As Andrei watched the first few seconds of the clip, he had a dreadful sense that he'd been there before, in this very scene playing out before his eyes. Then, the realisation hit him all at once. It wasn't déjà vu. But the moments leading up to Holly's injury weeks earlier. The only difference was that he was now looking at her accident through the eyes of the videographer, who had taken the behind-the-scenes footage backstage, and not those of a spectator in the viewing boxes. "Who is this woman?" he asked, horrified that there was another Veronika out there. Well, maybe not as deadly as the Bratva princess. But whoever this woman was was just as insane. "You don't recognise her?" Andrei shook his head. "Should I?" "That's Lola," Holly replied. Of course, Andrei thought, wanting to kick himself for not recognising Holly's arch-rival. But in his defence, the woman in the video, buried under the heavy costume makeup and blonde wig, looked remarkably different from the redhead b
Levi waited long enough for the door to shut behind Holly as she stepped onto the patio before turning his full wrath on Andrei. "You fucking lied to me. At The Castle, you looked me in the eye and assured me nothing was going on between you two." "That's because nothing was going on," Andrei retorted, matching his fierce tone. "Obviously, something's definitely going on now! Otherwise, Holly wouldn't be all cosied up in your clothes!" "What do you expect her to wear? I don't have any women's clothes—" "Fuck, Drei!" Levi growled in frustration. "That's not the point!" "Then what is?" Andrei asked as he watched him about to sit at the kitchen island—the same kitchen island he had Holly sprawled over not too long ago. The red-hot images of their sweaty bodies and their carnal cries, while they were deep in the throes of passion, flashed in Andrei's mind, and he instantly hardened at the memory of Holly's smooth, velvety warmth sheathed around him— "So?" Levi snapped his finger
"I was afraid of this," Levi muttered as he ran his hand through his hair, all the while glaring at Andrei. "When I saw the videos, I knew you're too far gone. It's clear that some kind of fatal attraction shit is going on between you two, and it's only a matter of time before shit hits the fan. Liam will end you—""I'm aware of that. But I'm not backing down," Andrei replied, the conviction in his words matching the determination in his eyes. "Holly is…Holly is important to me. I'm not willing to give her up. I admit, at first, I didn't care about her. She was a means to an end and a way to get what I wanted. But these past few weeks, I've seen so many sides to her I didn't even know existed.""What do you mean?"Andrei took a sip from his glass and replied, "Honestly, I don't know how to explain it. But there's something about Holly, man. She gets me. With her, I can just be myself. I don't have to be Aero's CEO or the Ivanov's crime family boss. When I'm with her, I'm just Andrei,
Andrei had seen death more times than he cared to count in the past. He'd had close brushes with it, too. In fact, with all the violence in his world, he'd become so desensitised to it that even the smell of it didn't bother him anymore.But this was Holly. The woman he was supposed to marry. The woman he intended to build a life with. She couldn't be dead. Not like this. Not on his watch."No, Holly, Baby, wake up!" He whispered as he tightly shut his eyes and mentally shook the terrifying image from his mind, praying that the next time he opened them again, his life would be exactly as it was before they came to bed just an hour ago. But when he dared open his eyes again, blinking several times just to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him, and the same brutal scene greeted him, another primal scream reverberated through the room. How?How did any of this happen?Holly was alive and well just an hour ago. But now…now she was as cold as death."It's impossible!"
