Natalya
Some girls would hold it against me that I don’t want to tell them what this arrangement between us entails, but not my two best friends. We walk in silence to the cafeteria, and I can tell Azira is irritated that I won’t tell them what’s going on with Alexander. Normally, I tell them everything, but even if they swore to never breathe another word about our family’s true name to anyone, I know what a motormouth Azira in particular can be. She can’t keep anything from her brothers and certainly not from her sister, Mia. The two of them are basically inseparable.
Once we’ve got our food, we sit down at our normal table and Adrianna fills in the silence, talking about how much of a pig Coach Daniels was in combat class. Apparently, he tried to proposition her after class, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Adrianna’s quiet and reserved, the kind of girl Coach Daniels always tries to corner.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I’m going to keep telling him to fuck off.”
I bite my bottom lip. “Not sure Coach Daniels takes rejection very well.”
Azira nods. “I heard he can make girls’ lives a living hell if they reject him.”
Adrianna’s expression turns furious as she crosses her arms over her chest. “What are you saying? I’m not sleeping with him because he’ll get angry about being rejected. He can fuck himself for all I care.”
I nod in response. “Fair enough.” I spoon the delicious pasta into my mouth.
“He’s hot, though. Don’t you think?” Azira asks.
Adrianna looks at her as if she’s clinically insane. “Yes, and a complete and utter man whore. There’s no way I’m giving my virginity to a man like him.”
I swallow hard, as at least she has a choice who she gives it to. It turns out mine is going to be passed over like some fucking trophy to a guy who has bullied me for years. He’s the least deserving of it, and yet I know that I’d give it over in a heartbeat to save my family, particularly Mikhail.
My brother is my world. In a way, he’s been both my father and my mother, since Father died ten years ago. And although he is often busy, he still finds time for me when I’m not at the academy. I know this is my way of paying him back, even if he’d probably murder Alexander if he knew about the arrangement or the blackmail.
Azira gets up and heads for the bathroom, and Adrianna gives me a look that tells me she isn’t going to drop what Alexander said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” she asks.
I clench my jaw. “I told you, I don’t.” I tear off a piece of garlic flatbread and stuff it in my mouth. “Just drop it.”
She sighs heavily. “I know you well enough to know you won’t tell us if you don’t want to. I just worry about you is all.”
I smile at her, but it feels forced. “I know you do, and I love you for it.” I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “But I promise you, this is something I just don’t want to talk about.”
She holds her hands up in surrender. “Got it.” She mimes zipping her mouth shut. “I won’t say another word about it.”
“Thank you.”
Azira returns to her seat. “What did I miss?”
“Not a lot,” Adrianna says, winking at me when Azira isn’t looking. “How is the pizza Azira? I kind of wish I got it instead of the pasta.” She taps her chin. “Maybe I’ll get it as well.”
I chuckle at how greedy my friend can be.
“You eat more than any girl I know and yet you’re so damn skinny,” Azira says.
She looks offended, holding a hand to her chest. “I’m not skinny. I’m toned and athletic.”
I nod. “Right, I agree. Skinny isn’t the word to describe Adrianna’s physique.”
Azira sets her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “Whatever. She’s not curvy like me.” She nods at me. “And you can’t speak because you are just as slim.”
I shake my head. “I’ve always envied your physique, Azira. It’s feminine and beautiful.”
Her cheeks blush a little and she shakes her head. “You wouldn’t say that if you had my hips.”
Adrianna raises a brow. “Everyone envies your shape. Stop being an idiot. We’re all beautiful as we are in our own rights.”
“Agreed,” I say nodding, even though all my life I’ve felt anything but beautiful.
My stomach churns as I realize the only time I have was when Alexander was thrusting his cock down my throat. Looking at me with such desire, it made me shake with need.
I swallow hard and try to forget the look in his eyes that day and the way it made me feel. The last person on this earth who wants me to feel beautiful is Alexander Morales.
Instead, he wants to tear away my innocence like a conquest and break me in ways I can hardly imagine yet.
A shudder races down my spine as I continue to eat, but feel my appetite slipping away.
Alexander Morales is going to ensure he does everything to ruin my last year at The Syndicate Academy, and I can’t do anything to stop it.
All I can hope is that the bond between my friends is strong enough to withstand his meddling, as losing them would hurt the most.