I hope you don't think anyone is going to clean that for you," my new Husband's cold voice snapped from behind me, causing me to almost topple out of the car.
I climbed down shakily, feeling cold sweat bead on my forehead, my hands clammy with sweat.
I had known Dimitri was a dangerous man of course. I would have been blind to not see the way danger wrapped around him as closely as his tailored suit.
But hearing him mention getting rid of someone so casually was far different from the knowledge that he could.
"Get her cleaning supplies," I heard him bark.
I glanced up to see the driver's head swinging between the both of us in apparent surprise. If they thought I would balk at being forced to clean my own mess, then they must really have no idea what my home life had been like. This didn't even reach top ten of humiliating things I'd done in the past.
I shifted my gaze and met Dimitri's bravely.
"Of course I'll clean it," I informed him, feeling smug when I saw a hint of surprise in his eyes.
One of the men in a dark suit appeared with a cleaning bucket, with a brush, rags and mops and I immediately grabbed the supplies and set to work, tension lining my shoulders.
"If you're so bored that you have to resort to staring at a woman cleaning for your entertainment, then you have my pity," I sneered, irritated by the way they all had their attention on me.
Even back home, my family had left me to my own devices while I worked.
"What did I say about that sharp mouth?" Dimitri sounded more amused than angry, and when I looked at him, I saw a dangerous glint in his eyes that gave me a pause.
If I had any hint of sense left, I'd keep my mouth shut going forward, but then again, what did I have to lose? I was already at rock bottom.
"I forgot," I said sweetly, "Didn't the extensive research you did on me show that I had short term memory?"
The man who had brought the cleaning supplies made a horrified, choking sound then muttered something too low for me to hear and walked off.
"You were warned," the taller man said.
"I was warned about_"
My words trailed off with a squeal as I was suddenly grabbed by my shoulder and yanked to my feet.
"What are you doing?" I asked as Dimitri dragged me up the short line of stairs leading up to the front door.
"What did I say about asking questions?"
I rolled my eyes, "you have way too many rules."
"And you haven't obeyed any yet."
He said the yet as if it was a certainty that he would eventually break me and turn me into one of his 'Yes, boss' minions.
I had been too anxious to take in the exterior of the house properly, but the inside was gorgeous. Bright chandeliers hung from high ceilings, reflecting off the polished tile floors.
"Wow, your house is beautiful," I gaped at my surroundings.
"I'll be counting all the silver weekly," Dimitri said.
I rolled my eyes so hard I was afraid they'd get stuck at the back of my head.
"I take it back, your house isn't even all that great."
It happened in the blink of an eye, one second I was being dragged like a rag doll, the next I was slammed into the wall so hard I lost my breath.
"Argh," I cried in pain.
"That is just the beginning of your suffering in this house," he growled in my face, "When I'm done with you, you'll learn to keep your sassy mouth shut and your attitude in check."
"Go to hell!"
"Oh Kotenok, I'm there already and I'm going to drag you there with me."
My legs were trembling so hard that I thought they were going to give way and I'll crash to the ground, but by some miracle I stayed standing.
"What have I ever done to deserve this?" I choked out.
His shoulders rolled in a shrug, "it's unfortunate that you're a pawn in this game, but if you want to make it out of this alive, you're going to have to play by my rules."
He took a step forward, "This isn't a marriage, this is a trade, I own you Zahra. Which means, I can do whatever I want with you. Don't think for a second that you're the mistress of this house because of your signature on a mere piece of paper, you are nothing here."
The hatred in his voice made me tremble.
"Nobody is going to wait on you hand and feet here, so better put that away from your mind," he continued, "You're going to cook, clean, do anything else you need to do."
"If you wanted a maid, then you shouldn't have gone through the stress of getting a marriage certificate," I spat bitterly.
His mouth curled up, "Don't worry, you're much more than a maid, Kotenok."
The first thing I was going to do as soon as I was out of his sight was find out the meaning of that damn word he kept on calling me.
"What am I, then?"
"What did I say about asking questions?" His voice was low, silky, deadly.
Before I could shift away from him, his hand lashed out and I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to feel the sting of his knuckles against my cheeks, but instead, his fingers wrapped around my throat and I was pulled into his hard body.
My eyes flew wide at the heat seeping from his body into mine and spreading down to my toes.
"Dimitri," I whispered.
"You're my ultimate revenge," he replied before his mouth slammed down against mine, hot, hard and angry.
I tried to push him off for only a second before I was clawing at him, wanting more. I had never been kissed like that, like it was a battle of wills and I knew I would lose at the end.
His tongue licked across the seams of my mouth and I eagerly opened for him.
So caught up in the kiss, it took me a second to recognise the sound of a camera clicking.
What the_
I tore away from him and glanced to the side to see him holding his phone in a clear view to capture our kiss.
"What are you doing!" I snapped.
"Documenting our first kiss," he replied, face entirely devoid of emotion. It was hard to believe he was the same man who had just been kissing me with so much passion moments ago.
"Why?"
"For your ex husband's viewing pleasure of course."