“Okay,” she silently answered.
Surprisingly, he didn’t utter a word.
Not having anything to do in the bathroom, I had a better look at my face and upper body in the mirror above the sink. The sweetheart neckline was low enough for the soft lace above it tohint at a bit of cleavage, but the mesh sleeves and the full A-line were the picture of modest elegance.
I let out a huff of air, trying to garner strength from the deepest parts of me.
“I can’t remain in this; I’ll get out,” I said to myself.
Time to marry a mob boss.
*************
I remembered in paranormal novels where vampires turned their humanity off and on. Well, I channeled those same vampires as I descended the stairs and approached the back garden with Mr. Bald. I decided it would be better to go through the whole affair in third person; no feelings whatsoever.
And it worked.
The event passed in a blur. However, since I couldn’t shut my eyes, I couldn’t unsee the expression on Viktor’s face as I walked alone down the aisle. His stare was level, like that of someone who was gazing at a face he was far too used to seeing. It was annoying, even more so because I didn’t want to feel anything.
But, beyond that, was the audacity he had to claim my lips with his. The silent, unblinking confidence in his movement as he kissed me as if I had always been his. The way his eyes took mine in as if daring me to voice my displeasure. Anyway, that was the last thing I did. He had taken my hands as we left the garden amidst cheers, like the happiest couple in the world.
**********
Once we passed the garden and stepped into the back door of the house, I slipped my hand from Viktor’s firm one.
I wasn’t surprised that he remained silent; we hadn’t talked except for when we exchanged vows, and of course, we were saying the vows for the audience, not to each other.
I gathered the skirt of the dress in my hands, ready to ascend the stairs ahead of him, when he spoke.
“You’re coming with me.”
I couldn’t stop my neck from twisting to the right, towards him.
“With you? Why?”
“By virtue of the dress you’re putting on, your question is unfounded, don’t you think?” he questioned.
The lump in my throat made it hard for me to swallow.
I had been expecting a lot of things to be thrown way today. Having to repeat vows I didn’t mean. Having to kiss a man I’d rather stab with a table knife. Having to appear in pictures I’d rather burn.
But, hell, if I’d even once entertained a single thought of him asking me to move to wherever he laid his criminal head.
I was doing just fine in my room.
Okay, I wasn’t. I mean, it was a prison, more or less. But, still…
He raised a questioning brow, and I didn’t know whether to cower away in fright or up my unfeeling performance. While the debate went on in my head about which path to tread, I made a resolution not to shrink like he was clearly expecting me to.
Readjusting my dress in my hand, I took another ascending step without looking to see Viktor’s reaction. Of course, he overtook me on the wide stairs. He wordlessly led me up another flight of stairs above the floor my room was on, and down a short hallway. And then he stopped for a millisecond to open a door that looked like something made out of rare mahogany.
The room was nothing like I would have expected if I were to guess. It wasn’t cloak-and-dagger in style, nor was it loudly lavish. The space, which had to be bigger than my parents’ house, looked sparsely filled and heavily furnished at the same time. A large king-sized bed flanked by two nightstands sat magnificently against the far wall, and a navy blue velvet couchmarked where the same wall met the right wall. Two doors stood far apart on the left wall, and a black leather sofa sat beside a dresser-and-chair pair against the wall facing the bed. A flat, sleek television hung on the wall opposite the bed. Every part of the room screamed luxury. But the arrangement of the room wasn’t what surprised me.
It was the colors. The fresh, bright, I’m-living-a-good-life kind of colors that brightened the room. From the abstract paintings scattered across the walls to the fresh mixed bouquets on the nightstands and in transparent vases by different wall edges, the room looked like a place I would have tied to some laid-back billionaire CEO or a young art professor, not a crime boss.
As Viktor strolled past the bed while unknotting his tie, I wondered what to do with myself instead of standing by the door like an uninvited guest.
Well, I’m anything but uninvited.
