Unrequited Love

Chapter 36 - Luciana

The headboard creaked under my wrists as I squirmed and struggled under the binds that held me to it. I had been in and out of consciousness for 3 days, only waking up when Anastasia, or Ana as she told me to call her, would bring me food - which was a measly sandwich every single time. Over the past few days, Ana had warmed up to me but she still hadn't let her guard down no matter how many times I asked who exactly her boss was.

My head throbbed and bile threatened to rise up my mouth as my head fell back onto the mattress. 3 days of not giving up and badgering Ana for information were really tiring me out. I missed Mikhail. In fact, my heart ached for him. Was he feeling the same way? Did he feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest at the mere thought of not seeing me again? Because it sure as hell felt like that to me. My mind, more often than not, drifted to him and wondered whether he was looking for me. Whether he'd save me. Not that I was some damsel in distress that needed saving. I was a fucking warrior queen and I knew that I'd get myself out of this mess somehow.

I picked at my nails as I forced my thoughts to go in another direction. Thinking about Mikhail only served to make my head hurt more. The hinge on the door squeaked open as Ana entered. She looked different, seemed different today. Her shoulders were stiff with tension as she closed the door behind her, leaving only a slight gap. My mouth opened in question before she slightly nodded her head at me. A silent shut your mouth right now, of sorts. Disoriented and confused, I raised my eyebrows at her instead.

"The boss wants to see you today." She squeezed out the words tightly, as if they left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

My eyes perked up at her statement as I unconsciously leaned forward.

"Oh?" I breathed out as I saw the door being pushed open again. However, nothing could have prepared me for the sight that lay in front of me.

My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets as my mouth gaped open. The man in question pulled a chair to sit in front of me as it made a screeching sound.

"Remember me?" Dimitri asked tauntingly as my gaze swivelled back and forth between Ana and him.

"He's your boss? Where's Mikhail?" I managed to ask as Dimitri's beady eyes narrowed.

"You will not talk to me in that manner, you little slut. Talk to me with respect. It's a shame, really. What Mikhail could have ever seen in a whore like you."

I flinched as if I had been slapped in the face. The same words that my father had said to me all those years ago, echoed in my head. My demons reared their ugly heads as they repeated Dimitri's words. A whore. Nothing but a useless whore. My eyes stung with tears but I didn't let them fall, adamant as I was.

Dimitri leaned forward in his chair as he gripped my chin roughly. In that moment, all I could remember was Mikhail. Mikhail's hands on me. How they were so rough but so caring. How he loved me and I, him inspite of both of our flaws.

"I always knew that you'd never be good enough for him. Scum...just like your father eh?"

My head snapped back as my eyes glowed with barely controlled fury.

"What does my father have to do with this?"

He made a tsk sound before he moved away from me, giving me some much needed space to process what he had just told me.

"Poor girl. Doesn't even know what Daddy had been up to all these years." He said as he looked up at the cracked and yellowed ceiling.

"He did business with us. The Vorovskoy Mir, specifically. And then fucked us over. Only for me to find out 5 years later, that his daughter was living under the same roof as me." He continued with glee as he repositioned himself on the chair.