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I sigh and continue on, constantly glancing up to the domed roof of the greenhouse until I have to crane my neck back too far to see it.
Then we walk through the doors, and it’s no longer a struggle to keep my eyes on ground level. The room is bursting with greenery and flowers and life.
It’s miraculous.
The room is a few degrees warmer than outside. My skin feels sticky from the humidity as soon as we enter, and I’m sure my hair is already starting to curl. I turn and catch my reflection in one of the arched glass panels. Sure enough, spirals of hair are escaping around my ears and my temples. I try to smooth them down, but it’s no use, so I give up as soon as I start. The billowy sleeves of my dress look like wisps of fog. Everything is silent and taut like a breath held too long.
Yes, the champagne dress would have been less cumbersome, more beautiful. But I didn’t want to wear a dress like that to a fake wedding.
I’m tired of giving my best to men who don’t deserve it.
“Madam?” Rada says softly, drawing my attention away from my own reflection.
I take a deep breath and let her lead me to the center of the greenhouse. There, under the center of the dome, sits a table. Around it stand three men.
One of them is the ever-smiling colleague of Misha’s I’ve seen around the house, the same one who flirted with me at the Orion offices what feels like a lifetime ago. Rada said his name was Konstantin, I think. The other is an older man with chapped lips, grinning like a shark who smells blood.
And finally, there’s the man I’m about to marry.
The only one who isn’t smiling.
“Hi,” I say awkwardly.
“Paige,chica! You look beautiful,” Konstantin says, scooting aside to make room for me at the table. His movement reveals an official-looking document placed neatly next to a fountain pen.
“Paige,” Misha murmurs. I hold my breath, waiting for him to tell me something that will help me breathe easier—though why I should expect that, I don’t know. “You know Konstantin already. And this is Yan Carsten. He’s my lawyer. He’ll be our officiant today.”
“Which I find incredibly insulting,” Konstantin says with a pout. “I am your cousin, after all. Shouldn’t I be officiating?”
“You’re cousins?” I ask, gaping at the two of them.
Konstantin raises his eyebrows and glances at Misha. “She didn’t know that?! Now, I’m even more insulted.”
I glance at Yan, wondering what he makes of this odd little ceremony. Evidently, he’s amused by it. His gaze is fixed on me with curiosity, and maybe a certain lascivious interest.
The latter drops right off his face the moment Misha turns in his direction.
“Let’s get this over with,” Misha tells him.
I flinch. “Charming.”
Konstantin chuckles under his breath. “Not too late to change your mind and pick me instead.” I’m pretty sure he’s joking, but it still earns him a punch in the arm from Misha. “Fuck! That hurt.”
“Yan,” Misha says again, ignoring his cousin and nodding at his lawyer. “Let’s go.”
Rada is standing off to one corner, her eyes broad with excitement. She seems to be the happiest person in here right now, which strikes me as incredibly sad.
“Where’s your sister?” I blurt out suddenly.
All three men swivel their heads to me in unison.
“My sister?” Misha repeats.
“You mentioned you had a sister,” I say. “And a mother. Where are they? Shouldn’t they be here for this?”
I feel like an idiot bringing this up now. Especially after I see the look on Misha’s face. Of course he didn’t invite his whole family to this marriage—it isn’t real. Not to him, anyway.
“I’ll inform them later,” he says curtly. “Trust me, I’ve saved you a lot of unnecessary fuss and drama.”
