The first time Katerina Varga saw Roman Volkov, she was walking away from a runway.
Not toward one.
Away from it.
The cameras were still flashing behind her when she stepped through the heavy backstage doors, trading the bright chaos of Fashion Week for a quiet corridor filled with black marble and dim golden lights.
She had spent the entire evening surrounded by people.
Designers.
Models.
Photographers.
Agents.
People calling her name from every direction.
And yet, the moment she walked into that corridor, she felt completely alone.
Her heels clicked against the floor.
One.
Two.
Three.
She reached for her phone.
Three missed calls from her father.
Katerina frowned.
He never called during her shows.
Never.
She immediately called him back.
No answer.
She tried again.
Nothing.
A strange feeling settled in her stomach.
"Katerina."
She stopped.
Her manager stood several feet away.
He looked pale.
"What happened?"
"Your father wants you home."
"Now?"
He nodded.
"He's already sent a car."
Katerina glanced toward the exit.
"Why?"
Her manager hesitated.
"I wasn't told."
That answer frightened her more than an explanation would have.
By the time Katerina arrived home, the house was already surrounded by security.
Too much security.
Black cars lined the driveway.
Men in dark suits stood near the entrance.
Her father was waiting inside.
And he wasn't alone.
Katerina stepped into the living room and stopped.
A man stood beside the windows with his back toward her.
Tall.
Unnaturally tall.
He wore a black suit that looked perfectly tailored against his broad frame. Dark hair, sharp jaw, light stubble.
He didn't turn around.
He didn't need to.
Katerina knew who he was.
Roman Volkov.
The name alone was enough.
She had heard it whispered in conversations her father thought she wasn't listening to.
YOU ARE READING
After The Runway.
RomanceShe was made for the spotlight. He was made to own the dark. Katerina Varga had spent years living a life people could only dream of. Twenty years old. Half Hungarian, half Italian. A face on magazine covers. A name whispered backstage. One of the m...
