Episode 15

My words seemed to surprise him, and I was glad. I wanted to find common ground with him to not make this miserable and for him not to look at me like a piece of meat.

Did he have any softness in him? I didn’t know, and honestly, I doubted it. But he was my husband, whether I wanted him to be or not. So it wasn’t like I had a choice.

If I displeased him, he would teach me a lesson.

If I ran, he would hunt me down.

If I defied him…Well, what was the use of thinking about things that wouldn’t happen?

Finally, Gavril moved toward me and held out his hand. “Come, Sveta,” he said softly, his eyes betraying no emotion. “I’m going to take you out to dinner tonight.”

If the pool had been any deeper, I would have drowned, my knees weakening in the water. “What?”

“Dinner,” he continued, a tease to his voice. “At a restaurant.”

Who was this man, and what had he done with my husband? “You want us to go out in public?”

A flash of emotion slid across his face and then disappeared. “Of course I do.