Page 102 of Bought By the Ruthless Pakhan

And she had the nerve to call Anna a whore? In my eyes, Anna was a thousand times better than her.

I lit a cigarette, leaned back in the chair. Smoke curled up slowly.

"Stop fooling yourself. Look at you—acting like a cheap slut. What gives you the right to judge Anna?"

Victoria's face went white.

"You—you're comparing me to that whore?"

I laughed, tapping ash off the cigarette. "No, you're wrong. I'm not comparing you to her."

I looked straight into Victoria's eyes, utterly mocking. "You're not qualified."

Victoria's expression froze.

Her pupils dulled bit by bit, like she'd sunk into despair.

Watching her like this, I stood without hesitation. Staying any longer would just disgust me more.

But the second I took a step, Victoria grabbed me from behind.

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it!"

I frowned, about to push her off.

Just then, the doorknob turned slightly.

Before I could speak, the door cracked open.

My heart sank. I looked up.

Anna stood in the doorway, face white as paper.

Her gaze swept over Victoria's naked body, then slowly landed back on me. Her lips pressed tight. She said nothing. Just turned and walked away.

"Anna!"

My heart dropped. I shoved Victoria aside and chased after her.

She ran fast, straight to the bedroom. The lock clicked.

I stood outside, heart pounding, fists clenched. "Anna, it's not what you think. Open the door. Let me explain."

Silence inside.

After a long moment, I heard her voice through the door, cold as ice. "No need to explain, Mr. Volkov. We're nothing to each other. You don't owe me an explanation."

"Anna, don't do this." My throat tightened. "It's not what you saw. She broke in on her own. Nothing happened between us."

"Really, there's no need." She kept refusing me. "You don't need to report anything to me. I'm just your daughter's tutor. An insignificant employee. You don't need to explain anything to me."

My throat felt even more blocked.

"Anna, you're not insignificant to me. Come out. Let's talk."

But all that answered me was endless silence.

I didn't blame her.