JADE
Roman was just getting off work when I got home.
My face still stung from the slaps Victoria had delivered.
All I could think about was icing it, having a long shower, and then tucking myself in for the rest of the night.
“Jade.” He nodded curtly, like this was some business meeting.
He looked away, and his head snapped back to me.
He rushed toward me and pointed to my cheeks.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” I murmured.
Even though I had been bragging about him, I didn’t want to use his name at all.
“It must be the weather,” I added.
I cleared my throat and looked away, trying not to give myself away.
He pulled my hand and yanked me closer.
“This looks like someone dared to slap my wife.
Who was it?”
I let the silence between us linger.
“You allowed someone to bully you again?
Didn’t I tell you not to just stand there?” He had a frustrated expression on his face.
He licked his lips, but he was not done.
“If anyone bullies you, bully them back.
If they slap you, slap them back.
Make a mess of the whole thing, and I will clean it up.”
It sounded easier in theory.
But I was alone.
If I slapped Victoria, the maids in the house would gang up and beat me.
I might not be lucky enough to leave the house alive.
He pulled my hand and pushed me into the car.
“Where are we going?” I tried to protest.
“To get back at those who touched you,” he declared.
The Sterling house was in view faster than ever.
How did he even guess that they were behind this?
Roman’s grip on my wrist was telling of his anger.
I followed behind, trying to keep up with his pace.
Victoria came out to welcome us.
Her face fell when she saw me standing next to Roman, but she didn’t say a word.
“Mr.
Volkov.
What brings you…”
“You hit my wife.” Roman stopped her before she could ramble on and invite us in.
Victoria froze.
The anger that was radiating from Roman was strong enough to be felt.
Naomi stepped out.
She had a smile on her face that soon dissolved when she felt the energy of the room.
The entire living room felt smaller, and the air was stone cold.
Roman’s grip on my hand was too heavy; it made my back crawl.
“Mr Volkov, it was not like that.
My sister…”
“I wasn’t talking to you.” His tone made Naomi whimper and shrink backwards.
She was now standing beside her mother like a child afraid of being scolded.
He looked back at Victoria, waiting for her explanation.
Victoria’s eyes moved from Roman to me.
I could see the wheels in her mind turning as she tried to find an explanation.
“What is going on here?” Jack’s voice filled the air before he stood in front of us.
‘Of course.’ I bit my bottom lip.
Of course, he was in the house all the while I was getting attacked.
He must have watched it happen and even smiled to himself.
“Mr Volkov,” the same man whose shoulders were in the air, was suddenly bending and rushing to greet Roman.
I knew Roman had power, but seeing it in real time every time was just a humbling experience.
“What brings you here today?
You should have told us you were coming, and we would have prepared for you.” Jack was already kissing his ass.
Roman pulled me forward so we were both standing on the same line.
“Your wife hit my wife.”
Jack turned to Victoria and then back to us.
He smiled wearily and shook his head.
“I am sure you have it all wrong.
Jade is our daughter; there is no way we can…”
“Are you saying my wife is lying?”
Roman’s obsession with identifying me as his wife was a bit humbling.
It was creating a clear line, one that Naomi sure didn’t like, especially with the scowl on her face.
“No, no…
of course,” he chuckled nervously.
“Jade is my daughter, and she was wrong, so I just disciplined her a bit,” Victoria finally spoke.
With the way her voice was shaking, I could tell she was saying a shit ton of prayers.
“Disciplined her?” Roman scoffed.
He held my chin and pulled my face forward.
“You don’t have any right to lay your hands on her,” he screamed.
Everyone in the room jumped in fright.
My hand crept to my chest to stop me from having a heart attack.
“Jade lived in the slums all her life.
We are just trying to make sure that she doesn’t embarrass you.”
Roman’s grip fell from my hand, and cold air replaced the warmth of his touch.
He took a step forward so he was towering over them.
They were whimpering and shaking like leaves on a windy day.
“That doesn’t give you the right to slap her.
Slapping her is like slapping me.”
“Oh no, no, Mr Volkov, we…”
“Enough.” He raised his hand in the air to stop Jack from sputtering a useless explanation.
He moved back to my side and pulled me closer.
“The only reason I won’t hit you back is that you are her family, but…” He grabbed my hand again.
This time, he intertwined our fingers and tilted his head.
“You must publish an apology to my wife in the newspaper.
You have only three days to make it happen.”
I had heard of many creative ways to punish someone.
This was the first time I heard of a public newspaper apology.
“You should do it, or the Sterling Group might suffer for it.”
“Of course, of course,” Jack nodded.
“We were wrong, and we will apologize to her.”
He turned to his family, and with a pout, they murmured incoherent apologies.
I didn’t care one bit about them after all.
I just nodded so we could be out of there faster than light.
“If this happens next time, then don’t blame me for being ruthless,” he warned.
“It would never happen again.”
Roman turned to me in the car.
We were in the back seat after he had ordered the most bizarre punishment I had seen in my life.
“If anyone bullies you, get back at them, just like this.”
‘It’s easy for you,’ I murmured.
I felt a stabbing pain in my face as I spoke.
“You already wield the power.”
“You wield the power as well.
You are my wife.”
“Contract wife,” I corrected him.
We both knew that all that was between us was nothing more than a piece of paper.
“You can use my name wherever you want to.
If anyone tries to bully you, call me, and I’d be there to take care of it for you,” he said, like it was money I’d snatch out of my purse and use.
Like, just because I said I was Mrs Volkov, everyone would automatically respect me.
Everyone probably saw me as some gold-digging chick who was doing all she could to get into high society.
“I will try,” my voice was strained.
I knew he was not going to accept any other answer from me.
He nodded and stroked the back of my hand gently.
“Just don’t let anyone bully you again.”
I stared at Roman as our car sped past the high-rise buildings.
He was not supposed to be this concerned about me.
We didn’t mean anything to each other.
With the way he was defending me, he’d give anyone the wrong idea.
The truth was that I knew the truth, but still, I was deceived by him.
He was too good an actor, and I needed to level up.
He was acting like a good husband.
I had to be the good wife.