“I do,” Alek says, not hesitating at all. He wants me and he’s going to get me.
“And do you, Katya Ivanov, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
I can’t form words. I couldn’t get them out even if I wanted to and I most definitely do not want to.
Alek tightens his hold on my hands. “Katya.” It’s a gentle reminder that I’m not getting out of this mess.
Still, I can’t speak. It’s like my tongue is cement inside my mouth. Impossible to wade through now that it’s gone hard.
Nina and Susanna laugh again, mocking me very publicly. They don’t have a care in the world. Two teenage girls who’ve never gone through the trauma I have. Because if they had, they never would be so cruel.
Their laughter makes me squeeze my eyes shut but I can’t hold back my tears. A few slip down my face. The other guests begin to murmur, questioning why the bride is crying. But they all have to know. They’re Alek’s friends. His coworkers. The men and women who have heard the stories of Dimitri’s hidden sister. His secret sister. The one he kept locked in a dungeon. They all know that Alek kidnapped me and that he’s forcing me into this marriage. They have to know.
And that’s what makes everything more frightening. They all know and they don’t care.
“Katya,” Alek says again.
I can only shake my head. Words will not come.
“Will this work if she nods her answer?” Alek asks the priest, who sighs with regret.
“No. She needs to verbalize it.”
Alek sighs and sets his intense eyes onto me. “Katya, you need to say the words.”
I shake my head harder.
“Katya.” His tone speaks to no disagreement.
Still, I cannot speak.
Alek grabs my waist and pulls me in close to him. “I didn’t want to do this on our wedding day but you leave me no choice. I am going to get you to say the words. You’re panicking. You need to calm your mind down.”
And right before everyone in the church, he pushes me over the altar and brings his hand right onto my backside, spanking me for everyone in the church to see. The sound of his hand spanking me echoes through the room. It’s loud and humiliating.
I can feel the shock of the people behind me, especially Nina and Susanna.
Alek spanks me again and again and again. Each one hurts more than the last.
I grit my teeth together to keep from screaming but it’s getting harder and harder. My hands scramble to hold onto the altar but that won’t make Alek stop. Nothing will until I say my wedding vows. Until I bind myself to him.
“Calm your mind, Katya. Focus. This is the way.”
His next slap hurts so much that I can’t stop myself from crying out. Because of the echo in the church, it makes my voice sound loud. The loudest it’s ever been. The most anyone has ever heard from me.
“Please, stop,” I sob.
“That’s it. Let it out. Let your fear go. I will stop when you promise to say your vows.”
“I will. I will.”
“Good.” He steps back. My backside is throbbing from the pain. The only saving grace is that he kept my dress in place, not exposing me to a room full of people. But Alek doesn’t win any brownie points for that. He’s an evil man.
Alek helps me stand upright and sets me back into place. The priest looks stunned but he doesn’t say anything about what Alek just did, proving my point that he’s a corrupt priest. Alek must have paid him off or helped him get out of a bad spot.
I glance at Nina and Susanna, who are staring at me and Alek with their mouths open. I’m guessing they’ve never seen that side to Alek before. Maybe now they’ll finally believe me when I say I was kidnapped.
“Ask her again,” Alek says to the priest.
