Each question she asked him was a sensitive probing that pushed the limits of his resolve. In the library, she would choose books that seemed to coincide with his interests.
A volume about unique European architectural history. A collection of writings on international finance. Always positioned where he might notice, might be tempted to comment.
Her seduction was not solely physical. It was cerebral, a gradual dance of curiosity and subtle attraction that made Andrei increasingly uneasy. She observed him with the meticulous attention of someone attempting to solve a hard puzzle, rather than the unabashed intensity of someone desperate for revenge.
The chauffeurs appeared to make her movements difficult, they were always in the way when she wanted to have a close conversation with him.
His agony increased with each passing day. She would emerge in the periphery of his studies, not entering but still present.
