Dimitri’s blue eyes crash into mine. Blue on green. A myriad of emotions flash over his face, but I can see the dominant one is anger. “You will not speak a word of this to anyone, Savina. Do you understand?” he asks heatedly.
“But I have to tell my father,” I plead.
Before I can even blink, Dimitri’s hand is wrapped around my throat. He forces me backwards, pinning me to a tree, thebark digging painfully into my skin. “You won’t tell him or anyone, Savina,” he demands.
Fresh tears form in my eyes. “So, you’re back to bullying me now, is that it?” I snap.
“I will do anything to keep my brother safe. Do you understand me? Even if I have to hurt you in the process.” Growling, he releases me and takes a few steps backwards. His hand rakes through his thick, dark hair. And then he turns to me, his eyes piercing mine. “Do you know what my father would do if he found out his son is gay? The same son who is set to marry his boss’s daughter?”
His questions catch me off-guard. I hadn’t even thought about the consequences for Pavel. I hadn’t thought much past the fact that my fiancé is gay and that our marriage will be a total sham. Slowly, I shake my head.
“My father would kill him. And that would be the most merciful punishment he could give him.” He stares off into the distance. “We were told from an early age what our roles would be in the family. One of us was to continue the business after my father is gone. And the other was to be married off to better the family and sire lots of heirs to keep the family name going for generations to come.” He shakes his head in disgust. “This marriage contract between you and Pavel is extremely important to my father. It guarantees our place in this world. If he found out anything detrimental to it, I can’t even imagine what kind of reaction he would have.”
A violent tremor runs through me, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the chill in the air or because of what Dimitri just shared. I’ve grown to like Pavel as a person. He has a very gentle, caring soul. I can tell that just from our conversations. And the fact that he’s been going through the motions just like I have been tells me that we’re both trapped in this contract together. Neither of us want this, but there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m destined to have a loveless marriage with a man who will never even find me attractive. A man who will never truly love me.
“I won’t say anything,” I whisper into the dark.
Dimitri’s fingertips grasp my chin, and he tips my face up until my eyes meet his. “Promise me, Savina,” he begs. I can hear the desperation in his voice and see the vulnerability in his icy blue eyes. He loves his brother very much. That is abundantly clear.
“I promise,” I finally tell him.
He releases me then and slowly walks away, leaving me in the cold darkness by myself.
I stay there for a long time, wallowing in self-pity and regret. And then, I force myself to leave. I find my driver and tell him I’m ready to go. I text my father on the way home to let him know that I had to leave early because of an illness. I’m sure they will be upset that I skipped out early on my own birthday party, but there’s no way I could have gone back in there and pretended like everything was okay when my entire world is falling apart all around me.
By the time I’m back at my apartment, I feel numb and overwhelmed. Darby is lounging in the living room in black and pink satin pajamas, eating popcorn and watching a horror movie. I know she’s seen it a gazillion times and knows exactly what’s going to happen and can probably recite each and every line, but it’s one of her comfort movies, so I cut her some slack.
“How was your visit with your dad?” she questions before pausing the movie and leaning over the back of the couch to look at me.
“Uh, it turned into a surprise birthday party for me actually,” I tell her dryly.
“Really?” she squeaks out, jumping up. “Why the hell wasn’t I invited?”
“Cosette planned it,” I answer.
“Of course she did,” she groans with a dramatic eye roll. “She’s such a bitch,” she mutters with a shake of her head. “Oh, by the way, a delivery came for you a few minutes ago.”
That’s when I spot the white box with a pink bow on top sitting on the kitchen counter. I step forward, carefully open it and gasp in surprise at what’s inside. It’s a small black forest cake,my favorite. There is a little topper that readsHappy Birthdaynext to a single pink candle. There’s no note as to who it’s from, but I know exactly who gave me this.
“He remembered,” I murmur with fresh tears in my eyes.
“Who’s that from?” Darby asks as she enters the room.
I quickly wipe the tears from my eyes and turn to her. “Dimitri.”
“You’re crying over cake. You get some shitty gifts at your surprise party?”
“No, it’s not that.” Dimitri has my emotions on total overdrive. He acts like he hates me one minute, and then the next he does something like this. I don’t even know which way is up with him anymore. I have to wonder if he didn’t order the cake before we had our argument where he pinned me to a tree and then threatened me.
She peeks into the box. “Oh, wow, it’s your favorite.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh.
“And you said Dimitri did this?” she questions, her voice raising to a higher pitch in disbelief.
“He’s like a damn sour patch kid,” I say miserably. When Darby raises a brow at me, I tell her, “He can be so sweet and kind one minute, but then difficult and sour the next.”
“Oh yeah, perfect analogy for him. I would have just called him an asshole who sometimes does nice things.”
