Ice & Prejudice

Chapter 97

Ria's POV:

I couldn't stand working for that monster one more second. Luckily, Jamal helped me find a one-bedroom flat in London, the last place Nikolai would expect me to be. Close. Yesterday I thought I'd die from boredom at that dinner. And thanks to some of Layla and my friends from Oxford I got a job proposition at a differnt clinic just around the block of my new flat. Obviously, Nikolai wouldn't know until it was too late.

Tomorrow I'd be gone. And he'd have absolutely no leverage over me. Layla and I both agreed we'd just keep looking for different buildings for our own personal mental health clinic. we didn't need Nikolai's building. I would just have to go through today. And with a bit of luck I'd never have to see Nikolai again.

But of course, I was never a particularly lucky girl.

I was just arranging some of Nikolai's meetings for the week when I had gotten an emailon my own personal mail.

As soon as I received the email, everything inside me froze. The subject line alone was enough to make my blood run cold: Marriage Certificate. My hands trembled as I opened the message, my stomach twisting into tight knots as I scanned the contents.

Marriage... to Nikolai Wolves.

My heart pounded in my chest, a mixture of fury, confusion, and panic flooding through me all at once. This couldn't be real. It had to be some kind of joke, a mistake. I couldn't have married Nikolai. There was no way. But the email was unmistakable-legal jargon that confirmed it. The contract I had signed the night before wasn't just some assistant task.

It was a fucking marriage contract.

I stormed out of my office, not caring about professionalism or decorum, not even bothering to knock as I barged into Nikolai's office. He was sitting there, calm and collected as usual, but the second his eyes met mine, that damn smirk appeared on his lips-the same one that made me want to rip his face off.

"You mothefucker!" I spat, slamming the paper down onto his desk.

Nikolai didn't even flinch, his expression barely changing as he leaned back in his chair, that maddening smirk widening. "Good morning to you too, my beautiful wife."

The word hit me like a punch to the gut, and I saw red. "What the hell is this?"

He glanced at the paper on his desk, not the least bit concerned. "Exactly what it looks like."

"I thought this was for your stupid business deal!" I practically screamed, my fists clenched at my sides. "How could you trick me like this?"

Nikolai stood up slowly, rounding the desk, his tall, broad frame moving with the kind of control and grace that always unsettled me. His eyes stayed locked on mine, filled with that same unreadable darkness as he closed the distance between us. "I didn't trick you," he said, his voice dangerously low. "You signed the contract yourself. I didn't force your hand. You agreed."

"I agreed to nothing!" I snapped, backing up as he came closer. "You set me up!"

His smirk faded, replaced by something darker, something more possessive. "I secured what's mine."

I stumbled back until I hit the edge of his desk, but Nikolai didn't stop. He kept advancing, closing the space between us until his chest was inches away from mine, towering over me. His strong arms caged me in, hands planted firmly on the desk on either side of me, trapping me. His scent-dark, spicy, and annoyingly intoxicating-washed over me, making it hard to think straight. He leaned down, his face coming so close to mine that I could feel the heat of his breath.