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Anya stands up. “I have to go and—”
His breath comes out in a low growl that silences whatever was going to be Anya’s excuse. Then he turns and stomps out of the kitchen.
I cross my arms over my chest, wishing I could sink into the floor beneath my feet.
Anya and I sit in silence for a second, both of us dumbfounded as to how to move forward.
A few minutes ago, Anya had her arm wrapped around mine and the same wide, dimpled smile I’ve seen on her brother’s face only twice. Now, her mouth is a thin slash as she tips her head to the left. “Let’s go.”
“Anya, I’m sorry about—”
“It’s fine,” she snaps. She ascends the stairs. I trail behind her until we get to my room, where she sits on the tufted bench at the foot of the bed.
I close the door and lean against the dresser, too nervous to sit down. “It doesn’t feel fine. I don’t feel fine about it. I don’t like lying.”
“You sure did a convincing job.”
I sigh. “Today was a lot. I was just doing what I thought I—”
“I know.” Anya sighs and waves a hand through the air. “I’m being a bitch. You didn’t have any more choice than the rest of us do. I understand. I guess I’m just… Usually, I’m the person who is in on Ivan’s plans. I’m the one he tells—well, not everything, but he tells me a lot. Usually.”
Ivan being close to his sister… I never would have imagined it, but I can see it now. Anya is light and warm in the same way Ivan seems to stay shrouded in darkness and mystery. They balance each other out. Two sides of the same coin.
“I’m sure he would have told you the truth,” I offer. “This all happened so fast. I mean, eighteen hours ago, I didn’t know your brother existed. Now, we’re married. Fake married. Actually, fake engaged. I doubt there will even be a wedding.”
Anya huffs out a laugh. “I see you all have really planned this out.”
“Hardly,” I mumble. “We’ve barely even spoken. Everything I told you downstairs was true, though. About how we met. That all happened just last night. The only thing that was a lie was the marriage part.”
She gives me a tight smile. “Thanks for your honesty.”
I toe at the plush carpet. “You can go if you want. Ivan told you to take me upstairs and…” I gesture around. “I’m upstairs. You don’t have to stay.”
She arches a brow. “I’m not a servant, either. I don’t follow my brother’s commands.”
My mouth opens and closes uselessly. “Right. You just said… It seemed like you wanted to leave, but he asked you to bring me here. You said you don’t have a choice, so I thought you’d want to—”
“I’m being a bitch again.” She sighs and rearranges her hair. “Everyone does what my brother commands. It comes with the territory of being Bratva.”
Bratva.Hell if I know what it means, but it can’t be good. Ivan shot a man in the head a matter of hours ago, for fuck’s sake, and his family acts like this is any normal day for them. How deep does the rabbit hole go for the Pushkin family?
“Are you going to work for your brother one day then?”
“I already do.”
“But I thought your dad was—”
“It’s complicated.” She shrugs. “He’s stepping down and Ivan is taking over. But I’ll still be the second-born daughter who married a disappointment. No birthright, no penis, and no rich, well-connected husband. I might as well be an STD on the family jewels for all the good I do.”
I’ve got a million and one questions.What does a Bratva do? What does Ivan do? What exactly is he ‘taking over’? Does that mean he’s—
But just as the words come to my lips, Anya claps and stands. “Anyway, I’m just being a drag. Don’t mind me. Ivan always says I throw a pity party better than anyone. That’s all this is.”
“Everyone has family drama. I get it. I know we aren’t really going to be sisters-in-law, but you can still talk to me if you want. I’m sure Ivan will bring me an NDA or something similar soon enough. I’ll be legally bound to keep your secrets.”
“An NDA,” she repeats with a soft chuckle. “How quaint.”
That sends a shiver down my spine. Who are these people who seem to operate entirely outside of the law? These people with their guards and mansions and secrets and their implied threats swimming behind every single word?
