Page 114 of Betrayal and Vows

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty."

I blink hard, trying to focus. One of Mikhail's guards stands in front of me, flexing his knuckles. The same bastard who cracked my skull upstairs.

"What time is it?" My voice comes out as a croak.

He grins. "Worried you're missing something?"

The wedding.

"How long have I been down here?"

"Long enough." He cracks his knuckles again. "The ceremony started twenty minutes ago."

No. No, no, no.

Twenty minutes. She's walking down that aisle right now. In that white dress, toward that altar, toward him. My chest feels like it's caving in.

"She looked beautiful," the guard continues, enjoying my agony. "Like a fucking angel in all that white. Of course, we both know she isn’t innocent. You made sure of that.”

I look around the room, searching for Dmitri.

Did they bring him down here?

Did they kill him?

I know what comes next. And my thoughts aren’t about me dying.

They are about Lena living.

Living with Mikhail.

And the many things he’ll do to her.

I hear footsteps crossing the room. It’s dark down here, leaving the corners in shadows.

And then I see a figure moving toward me.

Mikhail.

He’s dressed for the wedding.

If he’s here…

Is the wedding over?

Maybe it hasn’t started.

And that thought gives me hope I have no business having.

He looks at me, chained and kneeling with a sneer on his lips.

“Comfortable?” he asks.

I spit blood at his shoes. “Go fuck yourself.”

He smiles. “Oh no, Anton. That’s your problem, isn’t it? You were too busy fucking someone else’s bride.”

He walks closer and tosses something onto the floor.