Chapter 1

The first thing Anastasia noticed was the headache.

It wasn't the kind that came after too much champagne. It was heavier. Sharper. As though someone had driven a nail through the center of her skull and left it there overnight.

Her eyelashes fluttered, the room looked strange.

"Where..."

Her voice cracked.

She looked around.

The bedroom looked like something from an architectural magazine. Dark oak. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Expensive paintings she couldn't even begin to identify.

This wasn't her apartment.

A wave of unease crawled up her spine as fragmented memories flashed through her mind—music, laughter, a crystal glass in her hand……then nothing.

Anastasia winced and turned her head.

A frown settled on her face as panic began to set in.

There was someone in the bed.

A man.

His back faced her.

Broad tatted shoulders that covered scars.

One muscular arm rested over the blanket.

She froze.

No, No...

Her engagement ring caught the morning light as she instinctively covered her mouth.

Last night.

She had been at the Volkov Foundation gala.

Dario had been there.

She remembered laughing.

She remembered drinking champagne.

Someone handed her another drink.

After that...

Nothing, Absolutely nothing.

Her stomach twisted.

The man turned to her, and Anastasia froze.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She knew this man.

He was the last person on earth she should be waking up next to.

Mikhail Volkov.

A man who was powerful enough that senators lowered their voices around him.

The man Dario had admired since he was a boy.

The last person she should have woken up beside

It wasn't his identity that scared Anastasia in this moment, it was his relationship with her.

Her fiance Dario's uncle.

Anastasia tore her gaze away from his, and raised the sheets.

She gasped.

“What happened?”

His deep voice rang beside her.

“How did you end up here?” He asked again.

This time Anastasia held her head in an attempt to stop the pain.

She thinks back to last night, and the last thing she remembers was having a drink.

The cold silver of her engagement ring touched her skin, and her head began to throb.

Confusion clouded her mind, as tears began to cloud her vision.

Anastasia reached for her dress that was laying on the floor.

She didn't remember taking it off.

Mikhail asked, there wasn't any trace of panic in his voice.

He sounded calm and collected, like he didn't just wake up to his nephew's fiancee on his bed.

Anastasia shook her head as she helped herself into the dress.

She reached for the zipper, but her hands shook and Mikhail gestured for her to come closer.

With shaky steps, she approached him.

Just a few seconds after she took two steps, soft knocks were heard and the door creaked open.

Anastasia looked at Mikhail's face, and she saw a little bit of emotion in his expression.

Shock.

Anastasia felt her limbs growing weak, as she turned around.

The sight before her was agonizing.

Dario looked at her with lines of shock visible on his forehead.

A soft gasp was heard, as he looked at the bed, Mikhail then back at Anastasia.

“What…..

Dario lost his voice and took a step back.

Anastasia took a desperate step forward.

“Dario I promise it's not what it seems like”.

“I can explain”. She begged in a shaky voice.

Dario gained some composure and shook his head.

“You can explain?”

“How do you explain being in bed with my uncle when our wedding is in two months?”

“How do you explain this Ana tell me how?”

He asked—his eyes almost popping out of his head.

Anastasia flinched and took a step back.

He was right.

She couldn't explain it, because she didn't understand what was happening either.

This felt like a bad dream to her.

Dario looked at the engagement ring on her finger and let out a humorless laugh.

“How long has this been going on?”

He asked, and Anastasia couldn't give him a reply.

She was trying to breathe.

“Is this why you got together with me Ana?”

“To get my uncle?”

“Because he rules the Bratva?”

Anastasia shook her head violently.

“No, I don't know how I ended up here Dario, you have to believe me!” She cried.

Dario shook his head.

“Three years”.

“Three years Anastasia, you wasted three years of my life”..... He paused and looked at Mikhail who had little to no facial expressions.

“And you”...

“You were like a father to me, I never expected this from you!” He spat.

Mikhail frowned.

He looked like he had something to say, but he didn't know how to say it.

He then looked back at Anastasia and sighed.

“I really hope he was worth it”.

Anastasia lunged forward, and grabbed his hand.

“No,no,no, you can't do this Dario, I love you”.

Dario pried her fingers from his hands and dropped them like trash.

“A woman who loves me, wouldn't say that with hickeys from my uncle's touch”. He said coldly and left.

With the loud bang of the door, Anastasia closed her eyes and fell to her knees.

She thought of going after Dario, but what difference would it make?

He already saw her as a cheater in his mind, and nothing she says will change the fact that she woke up in his uncle's bed.