Page 102 of His to Own

Aleksander frowns. “That’s a shame. You don’t know anything?”

“Uh… I know Maxim sometimes works at this one club.”

His eyes light up and I hate that I’m helping him but I need to keep talking until I can find a way out of this. “A club?”

“Yes. It’s called The Venus. He sometimes works there. I’m not sure where else though.”

“That’s good. I can use that. Thank you, Elena.” His eyes sweep over my face. “You’re a beautiful woman, you know that?”

I swallow hard. “I haven’t really been told that.” Except for Maxim. He always made a point of telling me I was beautiful. And now I’m giving information to his enemy. A pang of guilt hits me. Can I really turn on Maxim to save myself?

“That’s a shame. I believe beautiful women should be told they’re beautiful every day. I’ve been watching you and your husband for the past couple of days. He doesn’t even look at you. Doesn’t even touch you.”

Because of the fight we’re in right now.

“If you’ve been watching us,” I whisper, “why did you need me to tell you anything? You already found my husband.”

“Because I wanted to see what you would give up about him. And you didn’t really hesitate to tell me about the club he works at. I already know all about that. I’ve had men watching both of you for a while now.”

“You wanted to trick me.”

“To test you. And you failed. Are you loyal to your husband, Elena? Because if you’re not, I’m in the market for a wife.”

My hands clench together in my lap. That’s when my eyes flick to the fork set against my plate. I’m amazed Aleksander would give me a weapon but he probably doesn’t think I’d be powerful enough to overtake him.

And he would be right.

But I can use that fork in a different way.

“I’m already married,” I whisper through numb lips.

“Are you happy? Because you don’t seem happy, Elena.”

Keep talking. “You only want me because I already belong to Maxim and you want to hurt him. Am I right or am I wrong?”

Aleksander’s expression gives nothing away. “Are you challenging me?”

“I am merely asking a question.”

“I do like to take things that belong to other men. It makes life much more interesting.”

“You have an accent,” I notice. “Where are you from?”

“A French man born to Russian parents. Explains my accent. Everyone notices it. Everyone likes to comment on it.”

“I gave you what you want. You don’t need me anymore. Just let me go. Please.”

Aleksander sighs and leans back in his chair. “And let Maxim have the win? I don’t think so. You’ll stay here for now until I decide what I’m going to do with you.”

“What are your options?” I’m afraid to even ask but as I have learned, knowledge is power. Being kept in the dark, while blissful, is never the answer. Even though it seemed Alisa was trying to hurt me, she still gave me useful advice.

“Either kill your husband and marry you myself or kill you. Your head would look pretty in my collection.”

I gasp. “Your… collection?”

His chair makes an ugly sound as he slides it back and stands up. “Bring Elena back to her room,” he says to one of the guards. The second his eyes turn away from me, I snatch the fork and hide it in my evening gown. Thankfully, all the fabric helps it disappear from view.

I’m taken back to the guest room. Fight. Don’t give up.