“Valeria Lyubavina?” “Yes,” I said uncertainly, and the man smiled just a little.
“Your fiancé lost you.”
“What?” I blurted out, feeling an invisible rope tighten around my throat. One more second and I’d choke from lack of air.
“He placed a bet,” the stranger pulled my photo from his inner pocket and showed it to me. “I interrupted it. He won’t have enough money to win it back.”
“To win it back?”
Karina shoved the man aside, and after a quick look at the photo she glared at the stranger with open hatred.
“Was his stake his fiancée?” she asked, stunned. The brunette nodded and looked back into my eyes.
“He bet on the fiancée, and I thought I needed her more. If he agreed to lose you so easily…”