Page 3 of Desperate Measures

“I understand, and I know you are in a rush to grow up. But I wish you would slow down, for my sake. You have so much time,Dochen’ka. Come, your sister and your cousins wait for you,” he said, and held out his hand.

But he didn’t understand. I was not a kid like the rest of them.

At seventeen, surely, I was old enough to accompany my parents and aunts and uncles to the gala.

While my younger sister and cousins played games and giggled at silly videos, I dreamed of being part of my parents’ world.

I wanted to sit at the adult table. To join their conversations and offer my own unique perspectives.

A book nerd since birth practically, I was not like the other girls I knew at the exclusive Manhattan school I went to. A place where the wealthy and famous sent their kids to be educated.

I felt an invisible barrier separating me from all the rest. Sure, I was a Volkov, but I didn’t fit in.

My parents had a love story that rivaled the couples in the romance novels my mother wrote and forbade me to read.

Of course, I snuck them anyway. How could I resist? Z. Wolff was quite the name in the book world. We were all so proud of her, and my aunt Destiny, who narrated her books.

I always had to read them in secret.

As my father’s first daughter, he was not ready for me to grow up. I knew that, but I was ready.

So ready.

Ever since I sawhimat Dad’s office, I’d been trying to get everyone to take me more seriously.

Tonight was the night I’d finally get them to pay attention.

I could just picture it. Me, in my fancy dress, andhim, in his tux. The glittering chandeliers, the soft lighting, and all the elegantly dressed guests mingling around us.

The string quartet all in black and the servers unobtrusively delivering food and drink to all the beautiful people I was desperate to connect with. But none so much ashim.

My secret crush.

Liam O’Doyle.

I could just imagine it! My parents and aunts and uncles swirling around the dance floor in shades of silver, blue, pink, and black—their signature colors.

Laughter would ring out like music.

Food and drink would be consumed happily.

A fantastic time would be had by all.

Liam would ask me to dance. He’d spin me around the floor and waltz us both into a shadowy corner where he would steal a kiss or two.

I felt my heart racing as my longing grew. I stood up again, facing my father and ready to argue my case.

Adrik Volkov was a powerful man, intimidating as hell. But I never once doubted my father’s love for me or our family.

But he could be a tad unhinged, orprotective, as he liked to call it.

“Dad, I want to go. Please,” I said and felt the soft fabric of my formal gown against my skin as nerves made my palms sweat.

“You’re just a child, Dochen’ka. This is not the place for you,” Dad replied, dismissing me.

God, I hated how those words hung in the air like a thick fog, clouding my excitement.

Did my father really believe that? Did he see this as some childish whim, mistaking the young woman I was?