Page 73 of Queen’s Gambit

“The man that I have chosen as an acceptable match for my beautiful daughter comes from a powerful family and has proven to be resilient in the face of adversity. He is a rising star here in Russia….”

Eddie’s face fell along with my heart, and my head whipped in my father’s direction.

“Please help me congratulate Christov Ivankov.”

Pain lanced my chest as if he’d reached in and ripped my beating heart out. I clung to the rage building inside so that I didn’t break down in front of everyone.

“What the hell did you do?” I hissed under my breath.

For the first time in my life, worry filled my father’s eyes as if he were pleading for me to accept my fate. That wasn’t going to happen. Yanking my arm away, I glared at my father.

“You lied to me, you’ve betrayed me. I’ll never forgive you for this,” I whispered. “I hate you.”

“Yulianna.”

Not waiting for him to say another word or caring what anyone thought, I marched for the stairs and met Christov on my way down. He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging in painfully.

“Where do you think you’re going, wife?”

A couple standing nearby gasped, adding to my rage and bitter sadness. For just a moment…a single moment, I thought my father truly loved me. It was all a lie.

“Don’t touch me,” I growled and jerked away. “I’ll never marry you, bottom feeder.”

I’d tried to keep my voice low, but anyone within a few feet could still hear the exchange.

All I wanted to do was run to Eddie, but that would paint a target on his chest. Instead, I marched for the doors, and guests moved out of my way as I went. The silence was heavy other than the sound of my shoes clacking on the marble floor.

“My apologies. Yulianna is overwhelmed this evening,” Father said, and the music started back up.

I wasn’t overwhelmed, nor some petulant child acting out. I was a woman who’d been pushed down my whole life, and the one thing that I’d asked for, no, begged for in this world, he denied me. No, I wasn’t overwhelmed…I was furious.

Storming out into the hallway, I noticed a few people milling around and a handful of guards. I sucked in a deep breath, but the world was spinning.

The door opened again, and Christov charged out. He reached for me, and I jerked away, looking at the nearest guard. He immediately stood up straighter.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I will touch you however I want. You’re mine,” Christov snarled and tried to grab me again. I stepped back out of his grasp.

“Guards!”

They hadn’t taken a single step before Eddie burst through the door behind Christov. The fight was on before I even knew what was happening.

“You son of a bitch,” Eddie snarled as they rolled around on the ground, fists flying.

“You just can’t stand that you lost,” Christov sneered. “I’ll be sure to send you a message of how good it feels to take her on our wedding night.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Eddie growled, landing a hard blow across Christov’s jaw.

Frida, Marcus, and Lawrence all ran out into the hall, but I pointed at the guards.

“Stop them,” I ordered.

The four men barely managed to pry Eddie and Christov apart. Blood dripped down Christov’s chin and from his nose while Eddie sported a mark that was sure to bruise above his eye.

“Take that one to my father to deal with,” I said, pointing to Christov.

For now, Christov had no authority here. What he spouted didn’t matter. Their job was to protect me, but I didn’t know how long that would last.