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"You have got to be fucking kidding me. You're not even attracted to women, Isaac, so why the hell did you accept the old man’s idea for a contract to marry Elena? You know that Pavel is going to find out eventually that you’re gay as fuck."
Isaac grits his teeth, his eyes glaring down at me as he pulls me a bit away from the rest of the party. See, the thing about Isaac is he is usually pretty kind and tolerant, but he has a temper when it comes to a shitshow like this, shit like me.
"You need to shut the fuck up about that here. You know what would happen if everybody found out that I was gay. I would lose the Clan; we would be the laughing stock of all of it. So what if I'm not attracted to women? It's not like I'll be the first to marry for something other than love. It's what we all do. Feel lucky that you get a different choice."
"See, but that's what I'm fucking talking about, brother. You don’t even want this role. You don’t want anything to do with this now, but you're going along with it? You could just give it all to me. I'll happily marry Elena. I have no problem with fucking women, and it isn’t about love or anything else, though I would think that over time she might be able to love me. It's a personal thing. Go live your life and give me the one I want. Everybody can be happy here."
"See, brother," he says, condescendingly patting me on the shoulder. How can twins be so different from each other? "This is what makes us so different. It is always what has been different about us. And the reason our father chose me, though I do wish sometimes that had been different. But it's too late now. Selfishness does not come above duty, no matter what. It's not just about us being happy, it's about what's best for the Clans, for our families, for everybody around us. We're like princes; we don't get the life that we want. We get the life that is chosen for us. We can find little moments of happiness to share, but that's all we get. I have accepted that from day one, and maybe it's time for you to accept that too."
That is about the worst shit he could've said to me. If we weren't in public, I could easily see myself strangling him to death right here and not thinking anything of it. Because selfishness is a means to an end. A good end, in my book. I might just have to do it if he doesn't buck up.
I turn away from my brother to go find Pavel, knowing that my best bet is to find Elena and try to get her on my side of things if I can. I don't know exactly how and when to do it yet, but maybe for once I’ll get exactly what I fucking want.
"Luca?" Pavel says as I grab him on the shoulder and turn him around a little bit too roughly. I'm initially apologetic just because I don't mean to take this out on Pavel. He isn’t a bad man at all, even though he has flaws for sure. He deserves a bit of respect, if nothing else. "Excuse me, Father Pavel, can you tell me where Elena went? I kind of was hoping to talk to her."
"Yes, I believe that she went to the café across the street to get some coffee. I hope she'll be back soon, but who knows with her anymore?" He throws his hands in the air as if he is frustrated with some little child as if she was I still some rebellious teenager and not a grown ass woman. I'm not surprised, though. He probably assumes she's supposed to be some tight-assed religious nut like he is. I get the feeling she's nothing of the sort, which is exactly why I think there might be a chance that she could help me.
Even if I have to make her.
I don't hesitate to follow her to the coffee shop across the street. It doesn't take me long to see that she is there, as I look through the window, deciding not to go inside.
The reason? She sits at a table in the back with two women. Dangerous women.
They are all sitting, smiling, and talking as if they are best friends. I can't really tell for sure if they already know each other or if this is some random meeting, though nothing seems to be random with the Clans. What I do know is I recognize the two women to be the Badescu sisters; the very women who were meant to be outcasts. When Galina, the oldest, was young, her father betrayed the Clans and they all got the boot, being exiled to Eastern Europe; Czechoslovakia, if I remember right. And the thing about it is, the reason they were exiled is because their father overstepped and was trying to take over instead of waiting for Mariana to be found— just fucking unforgivable.
From my particular brand of research, I also know that the Badescu sisters were the ones responsible for the bombing of the church where Carla and Philippe were meant to be married. So, here they are, right up the ass of another Clan event, and they just so happen to be meeting with the woman who is to be my future wife.
I have the feeling there is something more here than meets the eye, even if I can't put my finger on it. So, I'm going to bide my time here and watch and see how this plays out.
I don't want to interrupt and spook them just in case something I can use comes out of this, even if it means simply rescuing Elena from a really bad friendship here.
I hope to come out of it looking like a fucking hero and getting the girl too.
This is exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for; the opening that I need. And I know just what else I need to do to accomplish everything I've ever wanted.
It's finally all in my reach.
