Bound to Vasiliev

GIANNA

Her body felt cold. As if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. Gianna wanted to make sure she heard right. He told her he loved her, but he couldn’t…marry her?

What kind of sick joke is this? she thought as she pulled her hand away.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Her heart did somersaults, and it suddenly became hard for her to breathe.

“What do you mean you can’t marry me? Eric, we’re close to the date. Why are you doing this to me?” she asked, trying to shake away the horrible feeling of being dumped.

“Was it something I did? Do my hours at the hospital affect our relationship?”

“No, baby. I just have other things to think about at the moment. Other plans, and you’re not included in them,” he lied, hoping she didn’t see through it. If she knew what William had done, all hell would break loose.

“Was it my father?” She gritted her teeth, praying he was not the reason for Eric’s decision to leave her. He stayed silent, sighed, and looked down at the table, not saying another word. “I knew it!”

She tossed the napkin on the table and abruptly stood up, knocking over the glass of water on the white tablecloth before she headed out, her anger not letting her see straight as she made her way to his car.

“Gianna, wait! Let’s not make this any worse than it already is. Your father…”

“That bastard is the one that caused this! We both knew from the beginning that he wanted you out of my life, and you couldn’t fight for us? What could he possibly have told you to make you agree to this?”

Gianna was not only upset, she was heartbroken. She expected more from him, from their relationship, but it was clear he wasn’t willing to stand up to her father for her love.

“Open the door,” she ordered, blinking her eyes fast to will her tears away.

“Gianna…”

“Open the damn door!” she shouted, getting attention from the few passersby, who couldn’t help but listen in to their drama. She took a deep breath while Eric opened the door, helping her in.

The ride to her father’s office was short, and she knew she would find him there.

He had been a workaholic his entire life, leaving her and her mother alone in the house most of the time, or bringing his business home.

There was not a single moment as a kid when she wouldn’t beg him to spend some time with her.

The building was finally in sight, and her anger was bubbling up more as Eric parked at the entrance, shutting the ignition off before turning to face her.

“Gianna, don’t do this. Your father is very influential and he will have my neck.”

She turned to look him in the eyes. “So it is true. Did he threaten you?”

“No, he didn’t. Let’s just go back to your apartment.”

“And what? Have the reminder that it will be our last night together? No. If you aren’t brave enough, I’ll do it for you.”

Before he could stop her, she opened the car door and stepped out, stomping inside. It was already late, but not late enough that the place would be empty.

The receptionist looked up from under the dim light of her table lamp as Gianna strode by, straight to the elevator, too upset to even greet her. Gianna had a mission, and she didn’t want anyone to stop her.

She pushed the elevator button, and the door opened instantly. Hitting the top floor button while hearing Eric shout at her as the doors closed, she was determined to end this once and for all.

Her father would not meddle in her life any further, even if it meant losing her inheritance. Not that she wanted or needed it, or even cared.

The elevator reached the floor, opening its doors to his assistant, Olivia, sitting at her desk behind her computer screen, typing furiously while yawning in exhaustion.

“Evening, Olivia,” she greeted as she passed by, unable to be stopped as she opened her father’s office door.

He was sitting at his desk, studying a few documents, when he looked up to see her, a smile plastered on his face.

“Hello, Gianna. About time you came to visit your old man in his office.”

“Spare me the polite greetings. What did you tell Eric to make him decide to leave me?” she asked, approaching his desk, trying to hold herself back from exploding.

William shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head as he looked back down at his documents. “Maybe he realized he was not the right man for you. You should be grateful; he was going to ruin you.”

“You don’t know that. We love each other.” She sighed, running her hands through her hair; her waves not as neat as they were earlier.

“Is this your way to get back at me for not wanting to follow in your footsteps? Or for accepting his marriage proposal despite your opposition? Well, guess what? You did it, he called the wedding off and broke up with me.”

William smirked, nodding his head. He kept silent.

“Tell me, Dad.”

“There is nothing to tell.”

Gianna lost it as she slammed her hands on his desk. “Tell me!” she shouted, the commotion getting the attention of the security guard patrolling the floor, who opened the door to come in.

William raised his hand, signaling for him to stop as he stood up, looking down at his daughter.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me, young lady. Your loving fiancé didn’t waste time in accepting a large sum for breaking off your engagement.”

It took Gianna longer to process what he was saying as she took the contract Eric had signed with the offer from her father’s hands. She studied the documents and her heart ached, not wanting to believe he would do this.

“I did it for your own good, my daughter,” he said, grabbing the folder with photos of Eric having an intimate moment with a woman in the hotel.

“No, this can’t be,” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand to keep herself from shedding any tears, but it was impossible as what she was seeing was breaking her heart to pieces.

“He lied to you, Gianna. And that’s why I decided to have you sign this one.” He put the marriage contract in front of her, her eyes wide open as she read.

“You want to arrange a marriage for me? Dad, you can’t do this to me!”

“I can, and I did. My friend Andrei already signed and he’s on his way back home to convince his son to do the same.” He walked around the desk, stood by her side, and sighed. “This is what’s best for you.”

She scoffed. “You mean what’s best for your company, you sick son of a bitch!”

William raised his hand and slapped his daughter hard, leaving a red mark on her cheek.

She would not shed a tear, she would not shed a tear.

“You will listen to me, you brat. I have given you everything in this life, even paid for your college tuition so you could waste your time being a doctor.

“Now I expect you to do something for me. You will marry Ilias Vasiliev, whether you want to or not. And that is my final word.”