“Okay, let’s have a seat,” Mikhel spoke suddenly behind us.
Moving around the table, I pulled out the chair for Sophia and sat down next to her. Elhaida sat in the chair next to her. “Sorry if I moved a little fast with the hug,” she whispered. “I was excited to meet you, as no one ever brings anyone home. Especially not Kolya.”
I shot her a glance before getting up. Picking up the glass of wine and my knife, I gently tapped the side to get everyone’s attention. “I have an announcement to make,” I said. “Sophia is not my girlfriend. Please welcome her to the family as my wife.”
A deadly silence filled the room. I could hear myself swallow. My cousins glanced at each other and then at me, then at her. “It’s not by choice,” Sophia mumbled.
“You’re married?” Mikhel huffed. I could hear the surprise in his tone. But there was something else, too. It sounded like distrust or disbelief. Before I could respond, he continued. “When did this happen? Why was no one invited to the wedding?”
It seemed that no one had heard Sophia’s rumblings. But that didn’t last, as this time she spoke louder. “Maybe because I was forced into it! It wasn’t an actual marriage.”
Glancing down at her, I noticed she had lowered her gaze and was fumbling with her hands in her lap. Things like this happen regularly in our line. But I wasn’t sure how they would feel about it.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, I contradicted her. “Sorry, guys, it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. When you know, you know, and we couldn’t wait a minute.”
Sophia tried to pull loose, but I held her firmer until she sat still. Looking down, our eyes met as she was now looking up at me. “Won’t you agree, my love?” I breathed out. I squeezed a tad harder and raised my brow at her to show I was serious.
She nodded and lowered her head again. Looking up with a broad smile, I was pleased that everyone seemed satisfied with that.
“Well, then,” Mikhel added. “When things quiet down, we have to redo and have a proper wedding, yes?”
I nodded as I let go of her shoulder and sat down. I couldn’t make them part of this mess I was in. There was a lot to figure out first.
Everyone raised their glasses as Yogu spoke. “Congratulations, bro, never thought we’d see this.”
Everyone laughed as Mikhel added his two cents. “Yes, agreed.”
The doors to the side opened. Three ladies came out carrying platters of food. One was filled with seafood, one with meat, and the other had an assortment of bread, cheese, vegetables, and even some fruit.
“This is quite the feast,” I stated as they placed them down.
“Glad you approve,” Mikhel replied. “There is the matter at hand we still need to discuss.”
Looking at him, I realized he was not going to wait until we were alone. He had accepted her as part of the family. Business discussions weren’t going to wait.
Mikhel swallowed the piece of meat he had in his mouth before he started rambling. “It has come to our attention that two other Bratva groups are stalling our operations. We don’tthink they are working together. One is causing issues at the docks. The other one appears to be undercutting our prices.”
I listened intently as Yogu added his two cents' worth. But my eyes were on Sophia. Hendrik was next, and then Zane. As they spoke, I noticed Sophia getting more and more restless.
She looked like a balloon about to burst. She was shifting in her seat, biting her lower lip, and glancing around almost frantically. Leaning towards her, I whispered into her ear. “You may speak your mind.”
Mikhel explained some of the issues, “There are two of our regulars at the ports that we haven’t been able to reach. It has been over two weeks, and this has caused delays in shipments. Especially with the new guys saying there’s equipment failure, mismatched container numbers, and missing shipments. It’s been chaos.”
Finally, it seemed, Sophia couldn’t hold it any longer. Her need to correct or give out the right information had won, as she blurted out the solutions. “You have the right to ask for management. They can tell you why there are so many issues. You also have the right to enquire about equipment issues, how long repairs will take, etc. They do not have the right to bottleneck anyone's shipments.”
The room went quiet as she spoke. All attention was on her. This, however, didn’t appear to bother her once she started talking. Sophia laid out the laws, gave us insight into more loopholes, and ways we could use to approach the problems we were facing.
I also sat back, shocked and impressed at the same time. As she continued, I realized she had a brilliant mind. Her talents were being wasted under house arrest. I had to use her for good,I thought as I made plans in my head on how to incorporate her skills.
The rest of dinner went smoothly as silk. Sophia chatted away with everyone. By the time I was ready to leave, she wanted to stay. “We have to go. We have a busy day tomorrow,” I said before greeting my family. The trip home felt quicker than usual, even though we barely talked.
Chapter 8 - Sophia
I had to admit that I had fun at his family dinner. Once he had stopped, and we entered the mansion, I was ready to bolt upstairs and collapse on my bed. It had been a while since I had felt this tired.
“Good night, Kolya,” I said, smiling at him before heading for the stairs.
“Wait, Sophia,” I heard him replying, and stopped.
