For a brief second, silence filled the driveway. Nobody spoke to Viktor Kessler that way. Nobody. But strangely. Viktor didn’t look angry. If anything, he looked more interested.
He stared down at the trembling blonde woman standing in front of him with fire in her eyes despite being terrified. Most people begged. Most people broke. This one fought.
"If I wanted to destroy you, baby girl," Viktor said softly, "no one would even have time to cry." His voice remained terrifyingly calm.
"If you say no tonight, your boyfriend won’t even get the chance to miss you." Sienna’s breath caught painfully. The threat hit exactly where he intended.
Simon. Her family. Anyone connected to her. Viktor tilted his head slightly. "Your call."
Like he was asking her to choose dinner. Chocolate or vanilla. Life or death. Sienna broke completely. A sob escaped her lips as tears poured down her cheeks again.
This wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. She had gone to work this morning like any normal day. Now she was standing in the rain, being forced to marry a hitman to survive the night.
Her hands shook violently. Her voice disappeared completely. Viktor watched her silently for a moment before asking one final time. "So what’s it going to be?"
Sienna just looked away; she couldn’t answer, and apparently, to Viktor, that was her answer. "Good girl."
The words made Sienna feel sick. "You made the right choice," Viktor said calmly as he pulled her along beside him. "It would’ve been inconvenient to kill you."
Sienna said nothing. She couldn’t. Her mind still felt frozen from everything that had happened tonight. The rain had soaked through her cardigan, making her shiver slightly as Viktor guided her into the mansion with one hand firmly around her wrist.
She was so light compared to him that it barely felt like he was dragging her at all. More like leading her somewhere she didn’t want to go. Inside, the mansion looked less like a home and more like a palace.
Massive crystal chandeliers hung from high ceilings. Expensive antique furniture lined the halls. Giant paintings covered the walls, and marble floors reflected the warm golden lights above them.
Everything screamed wealth. Power. Control. But Sienna barely noticed any of it. Her attention stayed fixed on exits. Doors. Windows. Security cameras. Ways out. Because deep down, one thing remained clear in her mind.
She would rather die than become one of them. A criminal. A killer’s wife. Never. Viktor finally pushed open a large bedroom door and led her inside. The room was enormous.
Dark wood shelves filled one wall while expensive paintings decorated the others. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city lights outside, and a fireplace crackled softly near the far corner.
A king’s room. Sienna immediately glanced toward the door again. Still too far. And Viktor remained standing directly in front of it. Blocking her path. Of course he did. Without a word, Viktor reached for his shirt and slowly pulled the bloodstained fabric over his shoulders.
Sienna’s breath caught for one embarrassing second before she looked away quickly. Unfortunately, not before noticing his body. Broad shoulders. Defined muscles. Several old scars crossed his skin.
And fresh blood still running slowly from the knife wound near his ribs. The sight only made him look more dangerous somehow. Viktor tossed the ruined shirt aside before grabbing a cigarette from the table nearby.
The lighter clicked softly. A moment later, smoke curled through the air. "You’ll stay here until the wedding," he said casually after taking a slow drag.
Like keeping kidnapped women in his bedroom was perfectly normal behavior. Sienna stared at him silently. Her heart still pounded every time he looked at her directly.
Viktor tilted his head slightly while smoke drifted from his lips. Then his eyes slowly moved over her.
"Now," he said calmly, "take off your clothes."
Fear shot through Sienna instantly. She stumbled backward so fast she nearly hit the wall behind her. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself automatically. "No."
The word came out small but firm. This was not happening. Absolutely not. Sienna looked at the stranger standing across from her, as he had completely lost his mind.
She had survived this long. She had protected herself this long. She was not about to let some killer whose name she still didn’t know take that from her.
Not without a fight. "I said no," she whispered again, stronger this time. Viktor simply watched her. Expression unreadable.
Sienna’s pulse hammered violently in her chest. If he touched her. She would fight. She didn’t care if she lost. Didn’t care if he killed her afterward. She would fight with everything she had.
"You think I’m going to let you touch me?" she asked shakily. "After kidnapping me?" Viktor exhaled smoke slowly.
Then, to her complete confusion, he looked... annoyed. "Relax," he muttered. "You’re getting the carpet wet, and your shirt is stained with blood."
Sienna blinked. "What?" Viktor pointed lazily toward her sleeve. Only then did she notice the blood smeared across her cardigan and shirt from earlier when he had pulled her against him.
His blood. Not hers. "I’m not interested in sleeping with a woman who looks like she’s about to faint," Viktor added dryly.
Heat rushed to Sienna’s face instantly. "Oh." She hated that she sounded disappointed for half a second before horror replaced it.
Wait. Why was she embarrassed right now? This man literally threatened to kill her! Viktor walked toward the bathroom door before pausing.
"There are clothes inside." His grey eyes flicked toward her once more. "And before you start planning something stupid, every exit downstairs is guarded." Sienna’s stomach dropped. Of course, he already knew she was thinking about escaping.
"I’ll marry you tomorrow," Viktor said quietly. "After that, nobody touches you without my permission." The words should have comforted her. Instead, they terrified her even more.
Then he disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Sienna standing alone in the massive bedroom, shaking from head to toe.
And for the first time since entering the mansion. She finally let herself cry.