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“I know that you aren’t happy with things, but I believe it is all going to work out in the end.”
I gave her a tight smile. It was all that I could muster in the moment. “It’s going to have to. After all, for better or worse, my father is determined that Leo is going to be my husband.”
* * *
“You wore the outfit,” my grandmother said, as I walked into the house. My low kitten heels clacked against the marble foyer, and I smiled as the memory of learning to walk in stilettos rushed back to me.
I had scuffed up the stone with designer shoes, but my father had not cared.
“I figured when you had it sent over that you intended for me to put it on for this evening's events.”
My grandmother’s nose turned up. “I did not expect you to comply.” She looked over at Natasha. “I assumed that this is your doing.”
Natasha opened her mouth to defend me, but I interjected instead. “I’m right here,” I reminded her. “And to answer your question, no, Natasha had nothing to do with this.”
“All I did was tell her that she looked like a Princess.”
My grandmother gave her a tight smile. I suspected it was the only kind that stretched over her wizened face. She did not like to smile, even when something pleased her, and sometimes I suspected that it was because she knew that the bright lipstick that she wore emphasized the cracks in her skin. If there was one thing that I did inherit from my grandmother, it was her vanity.
“I picked it for that very reason.”
She looked me up and down no doubt trying to find a flaw in my appearance. There would not be one. I had made a very concerted effort to give her exactly what she wanted for the evening.
Andrea made it clear the night before that I needed to get close to Leo, and that meant pretending that I was willing to go along with this farce.
“Can we go inside now?” I asked. “I am starving.”
My grandmother’s eyes flashed, no doubt irritated by my rude manners. I didn’t care. I couldn’t change too much, or else people would be suspicious.
“Our guests are in the living room enjoying refreshments,” she said.
“Thank God,” I muttered under my breath. “I’m going to need a drink.”
Again, my grandmother scowled at me, but she said nothing. The dress had thrown her off. The fact that I showed up without issue probably threw her off as well. I smiled smugly at the thought. The old bag had no idea what I was capable of when I put my mind to it, but she was about to find out.
“There they are!” The sound of my father’s jovial voice broke through my anger. “My girls.” He embraced Natasha first and planted a soft kiss on both of her cheeks. He always did this, but I never minded. Natasha was the daughter that he wished he had, but I knew that I was the daughter he needed.
Plus, it was generally impossible to be angry with my cousin.
“And my darling daughter.” I tried not to cringe as he enveloped me in his arms. I could smell the vodka on his breath. He was not drunk, but I was sure that if he kept going, he would be.
“Papa,” I greeted, patting him slightly on the back.
He pulled away not fazed for a moment by the coldness I displayed. I wondered if he even realized it.
“Come in. Come in.” He ushered us further into the living room where Leo was sitting on the couch.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked before I could remind myself that I was supposed to be playing things cool.
“Katarina.” My father’s voice was low with warning.
“What?” I threw my hands up as I walked to the bar cart. “Can I not ask a single question? I thought that the Petrov family would be having dinner with us tonight. Emphasis on family.”
Both my grandmother and father looked at Leo, obviously eager and fearful to see his reaction. I did not understand why they were walking on eggshells around him. After all, my father was Pakhan. If he ordered Leo to marry me, he would have to do just that. Not that I could see him denying it.
My father’s actions made it clear. I was to be sold in exchange for the Bratva.
So why was my father so concerned about who would take me?
