My eyes widened, and my lips fell open. It was as crazy this time around as the last time he mentioned it—completely and utterly crazy.
Turning my head, I stared into the hospital. I couldn’t see my sister’s room from here, but I knew she was in there, and she was dying.
Alex could be our only hope.
My shoulders dropped as I sighed. “OK. OK, Alex. I agree to be your wife.”
Chapter Five
Alexei
No one could be as perfect as Amy appeared to be. But it didn’t matter how much I dug into her or how many people I spoke to about her. Everyone said the same thing. She was an angel, selfless, giving, and kind.
She’s been orphaned before she had finished high school, and her sister had taken over her care and made sure she finished school, which she did at the top of her class. She’d gotten a full-ride scholarship and had decided to study nursing instead of becoming a doctor for some reason that made no sense to me, because she was smart enough to choose the better-paying field.
When her sister became sick, she dropped out to care for her, working to pay for the medical bills. It didn’t seem to matter what life threw at her. She stayed the same sweet girl she had always been.
She was so perfect, it was almost nauseating. Or more specifically, how perfect people thought she was. In my world, no one was that good. It was always just an act, a mask they wore so people didn’t see the darkness within.
“Is everything arranged?” From his armchair by the window, mygrandfather side-eyed me. “I would ask Amy, but she hasn’t been in a lot in the last week or so.”
“Her sister is in a bad way,” I muttered.
“Yes, it’s a sad state of affairs. I know Amy would have liked her sister to see her on her special day, but it will all work out in the end.” Reaching out, he patted my hand with his. “You’ll see it soon, Alexei, how perfect she is for you. I know you didn’t think you would ever marry, but she really is what you need. You just can’t see it yet.”
I forced myself to smile at him. He was wrong, of course. I had always thought I would marry, but not Amy. My heart had been shattered years ago when my one and only love had left me.
Violet.
Even the thought of her name was enough for me to clench my fists. It had been ten years, and I still thought about her. Violet was the only woman I had ever contemplated marrying. All the others were just ways to release some tension.
Yet here I was, on the eve of marrying a woman I didn’t know and didn’t want to know, and she couldn’t be more different than my first love.
Violet was elegant and poised. Amy was— I frowned. I wasn’t sure what Amy was yet, but my grandfather wanted her to be my wife. He thought she was a good match. I thought he was an old fool, but I would go through with it because I wanted him to be happy. I owed him that much.
“Yes, everything is arranged,” I said, finally.
His old face lit up.
“I know you don’t really want to do this, Alexei,” he said gruffly. “I know you are just doing it to make this old fool happy. But trust me, she is perfect for you.”
Perfect. That’s what everyone said about her.
“That’s why I want you to have this.” His hand delved under the blanket covering his legs, and a ring box appeared in his hands. I recognized it instantly.
“Is that?”
“My wife’s ring. Yes. We never had a daughter live long enough togive it to. So I would like you to give it to Amy and welcome her into our family.”
The diamond and sapphire ring had been in our family for generations. It had come from the motherland, and it was priceless to my grandfather. It would have been my mother’s if she had lived long enough to inherit it.
Now he wanted me to give it to a woman I didn’t even know.
“I can’t take that.” Roughly, I shook my head.
Instead of answering me, he closed my fingers around the box. “It’s not for you. It’s for your bride. Now go. I know you have a lot to arrange. I will see you both soon.”
He dismissed me with a smile. My grandfather might have softened since his stroke, but he still commanded respect. I was being told to go, so I would go. And he was right. I did have things to do still and places to be.
