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“Look what this asshole has done. She’s practically dancing a jig after a shower and a glass of water,” Polina says. “Why did he cuff you, though? That was a bit much, even for him.”
Even for him.
“Because he knew I was going to try to get away.”
Polina tips her head to the side. “Would you? I mean besides the obvious fact that you’ve been demoralized as a woman and treated like property,” she says with clear disdain, “is there another reason?”
Can I tell her? Can I trust her? Maybe some day.
I don’t reply, and I hope my silence is answer enough for now.
Yes…I think I might be able to trust her.
“Do you want to tell me?” she asks in a small voice. Oh, God, I do, so badly it makes me want to cry, but if I tell her and she has any obligation to tell Aleks, he could call everything off. Then I’d have nowhere to go. I hate that my family has put me in this position, but at this point my only choice is to marry him.
“I…I can’t. Not now, anyway.”
She and Aria exchange a look. They’re clever women and at the very least, will have likely surmised that if I’m waiting to sharemy personal information, I may be trying to keep this wedding going.
Polina fiddles with a delicate gold necklace around her neck. “My family is in jeopardy, Harper. It has been, for some time. My brothers need to solidify the family with alliances and connections. It’s the way we survive.”
I nod. I know I’m only a puppet on strings, at least in the eyes of the Bratva. “I know how these things work,” I say wearily. “I get it.”
We sit in silence for a moment. All of us are tangled in this web in one way or another.
“Alright then,” Polina says. “Let’s get going. You have to get ready for breakfast downstairs.” She smiles sheepishly. “That was sort of the argument between us just now. Aleks thinks you should be eating downstairs with everyone.”
Everyone? I swallow. “Who’s everyone?”
Aria and Polina share another look. Polina sighs. “Welllll. There’s a lot of us. Mikhail’s the oldest, then there are my other brothers, six in total although one of them is out of the country right now, and then my mother…”
“You have six brothers?” Yikes. Even though Aleks is the one I’m supposedly marrying, the thought of being outnumbered by more of him is a little scary.
“Tell me about it. So let’s get you dressed and downstairs.”
I’m starving and I want breakfast. I have to face them all eventually. “Alright.”
“I picked out a few outfits. You’ll find them in the closet.”
“Thank you.”
She probably picked out clothes the same way she picked out my makeup, but at this point, I don’t care. The most important thing I can do right now is make friends with these two so I can survive this. So I can do what I have to.
Allies. I need allies.
I look through the clothes quickly. “Casual?”
“Just something you’d wear to breakfast.”
I don’t eat breakfast and would probably drink coffee dressed in my jammies, but I get her point. The small stack of neatly folded clothes and the dresses on hangers in the closet are stark reminders that I wasn’t allowed to bring anything with me.
Nothing.
I can’t think of that now.
I choose a soft pair of leggings and a long sweater suitable for this cool weather, then quickly step into the bathroom to get ready. I swipe on some makeup.
Aria sighs. “I could spend an hour getting ready and still look like a little kid playing in her big sister’s makeup.”
