"Dangerous Lessons"

"Right," he answered bluntly, just as the chef brought my food. I took a bite and exclaimed,

"MMM!! It's good! I just hope it's not poisoned or drugged... but, well, that'll be a problem for future me. For now, I'll just eat what you give me." I said while giving him a litle smirk.

After finishing my meal, I placed the plate in the sink. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a row of knives farther into the kitchen. A fleeting thought crossed my mind—what if I grabbed one? You never know when you might need it.

I paused, torn between grabbing a knife now and taking the chance to fight back or playing the long game. If I waited, I might earn his trust, which could lead to better opportunities. But what if I didn't survive long enough for another chance?

In the end, I decided to test my luck and wait. He didn't seem like he intended to hurt me—at least, not yet. Still, I couldn't trust him entirely. I needed to stay vigilant.

I walked up to him and asked,

"So... what's the 'next destination' you were talking about?"

"The shooting range," he replied.

"And you want to teach me how to shoot? What if I just use the opportunity to kill you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll just ask you not to," he said casually, as if it were nothing.

His calmness caught me off guard. He acted like this whole situation was normal, like he hadn't kidnapped me at all. It was unnerving.

"I don't even know your name," I realized aloud.

"Oh! We haven't even introduced ourselves," I added, looking at him expectantly.

"Damien Romanov," he said, cutting me off.

"Oh... ah... my name is..."

"I already know your name. You don't need to remind me. Anastasia Ivanova," he cut me off again.

"Ah…. alright… then.. What's your favorite hobby?"

"Stalking." He said short.

"Ummm… okay, and I like singing and working…." My facial expression changed when he mentioned that type of hobby. Does that mean that he could have stalked me too? I was a bit confused but I expected that from him because as I can see his job is also interesting.

"I know." He said with a strict and relaxed and deep voice.

After that short dialogue, with a mix of surprise and disappointment, my eyes widened as I continued to listen to everything he said. There's no way he knows all of this about me, I thought. His expression remained blank. He spoke without the slightest hint that stalking someone and gathering information about them like this was completely unacceptable. It felt like just another normal thing for him.

"You know that's not okay, right?... Well, I can't tell you what to do anyway… So… you wanted to go to the shooting range? Lead the way. But, again, why do you need me to know how to shoot?"

I was confused by the fact that he wanted me to learn how to use a gun. I didn't understand why it was so important to him. I glanced at him, then at the floor, avoiding his gaze as we made our way down to the basement. As I stepped onto the cold stairs, I saw the targets lined up, weapons neatly arranged, and, of course, guns.

"So… you wanted to teach me?"

"Yeah." He picked up a gun, checking and loading it before grabbing another one and handing it to me. "And to answer your question—I need you to know how to shoot because there might come a time when you'll have no other choice. Especially when you're with me. You know what I do for business… and I have enemies. They might try to attack us. And I don't want you to get hurt. Sweety…