“No,” Ivan said. “Before you got here, I ran the information. The men had been let go before the wedding with Aurora. It would appear your wife had a little … following.”

“Excuse me?”

“The moment her father gave her to you, it set a ripple running through his soldiers. First, they were suddenly going to have to follow the peace treaty, but it would also seem your wife has a reputation for being … liked and respected.”

I glanced back at Aurora.

She was different from the women in our world.

All I’d seen were people who couldn’t seem to stand her.

“We all know her father gave me her because he didn’t want to waste his beloved daughter on a piece of shit like me.”

Ivan smiled. “Yes, I know. We got the waste of space. The insult. It would seem to a lot of people, she is second best. She’s not as beautiful or as charming. But those who clearly got to know her, they become … besotted.”

I thought of Sergei.

“I can see that,” I said.

A whimper escaped Aurora.

“Do you think she’s behind the attack?” If my wife had done this, then why did she put herself in the line of fire? “Wait a minute.” I turned to Ivan. “Your sources are wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“Aurora was not … she was attacked tonight. They called her a traitorous bitch. Aurora doesn’t have her own following.”

The only sign that Ivan had heard my words was the clenching of his jaw. He looked ready to commit murder.

Mark finished up the ink, and as he did, Aurora whimpered. I took a step toward her. Mark applied a Band-Aid to keep it covered. The tattoo was in an easily infected area. He gave her the rundown of care.

The moment he finished, she stood up, and I went to her side, tucking her against me.

“Aurora, can I ask you a question?” Ivan asked.

She nodded her head.

“Were you liked at home?”

She jerked within my gaze, and I saw the tears in her eyes. “Why? Is this to punish me for what my father did?”

“Were you respected? Loved? Liked?”

“Mr. Volkov, people didn’t even know I existed, and if they did, they made me very much aware of just how unimportant I was.”

Chapter Six

Aurora

My wrist hurt.

My head hurt.

My back hurt.

Everything fucking hurt. Yet, nothing seemed to be quite as painful as the knowledge that my family and everyone around them didn’t like me.

“Were you respected? Loved? Liked?”

Ivan’s questions played in my head on a mocking repeat. No one liked me. No one even cared about me.

I was given to Slavik and the Volkov Bratva because my father didn’t want to give away the daughter he actually loved.

Tears filled my eyes, and I hated how I felt, the way I was reacting. Tilting my head back, I stared up at the pool room. Sergei had cleared the pool so I could use it. Every other time, I always felt a little embarrassed at the power he used for my comfort. Today, a week after getting the tattoo that aligned me with the Bratva, I needed to do something other than sit in the apartment. Even reading wouldn’t rid my mind of these thoughts. I tried so hard not to let them consume me, but it was next to impossible.