“That’s not what I mean.”
“Then what do you mean?” I ask, even though I know I’m going to regret it.
She flashes me a glare. It’s been a couple of days since Luca made his decision and Susanna is still not happy about it. “I mean you stole Luca from me.”
“He was never yours to begin with. And besides, I didn’t ask for this. I wanted him to pick you.”
“Then tell him that.”
“I can’t. He’s already made up his mind. He wants to marry me. That’s it. You only wanted to marry him to get out of Mom’s house anyway. You don’t love him.”
“Neither do you.”
I sigh and shove the dress I’m holding back onto the rack. “Susanna, I am sorry about this. I know you’re not happy. But this is all happening. I didn’t ask for this. I am not the enemy here. Please don’t take this out on me.”
She stares at me for a long hard moment before she huffs. “Whatever.” Thankfully, she heads over to our mom and leaves me be.
After trying wedding dresses all day, I finally find the perfect one. It’s a simple off the shoulder dress that fits perfectly around my body. The skirt hugs my legs and only flares out slightly around the bottom. It’s elegant and sleek. I know if I were Susanna, I’d be in a poofy princess dress but I’m not her. This is my wedding day and I get to be me for once – not stuck in the shadow of my sister.
Mom loves the dress when I go out into the showroom but Susanna, unsurprisingly, hates it.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her after she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.
“Nothing,” she mutters.
“Susanna,” Mom says, trying to keep her tone patient. “What’s wrong?”
“I just think Nina looks ugly in that dress. That’s all.”
I roll my eyes. “I think it’s perfect.”
“So do I,” Mom agrees.
“I’m getting this one, no matter what anyone else thinks.” I ignore Susanna’s sigh to look at myself in the mirror. I’m nervous about marrying Luca since I don’t know a thing about him but I’m also strangely excited. I love my sister but sometimes she annoys the daylights out of me. It will be nice to form my own identity on my own.
Even if it means being at war with Susanna forever.
The day of the wedding comes by too soon. I wish I had gotten the chance to speak with Luca more but Alek forbade it. Whenever I asked him about it, he would say that I just had to wait until the wedding. That everything will be better this way.
But the day has come and I can barely move. When I bought my dress, I felt a flash of excitement but now… all I feel is terror. What if Luca is a horrible man? What if he beats me every day for the rest of my life? Will Alek protect me then?
Will he go to war with Luca when he’s already still at war with Dimitri just to save my life? The fact I’m unsure of the answer terrifies me.
Mom links her arm through mine as we enter the church. We all agreed that it would be best if Susanna was already waiting in the pews for this day. No need for her to cause more dramatics.
Mom and I wait in the entranceway way of the church before the large doors that will open up and reveal Luca on the other side. The man I’ve only met on three separate occasions and in all of those times, I barely got to talk to him.
“What if this is a disaster?” I whisper.
She squeezes my arm. “I’m right here. I won’t let you get hurt. I promise.”
“Why couldn’t you have convinced Alek to not go through with this?”
“Because I can’t convince Alek of anything. We may be friends but he’s in a higher position of power than I am. There’s nothing I could do, Nina. I’m sorry, honey. It’s the way of it. I was in an arranged marriage with your father. We made it work. And so will you and Luca.”
“But he’s Italian. I’m Russian. What if that puts me in danger?”
“The point of this marriage is to help create a bridge. You can do that.”
