Page 20 of Bought By the Ruthless Pakhan
But once the paper tears, you can't tape it back together. I couldn't play deaf and dumb anymore.
"I'm fine," I said.
I pulled free from his hands and smiled at him. "I'll head back to my room now."
He didn't stop me again. I walked out of the study. The light behind me stretched his shadow long across the floor, falling over my feet like a net I couldn't shake.
The following days, I avoided Ivan as much as possible. Nadia was my main companion.
She was an angel.
She'd pull me to sit in the garden's wicker chairs to soak up sun, telling me the story behind every rose in the yard. Sunlight caught in her hair, and even the breeze seemed to soften.
I loved her. Even after just a month together, I knew clearly—I loved this child.
"Anna." She called my name sweetly.
"What is it?"
"Can you wait here for me a minute?"
"Why?"
Nadia leaned close to my ear. "I'm going to get my treasure to give you."
Then she planted a kiss on my cheek.
She skipped back toward the house like a happy little deer, leaving me alone staring at the blooming roses.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs nearby. Thinking Nadia had returned, I lifted my face into a smile—only to see Ivan standing at the top of the steps, walking toward me.
"You—"
Before I could finish, he'd grabbed my hand and pressed a light kiss to the back of it.
My whole body jolted. I tried yanking my hand back, but he held tighter.
"Sir."
"Call me Ivan."
"Ivan, let go. This isn't appropriate."
Victoria hadn't even left the house today. She was here, somewhere inside, and could walk in on us any second.
"Kitten, tell me—what's really wrong?"
I took a deep breath. "Ivan, you have a family. This is wrong. I shouldn't be here. I definitely shouldn't have this tangled relationship with you."
"Family?" Ivan paused, then laughed softly. "So you've been avoiding me because of Victoria?"
"What else?"
"Victoria's my ex-wife. We've been separated for three years. She's only here to visit Nadia."
I froze.
That answer never crossed my mind.
