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Demyen looks at me, his face full of uncertainty. It would be cute in any other situation. He opens his mouth to say something, hesitates, then goes for it. “What happened, exactly, between you and my father?”
Sure. Great. Let’s just fly out of the gate swinging punches.
I lower the mug to my lap and stare at the dark liquid. “Well, he bought me. For fifty million dollars.” Something occurs to me just now. “Wait… I know you sayyoudidn’t sell me, so did Raizo?—”
“Raizo gave me a cut.” Demyen looks rather uncomfortable and shifts in his chair. “I didn’t want it.”
“But you still took it.”
“No. Not…” He sighs. “I didn’t keep it. It actually belongs to Willow. I had my accounting team diversify the assets. She’ll be set for college, travel, wedding, retirement, all the bells and whistles.”
I… I don’t know what to say to that. Or what to think.
My sale—my hellish ordeal, being auctioned off like livestock—has put my daughter in a perpetual state of financial security.
And just like that, I’m no longer haunted by the auction itself. I can easily accept it as a necessary evil that at least accomplished a previously unbelievable goal.
And also—just like that—Demyen is looking exceedingly more attractive than before. I don’t know how, but just knowing that he did all this for my child…?
I could climb onto his lap for it.
“So he bought you.” Demyen steers us back on topic before I have a chance to set my mug down and start acting on my horniest impulses. “Where did he take you after that?”
That’s a surprisingly easy answer. “He took me for a drive, actually. It was kind of weird.”
Demyen lofts a curious brow, but his eyes give away the fact that he knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Was he all nice and generally pleasant, up until you did something to annoy him?”
I frown. “Yeah. He did that a lot, even after the drive.”
“Yeah.” He nods. “That’s Oleg for you. He loves to fuck with your mind. It makes it more fun for him.”
I guess Demyen would know, wouldn’t he? Even though he went and visited at Mas—Mister—no,Oleg’splace, it was easy to see there is no love lost between the two. Was that monster just as terrible to his own children as he was to me?
Thinking about Oleg is starting to make me feel sick. My fingers are beginning to tremble.
Maybe it’s too soon.
“So this drive?—”
“I can’t.” I say it so suddenly, I startle myself. Coffee splashes over my fingers and onto the bedsheet still wrapped around me. I quickly dab it up and set the mug on the nightstand, avoiding Demyen’s hard stare. “I’m sorry, I just… I can’t. I can’t talk about him.”
Demyen rubs a hand over his mouth as he stares at me. “We need to talk about it. It’s important?—”
“We will. I promise.” Still avoiding meeting his gaze, I at least manage a weak smile. “Can the fact that the mere mention of his name makes me sick to my stomach fill in the blanks for now?”
“Clara…”
I sigh. “I know he’s your father. I get that. But honestly, I’m trying to forget that fact even more. You want to know what he did to me? You saw the aftermath. Can’t that be enough?”
Demyen is not pleased with my answer. He rubs his teeth with his tongue, and the little muscle in his jaw ticks. But then he nods. “Fine. But wearegoing to talk about Raizo.”
My nose curls. “He didn’t touch me. He wanted to, but he didn’t.”
“Yeah, he made that pretty fucking clear.”
I steal a glance at Demyen. He spoke with Raizo? Of course he did. They’re in cahoots, or allies, or whatever international criminals call each other’s frenemies-with-benefits. “So… I don’t know what you want me to say?”
“You keep saying he’s bad news, or he’s double-crossing me, or whatever. I need to know how you know. And why you’re telling me.”