"Absolutely not! We've talked about this, Papa!" Andrei Ivanov grunted irritably as he lowered his towering frame on the burgundy camelback sofa in the den of his ancestral home in Glen Eagles, north of Rock Castle. Surprisingly, Pavel, the Ivanovs' longtime butler, dressed in a dark suit and not a hair out of place, remained unfazed by the tension in the room. The same way Andrei's father, Nikolai, sat unperturbed behind his vintage desk as he gazed back at him, "Yes, you will cancel your flight." Massaging his temples to stave off a looming headache, Andrei explained—yet again—why he couldn't cancel his flight the following evening, citing every excuse he could think of. When that didn't work, he doubled down and lit a cigarette, taking long, deep puffs before addressing his father again in a much firmer tone, "You've known about my move to Moscow for a while now. It's happening, with or without your approval. I suggest you get on board fast!" "I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Ni
"Oh, you do?" Nikolai arched his brows in amusement."Yes, I do!" Andrei retorted. It was all lies, of course. He didn't have a girlfriend. But his father didn't need to know this. "How am I supposed to explain Veronika to her?"Nikolai shrugged carelessly, asking, "Why have I never met this mystery girlfriend?""You've never met any of my girlfriends," Andrei reminded him, suddenly glad he'd never made the mistake of bringing women home to meet his father. Who knew keeping his love life under wraps would work in his favour someday?"Your PA is always your plus-one at company events, and you've never been photographed with a woman before. I find it strange that you've never mentioned a girlfriend.""Strange or not, I'm not marrying Veronika. So call off this damn thing.""Who is she?" Nikolai ignored his outburst, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "And how long has this thing been going on?"Andrei took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, surprising himself with how easil
While a glum Andrei sat with his lieutenants in one of the highly sought-after boxes at the Mirage, pondering his father's offer, on stage, under the dazzling spotlight, Holly Marie Anderson had none of his ninety-nine problems.In fact, life was going swimmingly for her. And why wouldn't it? After all, she was the star of the show, and the only reason the theatre was packed to capacity for the second night in a row. Drunk on the awe and adoration of her fans, Holly had one job and one job only: to deliver yet another jaw-dropping, heart-thumping performance. And that's precisely what she did. To say she was on fire was an understatement. Hell, she'd spent a tough three months preparing for the show and survived countless hours of gruelling practice sessions and dress fittings before embarking on a whirlwind press tour. In the twelve weeks leading up to this moment, Holly had lived and breathed Juliet, so much so that sometimes she was terrified she'd have a hard time letting go of
What everyone had imagined would be a quick visit to the ER ended up being a week-long bed rest in the orthopaedic wing of the Mediclinic in Glen Eagles for Holly.When she wasn't consulting with some specialist or other, she found herself entertaining an endless stream of visitors—from family to colleagues to the management team at the Royal Dance Institute. Cooper was pretty much a permanent fixture in her private ward, and her only source of updates about work. When he casually announced the show was on a break following her injury and faced a possible cancellation, Holly naturally felt terrible for everyone, especially him. He'd wanted the show as much as she did, and had worked just as hard. To see all their hard work go to waste was gut-wrenching. So, she tried to steer their chats away from work. But somehow, they always circled back to the show and, of course, Lola.Rumours had begun to swirl at the Institute. Half the corps was convinced she had maliciously stepped on Holly'
Andrei had seen death more times than he cared to count in the past. He'd had close brushes with it, too. In fact, with all the violence in his world, he'd become so desensitised to it that even the smell of it didn't bother him anymore.But this was Holly. The woman he was supposed to marry. The woman he intended to build a life with. She couldn't be dead. Not like this. Not on his watch."No, Holly, Baby, wake up!" He whispered as he tightly shut his eyes and mentally shook the terrifying image from his mind, praying that the next time he opened them again, his life would be exactly as it was before they came to bed just an hour ago. But when he dared open his eyes again, blinking several times just to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him, and the same brutal scene greeted him, another primal scream reverberated through the room. How?How did any of this happen?Holly was alive and well just an hour ago. But now…now she was as cold as death."It's impossible!"
"I was afraid of this," Levi muttered as he ran his hand through his hair, all the while glaring at Andrei. "When I saw the videos, I knew you're too far gone. It's clear that some kind of fatal attraction shit is going on between you two, and it's only a matter of time before shit hits the fan. Liam will end you—""I'm aware of that. But I'm not backing down," Andrei replied, the conviction in his words matching the determination in his eyes. "Holly is…Holly is important to me. I'm not willing to give her up. I admit, at first, I didn't care about her. She was a means to an end and a way to get what I wanted. But these past few weeks, I've seen so many sides to her I didn't even know existed.""What do you mean?"Andrei took a sip from his glass and replied, "Honestly, I don't know how to explain it. But there's something about Holly, man. She gets me. With her, I can just be myself. I don't have to be Aero's CEO or the Ivanov's crime family boss. When I'm with her, I'm just Andrei,
