Page 16 of Claimed By the Pakhan

“Around three. That’s when you started acting weird.”

“Weird?” I repeat, sliding my coffee back toward me, taking another sip. I swirl the liquid around in my mouth, tasting the notes, determined to remember some details. Perhaps Chloe can fill me in. “I was hit by a car and now everything is backwards.”

“You can say that again,” says Chloe, folding her arms across the table, leaning in. “You’re meant to be dead.”

“Surprise…” I wiggle my fingers under my chin, offering her a smile, which she refuses to return.

Her lips remain in a stubborn line. “Not fucking funny. You never returned my calls, my texts. It’s like you fell off the face of the earth.”

I frown. “For how long exactly?”

“A year,” says Chloe. Her gaze deepens. “You really don’t remember?”

“The doctor said I have some amnesia.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I’d remember waking up five months pregnant.” I lift from the chair slightly, showing Chloe the baby bump.

She gasps, slapping a hand over her mouth. My cheeks heat red, neighboring tables turning our way. I look down, desperately waiting for people to mind their own.

“Oh my god, Fia. Who’s the father?”

“The man I’ve apparently been living with.”

More lines appear between Chloe’s brows. She sits back in the booth, hands clasped together, like we’re colleagues in an important business meeting, not friends catching up. “So that’s what you were lying to me about.” Her gaze hardens. “A man. When did you meet him?”

“Perhaps you can help me figure that out.”

A grave expression is written across Chloe’s face. “It will have been around three years ago, when you started taking your lattes with an extra shot.” She keeps watching me. “You were so unlike yourself, Fia, always rushing off, telling me you had somewhere important to be, ignoring my texts for days. In fact,” says Chloe, “I remember sitting in this exact booth a couple years back when you ran to the restroom suddenly, leaving me alone. I was pissed out of my ass for weeks, until I realized you had gone completely AWOL. You were uncontactable.”

My heart beats right out of my chest, fear filling my entire body. Why don’t I remember any of this?

“I was terrified. A month later, you miraculously return. You finally start responding to my messages again. I knock on your door, and you look like a fucking ghost, white as anything. The fear was so wide in your eyes I could feel it rubbing off on me. I ask if you’re in trouble, but you tell me you’re fine.” Chloe keeps watching me. “You shook everything off and made up the excuse that you had to leave town for a while because work was driving you insane…”

That, I can believe. My boss slides new case files into my pigeonhole every day, all of them complicated. Rich people havetoo much time on their hands. They should find a hobby instead of making my life harder.

“Who is the man?”

“Emil Volkov,” I say. “Did I ever mention him?”

“No,” says Chloe. “Never.”

“What does this mean?”

Chloe’s mouth becomes more rigid, her eyes full of fright. “You need to stay the fuck away from that man.”

“Weren’t you invited to the wedding?”

“The wedding?” bursts Chloe, causing others to turn our way again. She yanks my hand, staring at the diamond wedding ring. “Holy fucking shit. You married this guy.” She tilts her head in assessment. “That checks out if you went ghost for a full year.” She drops my hand, shaking off a shiver. “Where does he live?”

“In the middle of a forest.”

“Like a psychopath,” whispers Chloe, her brows parting in fear. “Promise me you’ll never go back there? This man could kill you.”

“I’m sure he would have done that already,” I snort, taking more sips of my coffee while it’s still hot.

“This is no laughing matter. If the shoe was on the other foot, you’d be telling me the same. You were the shell of the woman you once were, constantly looking over your shoulder like you were being watched. Even in your own apartment, you spent more time looking at the door than me.”