Kon hands me his phone, pressing a button. “This is from your brother.”
“What?” I wheeze, suddenly feeling sweaty. What did Konstantin do?
“Hello,Malen'kaya Nepriyatnost',little trouble,” Maksim says, smiling. “I was certain you would not believe your affianced without a video from me, so listen closely, please. Konstantin contacted me and his parents with a request.”
Oh,sladkiy ray,sweet heavens, what did this idiotdo?
“This alliance between our families was created through your engagement with Konstantin,” Maksim said, “but he has asked for something rather unprecedented.”
“What did you do!” I hiss at Kon, pressing the pause button.
He nods at the phone and I reluctantly press play.
“He says he has not behaved… appropriately,” Maksim’s face is carved into cold lines, which usually means someone is about to die. “That he has not shown you the proper respect and consideration that is your due as his fiancée.” He sucks in a deep breath, his chest rising and falling. My brother issopissed off. “I have spoken with his parents. He has asked us to keep the alliance between our families, but end the engagement.”
“Are you shitting me?” I’m horrified. “Konstantin, how badly have you screwed this alliance between my family and yours?”
The video on the phone jostles a bit and I suck in a breath to see his parents, Lucya and Alexi.“Privet, dorogoy,hello dear Mariya,” Lucya says, smiling sweetly. “We hear that our son has been a fool.” I look at Alexi, stone-faced and hovering by his wife’s shoulder, and make a small, terrified noise. Oh, god. His father is going to kill me. He might even kill Konstantin. We’re going to be nothing but a grease spot on the family history of our two houses.
“But our son wishes to make this right between you,” she continued. “He has petitioned to end your engagement to allowhim time to court you properly. Our son wants this choice to marry him to belong to you. My hope is that he will do this intelligently and respectfully and you will choose to wed him. As of now, the engagement between you has been dissolved by agreement from both families. We only ask that you allow Konstantin a chance to show that he is capable of change.” She blows a kiss at the camera and waves goodbye.
“What have youdone?”I gasp, terrified and ready to throw him over the balcony, but with no rope this time. Three stories down probably aren’t enough to kill him. Maybe just maim him a little.
“Exactly what I set out to do,” Kon says, handing me an official-looking bundle of documents. “This is the legal dissolution of our engagement. Just… hold on to it. If you choose to sign it, I will understand. But give me a chance to show you that I can treat you the way you deserve to be.”
“Are you having a psychotic break?” I ask, “Am I?”
He chuckles, stepping closer. Not a lot. Just a step or two, but I feel the warmth radiating from his giant body. “No. I’m just… I’m trying not to be a self-destructive, arrogant prick. I want to court you.”
I rub my face. This is so messed up. “Why?” I blurt. “If they’re actually letting us off the hook, why are you bothering?”
“Because I love you.”
Oh, I did not hear that correctly. “What?” My voice is pitched so high that only seagulls could understand me.
“You heard me,” he’s closer now and the sheer size of him is casting me into shadow. Carefully, his hands rise to cup my cheeks. “I love you. I’m going to be better. Just give me a chance.”
My mouth is moving soundlessly, like one of those koi fish in the Dean’s ornamental pond. His thumb traces over my cheek and he pulls away.
“I’m going to leave through the door this time, if you’re good with it,” he said, walking out into the common room. I follow him like a deeply confused duckling, still making those little soundless gasps. At the door, he curls my fingers around the legal document. “Read it through. Let me know if you have any questions.”
“I…” I trail off, not sure if I’ve stepped sideways into someone else’s reality.
Kon looks back at me before he closes the door and grins again. An oddly joyful one instead of his usual smirk. “I am going to date you so hard. And then I’m going to marry the fuck out of you.”
The door shuts quietly behind him and I’m left staring at the wood, the file clutched in my hands.
What just happened?
Chapter Twenty-Two
In which there is a slow thaw…
The Underdog - Big Mother Gig
Mariya…
I have been in an earthquake once, in San Francisco during a trip with my brothers. We were under attack when the earth started moving, buildings swaying and car alarms blaring. Shooters from a rival Bratva didn’t stop firing as we raced over a cracking concrete parking lot to get to cover, each convulsive surge of earth nearly knocking us off our feet.
