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“Your brothers. What are they holding against you?”
“What makes you think they’d do such a thing?”
“Why else would you agree to marry someone you don’t know?” Alina asks, arching a brow. “My mother threatened to kill my horse. And then me.” She says this with a sad smile, like she knows how fucked up it is yet has no choice but to accept it.
I frown. I wasn’t aware of this, though I can’t say I’m surprised. I agreed to this marriage out of duty for my family, but Alina had her arm twisted behind her back. I can’t think of a response. Thereisno response. Any attempt I make to comfort her would only come across as disingenuous, not that I’d know how to comfort her in the first place.
After a moment, Alina sighs. She stands up and glances at the doors leading to the ensuite bathroom. “Is it okay if I take a shower? Mother dragged me out of bed and took me straight to the judge, so I didn’t get a chance to freshen up.”
Dragged out of bed? She’s having a rougher day than I.
I gesture to the bathroom, silently giving her my permission. Alina walks past me, giving me a wide berth, before disappearing around the corner and locking the door firmly. When I hear the muffled sound of the shower running, I finally allow myself to take a deep breath.
The guilt is starting to get to me. This situation isn’t technically my fault, but Idofeel bad for Alina. She’s young. Too young. She probably thought she had her whole life ahead of her. Now she’s stuck with me, and she didn’t even get a say in the matter. I suppose the least I can do is try to be a little nicer.
But first, I call my brother.
“How’s the honeymoon going?” Dimitri asks with a hearty laugh.
I scoff. “Shut up, that’s not funny.”
On the other end of the line, my brother sighs. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry it had to be this way, Pyotr.”
“I don’t know what to do, Dima. I don’t think this is going to work.”
“You’ve only been married for an hour, little brother. Have you thought about—oh, I don’t know—getting to know her?”
“She can barely even look me in the eye.”
“That’s because you’re intimidating as fuck. Would it kill you to smile?”
“It might.”
“Did you just make a joke? Oh my God, it’s a Christmas miracle.”
“It’s June,” I point out flatly.
He sighs. “The safety of both our families is riding on this arrangement,” Dimitri says seriously.
“You’re starting to sound like Mikhail.”
Dimitri ignores me. “The two of you just need to adjust, that’s all.”
“Easy for you to say.Youmarried for love.”
“Let’s not forget that Natalya literally tried to blow me up with a car bomb.”
I shove my fingers through my hair, exasperated. “I don’t know how to talk to her,” I grumble.
“Just start small, Pyotr. And be patient. Maybe take her out to dinner or something. Talk about your interests.”
“I sincerely doubt she’s willing to listen to me go on and on about the ups and downs of the stock market.”
Dimitri laughs. “Oh, I forgot. You’re the boring twin.”
“Fuck off.”
“You’ve got this, Pyotr. And besides, no one said you had to stay married to her forever. Just until Mikhail and I can figure out how to keep the Salkovs from being a threat. This was supposed to be a temporary solution. Some tape over a leaky pipe.”
