chapter one
983 Words
The silence in the mansion was thick enough to choke on.
No footsteps. No laughter. Just the echo of her own breath against marble walls and chandeliers that never shimmered for her.
Anya michailova sat at the edge of the silk-sheeted bed, motionless, spine straight, hands folded in her lap like a good wife should. The designer gown she wore clung to her like a second skin, suffocating and flawless. It had been laid out for her that morning by one of the maids, ironed to perfection, as if preparing her for an appearance she wouldn’t be making.
She hadn’t left the estate in over seven months.
No shopping trips. No visits. Not even fresh air unless she snuck onto the balcony when the guards weren’t watching. If Konstantin noticed the change, he never said anything.
But of course, he noticed everything.
The security cameras weren’t for show. Her phone—if she still had one—would be tapped, her emails read, her thoughts monitored if he could find a way to do it.
She was twenty-five years old, with everything a woman could want.
And none of it felt like hers.
A soft knock came at the door, and her pulse spiked.
It opened without permission.
“Your husband says to dress for dinner,” said Mila, the maid who used to smile before her loyalty shifted. “He has guests.”
Guests. Always male. Always dangerous. And always an excuse to flaunt his freedom in front of her.
“Which room?” Anya asked
"the dining room" Mila replied
Of course. The one with the floor-to-ceiling windows he knew she couldn’t open. The one where he let women sit on his lap while pretending Anya was nothing more than a piece of polished decor.
She stood slowly, every movement calculated, measured. No panic. No anger. He hated when she “showed emotion.”
When the door closed behind her, she took a single breath to steady herself.
Then she turned, walked to the mirror, and began the ritual of pretending she was still someone.
Konstantin’s voice carried from the dining room, smooth and commanding, entertaining his latest circle of Bratva lieutenants. Laughter followed, punctuated by the clink of crystal glasses and the low hum of power. He hadn’t invited her to join them tonight just to show her off as one of his possessions.
She pressed her palm against the window the cold biting her skin. Once, she’d thought marrying Konstantin Baranov would mean safety, status—a life beyond the reach of fear. Instead, it had delivered a different kind of prison. The whispers of his mistresses, the trackers on her phone, the guards who shadowed her every move—they were chains dressed in gold.
The door to the suite clicked open behind her. Anya didn’t turn, but her pulse quickened. Konstantin’s cologne, sharp and expensive, filled the room before his voice did.
“Anya, milaya,” he said, the endearment laced with mockery. “You’re missing the view.”
She turned, keeping her expression neutral, a skill honed over three years of marriage. Konstantin leaned against the doorframe, his tailored suit immaculate, his dark eyes glinting with something cruel. In his hand, a glass of vodka dangled carelessly, the liquid catching the chandelier’s light.
“I prefer this one,” she said softly, nodding toward the window. Defiance, even small, was a risk. But tonight, something simmered beneath her skin—a spark she couldn’t name.
He crossed the room in three strides, his presence suffocating. “You prefer to sulk?” He set the glass on the table, his fingers brushing her arm, lingering too long. “Or are you dreaming of running again?”
Her stomach twisted. He knew. Of course he did. The last time she’d tried to leave, six months ago, she’d made it as far as the train station before his men dragged her back. The bruises had faded, but the memory hadn’t.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” she said, meeting his gaze. Her voice was steady, but inside, she was screaming.
Konstantin smiled, slow and predatory. “For now.” He tilted her chin up, forcing her to hold his stare. “But I wonder, Anya, what would you do without me? Where would you go? No one defies the Bratva and lives.”
The words landed like a blade, sharp and final. But as he turned to leave, his phone buzzed on the table, lighting up with a name: Irina. One of his mistresses. He didn’t bother to hide it. He never did.
The door closed behind him, and Anya’s hands curled into fists. The spark in her chest flared hotter, brighter. She wasn’t his possession. Not anymore.
Downstairs, the house buzzed with low voices and the clinking of crystal. The air smelled of cigars and expensive betrayal.
Anya entered the dining room with her chin raised.
She saw him instantly. Her so called husband,One hand rested on the thigh of the woman beside him—young, plastic-perfect, dripping in diamonds Anya once wore.
Their eyes met.
He didn’t flinch. He didn’t smile.
He just lifted his glass in mock greeting and whispered something in the woman’s ear that made her giggle.
Anya kept walking.
She took her seat at the far end of the table, two seats away from him. The unspoken message: You are my wife, but you are not wanted.
She stared down at her untouched plate as the voices grew louder around her, laughter echoing off the high ceilings like bullets.
She wanted to scream.
But her voice had been buried long ago—beneath silk gowns, behind locked doors, in the bruises that never made it past her collarbones.
And so she did what she always did.
She sat.She waited.
And deep inside, something cold and fierce began to rise.
Not much longer now.
- Writer
