No More Good Girl | 18+

Chapter 9 - Danila's Torment

On her way down to the lobby, Mia caught her reflection in the mirror and saw her shirt fully stained in coffee. She tried to fix her hair but there was no saving her clothes and she pitifully took in the sight of herself. Her hair cascaded past her shoulders and she wiped her face, commanding herself to pull it together.

Danila was sitting in the lobby restaurant with a coffee on the table in front of him and his phone in his hands. He suddenly felt the urge to look up and he saw Mia slowly walking toward the exit doors, almost gliding, he thought. He quickly got up and came toward her,

"Mia? Where are you going?" He asked gently with worry in his voice as she stopped in front of him. He smelled her perfume and saw her long voluminous hair complement her skin and eye colour. Her coffee stained shirt didn't take away from her beauty in the slightest.

"I...I'm not sure...to be honest." Mia responded candidly. She had no plan, she just wanted to not be with Kirill. Danila invited her to sit with him and after a few seconds she accepted. He called the waiter over and she ordered herself a drink as Danila texted Kirill to let him know she was safe.

They sat and chatted and Danila quickly realized she was as exciting to speak to as she was to look at. She was visibly upset and he did his best to comfort her and tell her it would all work itself out. He defended Kirill's actions and did reiterate that she was in danger.

As Mia chatted with Danila, she felt so carefree and delighted in speaking with him, especially after her awful week. He had a dry sense of humour and he looked like a cute young boy who wanted to win her over, slightly reminding her of Kirill. She liked his attention and allowed herself to flirt with him.

She had forgotten how great it felt to tease and play with men! After the week she experienced, she felt like she had aged a decade and welcomed this indulgent conversation. She felt exhausted but his company significantly cheered her up.

They sat together for a few hours and as time went on, Mia noticed her flirtation becoming stronger and his too. A little bit more of light chit chat and Mia asked him when he was heading back to Russia.

"I'm not sure. I will stay for now. Kirill needs me here. And so do you." He hesitated not looking away from her as he took a sip of his drink.

"Do I need you as well?" She asked amused with a small smile on her face. "Why?"

He looked at her face and took in her beautiful features and licked and bit his bottom lip without realizing it. He was enjoying himself too much, he thought, and knew that Kirill would kill him if he touched her.

Danila was faced with a dilemma. He could continue this behaviour and take it up a few notches. The danger with that route was his life was on the line. Mia didn't know the full extent of how ruthless Kirill could be, but Danila was more than aware of what Kirill had done in the past.

He had known Kirill for a long time, before Kirill met Mia and Danila was just a teenager. One night, he saw Kirill mercilessly beat up a young man who looked at Kirill's then girlfriend wrong. The man didn't cross any line, Kirill just didn't like how the man's eyes traveled over her face and body.

After pummeling and kicking him to a state of near consciousness, Kirill strangled him and laughed as he saw life leave the man's bloodied eyes. He then roughly stuffed him in the trunk of his car and drove to the nearest garbage dumpster to throw his body out. Kirill broke up with the girl two weeks after but Danila never forgot that Kirill took a life because of a wrong glance.