I should have taken the younger sister. She would’ve been quiet. Obedient. Easy.
Instead, I chose the one who’s going to make my life a living hell.
CHAPTER FOUR
Calina
There are times in life when one becomes untethered. The things we take for granted are ripped away in a single breath. Conditions we assume to be permanent reveal themselves to be as temporary as a beautiful sunset. The familiar disappears, and we are left staring into the unknown.
I lie in this unfamiliar bed, staring at the ceiling, barely able to catch more than a few minutes of sleep. Every time I drift off, I jolt awake, my mind spinning with the same relentless thoughts.
Only a few hours ago I was laughing in a club with Milana, dancing like the world couldn’t touch us. Now I’ve been saddled with a man I know nothing about, not even his last name until tonight. Maxim Orlov. And I’m supposed to become his wife.
Will Artyom find a loophole in that contract? Can he get me out of this? Or am I really going to end up married to a stranger who looks at me like I’m a nuisance?
I always wanted to get married one day. I dreamed of a love match, a man who would choose me, not because of power or alliances, but because he couldn’t imagine life without me.
When our father was alive, I knew my chances were almost nonexistent. In our world, daughters are currency. Vladimir only ever saw me and Milana as a bridge to strengthen the family and I knew it was only a matter of time before he gave us out in a marriage to a man we barely knew.
But after he died and Artyom officially took over, my brother made me a promise. He swore that neither Milana nor I would ever be forced into a marriage we didn’t want. He looked me in the eyes and said we would only marry men of our own choosing.
That promise feels like ash now.
I toss and turn on the massive king-sized bed, the black sheets cool and slippery against my skin.
The room itself is enormous, easily twice the size of my bedroom at home. Dark charcoal walls, expensive modern art in heavy black frames, floor-to-ceiling windows draped in heavy silver-gray curtains that are currently letting in the first pale light of dawn.
A crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling like frozen rain. Everything is luxurious, cold, and impersonal. Beautiful in the way a cage can be beautiful.
I replay the last hours in my head for the hundredth time. The way Maxim looked at me when I offered myself in Milana’s place. That dark, assessing stare. The electric shock that shot through my body when his fingers wrapped around my wrist. The low, rough sound of his voice when he called me “princess.” The tension between us had been thick enough to choke on.
A sharp knock on the bedroom door makes me sit up abruptly, heart leaping into my throat.
Before I can answer, the door swings open.
Maxim walks in like he owns every inch of the space, which, technically, he does.
I take him in slowly, my stomach tightening in a way I immediately hate.
He’s dressed in grey sweatpants that hang low on his hips and a simple black t-shirt that clings to every hard line of his broad chest and powerful arms.
His dark blond hair is messy, like he’s been running his fingers through it, and somehow it only makes him look more dangerously handsome, and far too awake and in control for this hour.
The sight of him like this does something unwanted to me. Heat curls low in my belly, completely uninvited. I shouldn’t be noticing how the muscles in his arms flex when he moves, or how the sweatpants do absolutely nothing to hide how powerful his thighs are.
This man kidnapped me. He’s forcing me into marriage. I should feel nothing but disgust.
His dark eyes find me instantly, still in last night’s dress, hair wild from tossing all night.
He stops just inside the doorway, taking me in slowly.
“I didn’t ask you to come in,” I snap, pulling the sheet tighter around myself.
Maxim’s lips twitch. “I wasn’t waiting for an invitation.”
I glare at him. “What do you want?”
He snaps his fingers. Two maids in crisp black-and-white uniforms appear almost instantly, each carrying several large shopping bags. They go back and forth twice, filling the room with more and more bags before bowing silently and disappearing.
