I tipped it back, and it burned my throat all the way down before creating a warm glow in my stomach. “Tell me.”
“Your groom is missing.” Her face was a mask of regret.
My heart skipped a beat. My first thought was that Axel had gotten cold feet. That was immediately followed by a much darker thought. He had been ‘taken care of’ by someone, either Sergei or my uncle. The possibility was there, and I didn’t know how I felt about it. “What do you mean when you say he’s missing?”
“He’s late. No one can find him.”
“Did someone try calling him?”
“The men who work for your uncle are dealing with it.”
“Where is my uncle?”
“He’s not here either.”
I moved back to the window. The skies were now black, blocking out what was left of the afternoon light.
“Looks like rain.”
“Are you okay?”
The news that my uncle was also missing didn’t reassure me. It meant that he was a part of whatever was delaying Axel. Had Grisha somehow found out about our ruse and taken matters into his own hands? I was aware that these were not normal thoughts a bride should be having, but I wasn’t wrong to consider them.
“How long do we wait?”
“I don’t know.” She moved toward me. “Do you want another shot of vodka?”
“Yeah.”
She set the bottle and the shot glass down on the table beside me. “Let me go see what is going on.”
“Thank you,” I said, still staring blankly out the window. Was this disappointment in my chest? Shouldn’t I be happy? Maybe Axel had decided to do the honorable thing and just disappearfor my sake. But without him in the picture, I had to again worry about Sergei.
I checked my phone, but there was nothing. So I stood at the window and stared outside, watching as the weather grew more threatening by the minute.
If Axel had indeed decided to bolt, I could never blame him. It would definitely complicate my life, but ever since our engagement party, I had questioned repeatedly why he was even going through with all of it.
After what seemedan interminable amount of time, Katrina reappeared. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“For your wedding. Axel just showed up.”
A strange flutter hit my stomach. I hadn’t expected him to show. “Really?”
She smirked. “Don’t look so surprised. He’s getting changed.”
I had just spent the last hour convincing myself that he’d run. Now it no longer made sense that he’d shown up. I tried to recover. “What about my uncle? He was supposed to walk me down the aisle.”
“He’s here too. He’s also getting ready.”
I turned back to the mirror and touched up makeup that didn’t need fixing. Katrina fussed with my hair and then, finally, she handed me my bouquet.
Someone knocked on the door.
“That’s our cue.” She smiled at me. “Are you ready?”
No. I’m not ready.I had been ready for this charade right up until I thought he had left. When he came back, I becameshockingly unready to marry him. How was this still happening?
