking and felt fear creeping in. What was he going to do?

“You found what you were looking for?” he asked, leaning in. His voice was low and sounded deeper than before. His hot breath softly touching my cheek caused a tumbling in my stomach. I had to get a grip on my emotions, but I had nowhere to go. I struggled a bit but stopped as the movement only caused my senses to absorb more of him.

My body jolted as feelings of excitement and danger crawled up my back. I was suddenly hot as adrenaline ran rampage through my senses.

“Well,” I started saying. Pulling my eyes away and staring over his shoulder, I swallowed hard. “It wasn’t like you gave me another option. You didn’t tell me you are part of the Morozov family.”

Regaining some of my composure, I glanced back at him. I could only hope that my look was filled with resolve and didn’t show the sudden onset of lust I felt surging through me. “I have a right to know who I am marrying, don’t I?”

He didn’t say a word. He smiled and nodded. I had to get a hold on myself. He was so wrong for me and these feelings although new, weren’t what I expected. I didn’t know if it was due to the danger he portrayed or the need for a man but I couldn’t trust my body or mind at the moment.