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I think of my papa, who has been talking about nothing but this wedding for months. He’s going to be so angry with me. I don’t know what he’ll do. I love him dearly, but sometimes he scares me. He has a streak of anger I’ve seen on rare occasions, and I’m certain he’s capable of murder.
Mama turns on her heel, calling for my father in a frantic voice. My stomach drops because I know the worst is yet to come. When Papa arrives, I’m dead. Ivan is dead. And the worst part is I’ll still be forced to marry Niko, given he forgives my horrific indiscretion. After we say “I do,” it’ll be up to him to choose the best way to punish me.
I shudder to think of it.
What was I thinking? This whole situation is so unlike me. It was one thing to run to the bathroom and indulge in a private moment of panic, but I’ve never even looked at another man, knowing that it was pointless. I’ve known for three years that I would have to marry Niko one day. The person who chose to kiss this man back is not me. I’ve clearly been taken over by an alien being.
And there, next to me, stands the man who started this, all confidence and swagger. He’s smirking, actually smirking, as if all of this is some amusing joke. Of course, he has the right to laugh at my misfortune. He’s a man. He doesn’t have to suffer the consequences of the mess he’s created. My father will deal with him, but he’ll walk away mostly unscathed.
This is my life he’s messing with. Does he not understand that he’s ruining everything? Does he even care? His cold eyes tell me that he doesn’t. He’s taking glee from my misfortune.
CHAPTERFIVE
Ivan
All traces of the snarky, fiery girl I met a few moments ago have vanished. Long gone is the minx who pressed her body against mine, writhing against me in an attempt to get herself off. No, standing next to me is a small, scared girl who fears her parents’ wrath.
She looks at me in disdain, and I can’t help but chuckle.
This is such a ridiculous scenario. Here I am, a guest at a wedding I didn’t even want to attend, and now I’ve been caught red-handed feeling up the bride. Though, to be fair, I haven’t even started feeling up the bride the way I want to.
But I feel a strange sense of possession toward her. I’ve never wanted so desperately to leave my mark on someone and make her mine. Consequences be damned, this is a good plan. Now that her parents are involved, she’ll have no choice but to leave with me. They’ll be so angry, they’ll force her to leave.
I highly doubt that idiotic son of the Oligarch will come to her aide. He’ll see that he’s been bested by a superior man, and he’ll back down, deciding she’s not worth the trouble. She’ll be all mine.
“I don’t know what you’re so happy about,” she mutters glumly. “My father is going to rip you limb from limb. Even if you manage to survive, he’ll feed you your own testicles.”
I throw my head back and laugh. Dimitri doesn’t have big enough balls to attempt such a feat, especially on me. He’ll scream at me, get red in the face, and tell me I’m a no-good swine, but he can’t lay a finger on me. She doesn’t understand yet, but she will soon.
I hold my hand out to her, and she stares at it in disgust. Instead, I grab her by the waist and pull her along with me. We aren’t going to wait around in the bathroom for her father to drop the hammer. I’m not a coward hiding away from my crimes. Besides, this is all going according to plan.
“Do you want to get out of this marriage or not?” I whisper to her.
She responds with a wide, hopeful look, and again I know I have her pegged. She wants out of this marriage as much as I want her. I’m the way out.
“Just trust me,” I say, as we approach a loud crowd that has assembled outside of the chapel. It seems news of our dalliance has reached the general population. Perfect timing.
“We are going to face the shitshow head-on,” I tell her. “We’re going to face it together. It will all work out exactly as it should.”
Down the corridor comes the squat, angry stature of her father. His face is so red it’s nearly purple. He really should watch his stress level. A man of his position and his horrible physique is at great risk of a heart attack. Even if that’s not in his immediate future, I know plenty of people who can make that happen and make it look like an accident.
Dimitri knows better than to cross me.
He reaches us, his eyes trained on his daughter. They are angry slits, full of murderous intent. He calls her a whore in Russian and raises his hand as if he’s going to slap her. That will not be happening on my watch.
I easily grab his wrist and stop him before he can lay a hand on his daughter. I will put up with a lot, but I will never abide by violence against women. I look down at the young bride-to-be to see that she is cowering behind me, terrified of her father. This isn’t the bold woman who just gave herself to me. No, this is an innocent woman who needs protection. My protection.
“Who the fuck do you think—” the man begins, his face an even deeper shade of purple.
He’s angry, but not nearly as angry as I am. He isn’t going to get away with this behavior with me, and he knows that. He’s much more afraid of me than I am of him.
“You will not touch her,” I say, my voice deep and low.
A look of fear crosses his face, only briefly masking his anger. He doesn’t want me to see the effect I have on him, but it’s impossible to miss. I may be younger, but I’m more powerful in several ways. For one thing, I’m a good foot taller than he is. More importantly, though, I have a larger and more equipped branch at my disposal.
If Dimitri crosses me and war is necessary, I will win. We both know it. For now, it’s my ace in the hole. He doesn’t intimidate me in any way, and I’m going to make damn sure that he never intimidates his daughter ever again. She’s something precious, something worth fighting for. The decision is already made.
“Listen to me carefully, Dimitri Stepanovich Mikhailov,” I start, invoking his full name to show him I mean business. “You are going to let your daughter leave with me right now. Once we’re gone, our two branches will be inextricably linked. No more fighting, no more war. Do you understand?”
