"You're fucking lucky I can't ruin your pretty face right now," he growls as he drags me forward until we're nose to nose."Otherwise, I'd beat the shit out of you for that comment, you hear me? Don't you forget why we're here, because the second you stop being useful, I'll drag your little sister up here and we'll see how long she survives. Should I do that?"
"No!" The word wheezes past my lips as I struggle for air.
"Are you sure? She's what, fifteen? She'll be half the fucking trouble you are, Rose."
"P-Please!" My heart pounds like a drum and my stomach tightens as Beatie's face flashes through my mind. The thought of her suffering even an ounce of what I've endured makes my blood run cold. "I'll be good!"
Mathew's grip on my throat tightens and for a few cold, terrifying seconds, I fear his dark, soulless eyes will be the last thing I ever see.
Then he releases me and I stumble back into the mirror with a gasp. Each desperate breath I drag in afterward sends a burning sensation down my throat, but I'm alive and breathing, and that's all that matters.
"You'll be better than good," Mathew mutters. "You'll be the fucking best, you hear me? You'll be the picture-perfect, ideal wife for that bastard and he won't be able to keep his hands off you." He snorts and peers past me into the mirror while adjusting his tie that bunched up during our scuffle. "Shouldn't be too hard, his last wife is fucking dead. If you can't beat a dead woman, you're in serious trouble."
My lips part around my last ragged breath, but before I can reply, a swift knocking at the door interrupts us.
Before either of us can speak, the door swings open and a tall man walks in.
He's taller than Mathew, and broader as well, which is likely why Mathew suddenly lifts his chin and puffs out his chest when Calvin walks in.
At least, I think his name is Calvin.
I've only met him once, and he introduced himself as someone who works for Konstantin, my soon-to-be husband.
Kindly eyes rest under thick brows, and his sandy-brown hair sweeps to the side with a slight tilt of his head as he looks us over.
"Rose? We're ready for you." The American twang to his words is oddly comforting, considering I've been around nothing but Russians for these past months. His eyes dart from Mathew's preening to me by the mirror where I'm quickly dabbing the stress-induced tears out of my eyes. "Are you alright?"
"She's fine," Mathew cuts in. "Wedding jitters. You know how it is."
"Right." Calvin's deadpan tone almost makes me smile. "Is your brother still walking you down the aisle?"
"Of course I am," Mathew cuts in again. "Who else would do it?"
Calvin's jaw tenses, but he's successful in restraining whatever comeback bubbles behind his teeth.
"I'm ready," I say finally, once I'm satisfied none of the smudges on my eyeliner are noticeable. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."
"Women, eh?" Mathew smiles suddenly, and despite the gauntness to his face, his eyes grow small around the sudden bulge of his cheek. Then he holds out his arm and offers his elbow to me. "Let's get this over with,sis."
My stomach flips over itself and I force a polite smile, swallowing down the bile that rises at this asshole daring to act like we're family.
It's all part of the plan, but some things are much harder to deal with.
I loop my hand around his elbow and as we leave the dressing room, all my masks fall into place. It's the only thing that will get me through this hell and save my family.
Music rises up from the grand hall, drifting from under the double doors that Calvin approaches as he leads the way.
Countless times I dreamed of what it would be like to be married, how excited I would be to hear the wedding march and walk down the aisle toward someone who loved me.
How naive I was.
Today, I walk down the aisle to marry a man I have never met, all for the safety of my family.
Calvin reaches the doors and grips both gold handles, then he glances over his shoulder and meets my eyes. "Deep breaths," he murmurs and he throws the doors wide open.
It's not until I'm a handful of steps down the aisle that I realize that's the first kind thing someone has said to me since this whole disaster started.
It nearly brings me to tears.