Levi waited long enough for the door to shut behind Holly as she stepped onto the patio before turning his full wrath on Andrei. "You fucking lied to me. At The Castle, you looked me in the eye and assured me nothing was going on between you two." "That's because nothing was going on," Andrei retorted, matching his fierce tone. "Obviously, something's definitely going on now! Otherwise, Holly wouldn't be all cosied up in your clothes!" "What do you expect her to wear? I don't have any women's clothes—" "Fuck, Drei!" Levi growled in frustration. "That's not the point!" "Then what is?" Andrei asked as he watched him about to sit at the kitchen island—the same kitchen island he had Holly sprawled over not too long ago. The red-hot images of their sweaty bodies and their carnal cries, while they were deep in the throes of passion, flashed in Andrei's mind, and he instantly hardened at the memory of Holly's smooth, velvety warmth sheathed around him— "So?" Levi snapped his finger
As Andrei watched the first few seconds of the clip, he had a dreadful sense that he'd been there before, in this very scene playing out before his eyes. Then, the realisation hit him all at once. It wasn't déjà vu. But the moments leading up to Holly's injury weeks earlier. The only difference was that he was now looking at her accident through the eyes of the videographer, who had taken the behind-the-scenes footage backstage, and not those of a spectator in the viewing boxes. "Who is this woman?" he asked, horrified that there was another Veronika out there. Well, maybe not as deadly as the Bratva princess. But whoever this woman was was just as insane. "You don't recognise her?" Andrei shook his head. "Should I?" "That's Lola," Holly replied. Of course, Andrei thought, wanting to kick himself for not recognising Holly's arch-rival. But in his defence, the woman in the video, buried under the heavy costume makeup and blonde wig, looked remarkably different from the redhead b
Love.Andrei could only stare at Holly, mulling over the word in his mind.Love had never existed in his world. Love had no place in his life.In fact, the last time he came close to loving anyone didn't turn out so well for him. His father had made sure of it by showing him how easily it could be taken from him when he brutally slaughtered Mila and her family in cold blood over a baseless rumour. His father's ruthlessness over the years had moulded Andrei into the man he was always afraid he'd become: a man incapable of love. But when it was all said and done, it wasn't that he was incapable of wanting to give and receive love, or that he had sworn off it after Mila died. He was simply terrified—"Please pass me the shower gel," Holly said, drawing Andrei out of the dark cloud of thoughts swirling in his head as she pointed at the array of bath stuff in the shower caddy."Thanks," she mumbled when he handed her one of the body washes, expecting her to complain at the fresh, piney
As Holly lay spreadeagled, clutching the edges of the counter for support, with Andrei covering her with the warmth of his body, she could finally scratch 'wild, passionate sex' off her bucket list. While she was still recovering her breath, she had another epiphany—it was never about the act, but the man. And now that she'd had a taste of what it felt like to wholeheartedly give herself to Andrei and let go of all her inhibition, she was terrified she'd never be able to walk away from him as planned. She'd always want this feeling…like she was on stage again, soaring to newer heights— Andrei moved away from her, and she heard him softly pad to the guest bathroom. When he came out a moment later, she'd thrown on his dress shirt. A smirk tugged at his lips as his eyes slowly travelled up her body, lingering on her mouth. "You shouldn't have gotten dressed," he murmured, inching his way to her, his movements slow and deliberate. "I'm just going to take it right off." Holly swallo
Holly stood there for a beat, gulping down the nervous lump in her throat because she knew exactly what Andrei was asking of her. A small part of her—the one still ruled by her head—told her this was a terrible idea. Spending the night with him would lead them nowhere good. At best, it would leave her with a gushing wound in her heart that no amount of Band-Aids could ever cover up. At worst, six feet under, her body riddled with bullets. "No," she decided, making up her mind then and there. Tonight, especially after their violent confrontation with the Petrovs, was supposed to be the last she saw of Andrei. Their agreement was one date and one date only. Spending the night would create unnecessary complications. "I don't think staying the night is a good idea," she said, surprised at how steady her voice was, even though there was nothing firm about the butterflies somersaulting in her tummy. "What are you afraid of?" Andrei asked, pressing her against the counter and sending
Following their grand escape, Andrei was in no state to drive back on his own, so Holly decided to ride shotgun with him, with Eric following behind in his car. They didn't talk much on their way to Forrest Creek. Andrei was lost in thought, his rage showing itself in his reckless speeding as they zoomed through the night. Holly had never been afraid of speed. But tonight, after their close call with the Petrovs, she found herself grabbing onto the edge of her seat, terrified that Andrei would lose control and hit a traffic light. Or worse, a concrete barrier and the car would spontaneously burst into flames, taking them out in a blazing inferno."Slow down," she said, touching his arm when they had another close call, almost rear-ending a family sedan cruising in front of them. Andrei grabbed her hand and kissed her palm."I'm sorry," he said, and Holly released a long breath she didn't realise she'd been holding when he decelerated, his rage seemingly leaving him the more kilomet
"What just happened?" Veronika stammered, staring at her parents helplessly. "Why doesn't he like my gift?""He's allergic to dogs," Andrei answered coldly as they watched Vladimir bundle the puppy back inside the box and hand it to one of the waiters, making it his problem."What do you mean he's allergic to dogs?" asked Veronika, her bewilderment palpable."Exactly that. Papa Ivanov is allergic to dogs. That's why, growing up, Andrei and Aleksei never had any pets, well, dogs at least," Holly added fuel to the fire, earning herself a deadly scowl from the mother and daughter duo. "You would know this if you were fit to be Andrei's wife!" "You!" Veronika glared at Holly, pointing a finger at her threateningly. "Calm the fuck down," Andrei said, pushing her hand off as he led Holly to one of the free armchairs in front of the fireplace. "Aren't you going to check on your father?" she asked, throwing a wary look at Veronika and Elena.Andrei shook his head. "Pavel's got everything u