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Chairs scrape as we hurry to get to our feet as well. I grab the fresh shirt that Jace brought me from my room and pull it on, gently guiding it over the bandages and stitches.
Eli lets out a low whistle of approval as the three of them wait for me to finish. Jonathan is already out the door and probably halfway down the corridor by now.
“If I marry Alina, she will be in my house and at my mercy for the rest of her life. And as long as I hold her safety over their heads, the Petrovs will never dare to threaten us again,” Eli mimics in my voice. “Damn, you’re brutal.”
“And a sneaky little liar,” Rico adds with a sly smile.
“Because we all know that you’re whipped as fuck,” Jace finishes, flashing me a wide grin.
Eli and Rico laugh as they nod while giving me knowing looks. I narrow my eyes at them all.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
They fall in beside me as I start towards the door. There is a wicked smirk on Eli’s mouth as he casually throws an arm over my shoulder.
“Who would’ve thought that our own little Kaden would fall so hard for a girl,” he says, that grin still on his face.
“And not only that,” Rico adds from Eli’s other side. “A girl that he wants to marry and settle down with.”
“You do not get to give me shit about settling down and playing house,” I retort, shooting him a pointed look.
“If you want,” Jace begins before Rico can reply. “I could try to find one of those French maid costumes for you, so that you can start wearing it around the house to practice.”
I narrow my eyes at my grinning little brother. “I just took down an entire room full of people. I have no problem adding three more bodies to today’s kill count.”
He snorts and rolls his eyes. “As if you could ever take me.”
Eli and Rico just chuckle. I blow out an exasperated sigh and shake my head at all three of my very annoying brothers.
Down the hall, our father reaches the double doors to the dining room. But he waits for us to catch up before he reaches for the door handles. Eli slides his arm off my shoulders as we close the final distance, and I straighten my shirt again.
Eli, Jace, and Rico all give me a look that needs no words. I know exactly what it says. They might mess with me because it’s fun, but they’re happy for me. And they approve of Alina. I give them a small nod.
An impeccably clean dining room meets us as we open the doors and walk across the threshold. Our cleaning crew, combined with the Petrov one, has not only worked fast but also incredibly well. Everything is back to the way it was before.
All the tables are back in their original place, complete with silverware, plates, and glasses ready and waiting for the next guest. The gothic chandeliers in the ceiling are still burning with hundreds of candles, casting light over the hardwood floor. Not a speck of blood remains on the now once more polished surface.
I sweep my gaze across the room, immediately locating the one person that I care about in the group waiting for us.
Alina is standing next to her father at a table for four in the middle of the room. She has now changed out of the blue silk dress and is watching me with a small private smile on her beautiful face. My soul immediately warms.
Her annoying brothers and cousins are standing to the left and right of the table. All of them have their arms crossed and their eyebrows drawn down as they stare at me in disapproval. But worst of them all is Ivan Petrov himself. He glares at me and my father as if he would rather be anywhere but here right now. I flash them a cocky grin.
As we reach the other side of the table, my father and I come to a halt in front of the chairs while my brothers take up position beside us.
“So, we’re apparently going to formalize an engagement contract and an alliance,” my father begins, his hard eyes locked on Ivan.
“Apparently we are,” Ivan replies.
Wood grinds against wood as we pull out the four chairs and sit down facing each other. Me opposite Alina and our fathers opposite each other. Since Ivan reached out about this an hour ago, they already have a contract drawn up and printed out. A copy of it is waiting on the table in front of all our seats.
“Let’s get this over with,” Ivan says once we’re all seated.
Jonathan nods. “Lets.”
I keep my eyes on Alina while we finish negotiating the contract until both our families are satisfied. I can’t believe she managed to get her father to agree to this. He hates our family, and me in particular, and he was dead set on marrying her off to some rich idiot. Ultimately, I do what I want. But Alina needs her family’s permission for this. Which was something that I was sure she would never get. So how the hell did she manage to convince them to go through with this?
“Are we all in agreement?” Jonathan eventually asks, only sounding slightly annoyed.
