Taking a deep breath, I turn around. “I didn’t mean for that to sound… well, mean,” I admit.
“I’ve never had a woman not want to look at my naked body before.”
“I don’t need to be reminded of the women you’ve been with in the past.” I’m not sure why it bothers me so much. Maybe because I have no experience and Maksim has too much of it.
“Right.”
“Where were you last night?”
“Last night?”
“When you left. Were you with… a woman?” I don’t want to ask but it’s going to kill me inside if I don’t know.
“No. In fact, I ran into your father and mine as well. They told me about the honeymoon. I think they want this to work as best as it can.”
“Oh.” Now I feel silly for worrying so much.
Until Maksim speaks again. “But I did go for another drink.”
“Do you have to be drunk to be around me? Am I that horrible?”
His frown somehow makes him look even more handsome. “No. Not at all. You’re not horrible, Natasha. I just… fuck. I don’t know. I just don’t want this marriage. I didn’t choose it.”
“And neither did I.”
“So why do you seem so angry with me all the time? Neither one of us wanted this. Let’s just accept that and move on. We can try to make this work but we both have to try.”
“And you think I’m not trying? I’ve never been in this position before. I’ve never even dated before. I don’t know how to handle any of this.”
“You just seem so cold and distant.”
“And so do you,” I snap back. Never have I done this before. With my father, I’ve always had to be as docile as I can be.
A hard mask crosses his face. “Fine then. Let’s just go on this honeymoon for the sake of our father’s. We’ll do our duty. We’ll make sure peace is ensured. But maybe we just agree that we don’t have to force this. That we don’t have to get along or like each other. That we just… exist around each other.”
“Fine.” Except that sounds horrible. The last thing I want is to be miserable in my marriage for the rest of my life.
There feels like there’s a ten-foot pole between us when we leave the hotel. Our fathers are waiting for us outside near a town car.
“Just wanted to see you two off for your honeymoon,” Maksim’s father says. Gregor. I was formally introduced to him last night at the wedding but so much of it was a blur, I barely remember anything.
“Thanks,” Maksim says in a tight voice.
“Take care of my daughter,” my father warns. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Yes, sir,” he says.
Lev sets his eyes onto me. “Natasha, make me proud.”
“Yes, father.” I bow my head. Always the docile daughter.
The coldness between Maksim and I continues on the drive to the airport and on the airplane and even after we land in Greece. We don’t talk to each other the entire time.
On the airplane, I noticed how a lot of women would look at Maksim. Flutter their eyes. Give him a bashful smile. Maksim would always smile back in a way that felt too intimate, especially with his wife right beside him. It only made the coldness between us grow.
And now, once we reach our villa, the coldness still persists.
“So, what do you want to do?” Maksim says, finally speaking to me after multiple hours.
