Not In This Way!

Heavy footsteps could be heard.

"Dimitri, let go!" Adeline, half drunk and half-conscious, yelled at Dimitri. His tight grip on her wrist was hurting as he dragged her towards the car.

Her words fell on deaf ears because Dimitri had pulled open the door of the car and shoved her inside. He slammed the door shut and sat down beside her.

"Drive!" His anger-filled eyes shifted to Mikhail, who had met his gaze through the rearview mirror.

Mikhail started the engine and drove off. His destination was the Petrov's family mansion.

"What is the meaning of this, Dimitri?" Adeline slurred her question, frowning.

Dimitri shot her a withering glare. "Shut your fucking trap!" He sounded absolutely mad, and Adeline could not even understand why he was angry.

What did she even do to him?

As confused as she was, she didn't bother to ask anymore. It wasn't her problem, and besides, it would have been a hassle to return home considering that Mr. Petrov had ordered Sokolov to return to the mansion.

What was the reason? She had no idea, nor could she care less.

Mikhail turned the steering wheel and drove through the open gate into the vast compound. He parked the car, stepped down, and opened the back seat door.

Dimitri's sudden grip on her wrist had Adeline furrowing her brows. She didn't even have time to complain because he had yanked her out of the car and began to storm into the mansion.

"Dimitri!" Adeline tried to force his grip open. "Dimitri, let go! You're hurting me!" she shouted at him, but Dimitri didn't listen. He didn't let go until they arrived at their room.

The heavy sound of the door hitting the wall as it was slammed open startled Adeline and before she could even process the situation, Dimitri shut the door, immediately pushing her into the bed.

"Were you trying to spite me, huh?" Dimitri questioned. "Is that it?" He pressed his hands on either side of her head, hovering above her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Get off me!" Adeline yelled, pressing her hands against his chest to push him off.

This fired Dimitri, getting him even more pissed off than he already was. "I bet you wouldn't push those men off! You would willingly let them do whatever they want, wouldn't-"

A hot, painful slap that shifted his face to his left side landed on his cheek. "Get the fuck off me." Adeline's shoulders heaved up and down in rage.

She'd sobered up.

Dimitri was dormant for a few moments in shock.

She…slapped him?

A stunned laughter escaped his throat, and he slowly looked at her with vicious eyes.

Adeline watched as his face crumpled nastily, and before she could even anticipate what he would do next, he grabbed her hands, pinning them right above her head.

"How dare you slap me, you bitch?"

"Let go of me!" Adeline spat in his face as she struggled to free herself from his grip. "I swear to god, I'll kill you if you dare!"

To him, her words were nothing but empty threats. He completely ignored it and forcefully began to kiss her, even going as far as biting and leaving painful purple hickeys on her neck.

"Dimitri!" Adeline wrestled, groaning in anger. "Dimitri, stop! Let-"

"Stay still and quit struggling." Dimitri scowled at her, his grip on her wrists tightening. "You were completely against opening our marriage, and even when I did what I wanted and brought women home, you didn't do the same. So why now?"

"You want me to touch you, don't you? You want me to make you feel-"

"Get the hell off me!" Adeline knocked her forehead against his, her face scrunched drastically in anger.

"You need to learn your place," Dimitri said, hissing at the ache he felt on his forehead.

Adeline's eyes flew wide, something snapping inside of her, the moment he grabbed her dress, raising it to have his way with her.

Still on her heels, she lifted her knee, mercilessly landing a ferocious kick on his groin with the intention of busting his balls.

Dimitri's pupils blasted open, and his face grew red as unbearable pain and aches hit him. He fell off her onto the floor, his hands cupping his balls.

Adeline jackknifed herself off the bed and got up to stand. She looked at him with hostility burning in her gaze and in a moment of pure rage, she ended up furiously kicking the man in the face with her heels, causing a bruise.

"You asshole!" Her breathing was quick and she was shaking a bit, shoulders heaving up and down 

She stormed to the door to leave, but came to a halt, having much more to say. "Let me tell you something, Dimitri, don't delude yourself. I would never waste my time trying to spite someone like you. Not in this way! You're not all you think you are, you are not worth it, and you don't turn me on, so fuck off."

"I don't want you or your touch and I won't repeat myself." She slammed the door shut, leaving.

As she walked to the guest room, she angrily took her heels off, puffing out furious breaths. Her face was wrinkled in disgust, still able to feel his hands that had been on her.

Adeline shut the door of the guest room and locked it. Her body staggered from one side to another, and she fell into the bed, shutting her eyes in total weariness, ready to fall asleep.

_____

[Within a Liquor store]

Nikolai sat opposite Yuri, chunking down shot after shot of vodka. Yuri, on the other hand, was smoking, blowing puffs of smoke toward him.

"Yuri, quit smoking," Nikolai snapped at him. "You're a doctor and that's harmful!"

"Harmful? I'm not a human," Yuri said flippantly. He picked up a bottle of uncorked vodka and poured himself a full glass. "Why did you call me out here? What did you do this time around?"

Nikolai lowered his head, whining with a nervous expression. "I'm fucked, Yuri."

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked. Nikolai only ever became such a way when a horrible situation had to do with Caesar. Either his head was going to get busted or Caesar was mad at him.

Which one could it be?

Nikolai recounted the whole incident to him, including the part where Caesar had told him to inform him of the situation and get lost till he found Rurik.

All the while, Yuri sat, staring at him with a dropped jaw. "Wait…" He laughed, incredulous. "… Are you trying to say that Rurik canceled out on you and Caesar?"

Nikolai shook his head, averting his gaze. "That is…not exactly it."

"Listen, if you really want me to help, be completely honest with me." Yuri's gray eyes crinkled, a bit annoyed. "I'm sure this situation is much worse than this if you are this nervous. You're usually calm and collected, so what exactly is the issue?"

Nikolai sighed and pinched between his brows. He took a moment to compose himself before raising his eyes to look at him.

"He didn't just cancel, but he is switching the deal to the Petrovs."