Billionaire's Seduction

Chap. 20 • The Knowing

Nikolay.

That's all I could think.

It had been racing through my mind since Antonio had told me about Travis' phone calls to someone in Russia under the surname called Petrov. Since then my mind had been racing with various different thoughts but they all linked back to the same person-

"-Nikolay." I whispered.

Coco frowned, narrowing her eyes on confusion as she shuffled closer to me under the sheet on my bed. I leaned back, resting my head against the head board with a deep sigh.

"Excuse me?"

"Nikolay." I repeated.

"What about him?" She asked, grabbing a fistful of popcorn a from the bowl that was resting on my lap.

"I think he's involved with the situation Antonio is having."

She tilted her head to the side. "I'm not catching on."

I exhaled, running my fingers through my hair. "When we got back from the docks the other day, Antonio told me that Travis had been calling someone in Russia called Petrov. His stocks have been sent over there to the Russian docks. And who controls majority of docks in Russia?"

Her eyes widened. "Petrovs."

"And more specifically, the west docks?"

Her jaw dropped as everything began to piece together and soon she leaned against the head board, groaning in frustration.

"What now? Nikolay is the Petrov's prized possession. If anything happens to him, it's going to be a war against your family and his."

"I don't know, Coco." I murmured, a sudden sadness washing over me as realisation dawned on me. "You know what the worst thing is?"

"What?" She asked, her eyes flickering over to me in sad curiosity.

I looked away and down at the same little rose Antonio had surprised me yesterday evening after our dinner together. A sad smile made its way onto my face, my eyes softening as I held back tears and my heart hurting for reasons unknown.

"That I can't even tell Antonio
Because then that would expose us." I whispered, choking back tears that began to shed, rolling down my face. "And we belong to the Russians."

Suddenly, I couldn't help it and bursted into tears. A feeling of loss and heartbreak hit me in different angles as I ran through every type of scenario that could possibly occur if Antonio found out.

"Oh, Xena."

Coco wrapped her arms around me, bringing me into a tight embrace as I hiccuped sobs into her shoulder, tears imprinting onto her clothing. Then I began to laugh, moving away as I wiped the tears off my face with the sleeves of my pjs.

"I didn't even understand why I'm crying. Oh my lord, what's wrong with me?" I laughed bitterly but there was a undertone of sadness hidden within. Coco scanned me carefully, her eyes flickering around my face.

"You like him, don't you?" She said after a moment, shocking me.  Then she shook her head before I could even get a word in. "No, you love him. I can see it clearly on your face. That's why this is hurting more because you love him."

I gaped at her in pure shock, speechless at her claims.

"Ex-excuse me?" I stuttered.

"Don't lie. You love him."

I scoffed, looking away. "This is so stupid. Please stop saying that, it's making me uncomfortable."

"I'm only saying what you're refusing to except." She stayed with a shrug, pinching another popcorn out the bowl and popping it into her mouth. "It hurts, doesn't it?"