Lev rubs his chin for a long loment before he stands up and looks at each of us with a glare. I’m sure he’s going to say no… but then he extends his hand. To me. “I’ll marry my daughter to you.”
Nik and my father stare at me hard when I don’t move. It’s up to me to shake Lev’s hand. To make peace for everyone.
Gritting my teeth, I place my hand in Lev’s and shake it. Done. It’s official. I will be marrying a stranger.
“So, can I meet your daughter?” I ask. “Since we’ll be married after all.”
“No,” Lev says, pulling his hand away. “You’ll meet her on the day of the wedding. I don’t want anything to compromise her honor. She’s an innocent in this world.”
“When will the wedding take place?” Gregor asks before I can say something I’ll regret. I won’t get to meet Natasha until the day of the wedding? This is the worst outcome.
“In a few weeks. We’ll host it here in Chicago to prove to me that you’re on my side.”
“Great,” Nik says. “We’ll go over the details more later.”
“Good. Now, leave my house. I don’t like having multiple Bratva men inside of it when my daughter is home.”
My eyes flick up to the ceiling. So Natasha, my future wife, is somewhere in this house. All I want to do is meet her but I can’t risk this plan falling apart. I’m going to have to wait until the wedding to meet her. I won’t have time to prepare. To come to terms with who she is.
It’s all going to be a mystery and I have no choice but to stay quiet on the matter.
“Of course,” Nik says. “We’ll be leaving. Thank you, Lev. For this.”
“Don’t make me regret marrying my daughter to your man.”
“I will not.” Nik gives me a hard look. “Right, Maksim?”
I offer a smile that is purely fake. “Yes. You won’t regret it.” I just hope that it’s a promise I can keep.
We make it back to New York the following day. Even though I have my own apartment, my father insists I come over to his house to talk business. All I want is to have a drink and forget that I’m marrying a stranger but I know my father will not let me.
“I am proud of how you handled yourself in there,” he says as we settle in his home office. It’s dark wood and smells like leather. My father always had an old-fashioned style for things whereas my home office is much more minimalist. Modern.
“Thank you.”
“I was worried you’d throw a fit.”
I grit my teeth. “I am thirty, dad. I’m not going to throw a fit like a toddler.”
“You never know. With you, I can’t tell sometimes.”
I’ve never thrown fits like my father claims. It’s just that he’s the type of person who expects perfection and if you’re not that way, he claims you’re acting immature.
The door of his office opens and a young woman bursts inside. My sister, Kira.
“You’re back home,” she says, shooting both me and my dad an annoyed look. “Why didn’t you tell me? You promised you’d bring back a present for me and I was waiting.”
“Ah, yes.” Gregor picks up a small box he bought when we were in Chicago. “Here you go, darling.”
Kira saunters over and grabs the box, opening it greedily. She squeals when she sees what’s inside. “It’s beautiful, daddy. Thank you.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek before she picks up the earrings inside the box and attaches them to her ears. “How do I look?”
“Like the perfect princess you are.”
Unlike how my father treats me, he treats Kira like she can do no wrong. At twenty, she’s a force to be reckoned with now and my father spoiling her doesn’t help. She’s not allowed to date given our father’s rules, especially after how he saw his men looking at her at a recent event he threw. With her blonde hair – a stark contrast to my brown – and her cheery smile, she draws the attention of men. I know Gregor is trying to keep her on a leash by spoiling her for as long as he can. If Kira is happy, then she’ll have no reason to act out.
“Thanks, daddy.” Kira turns to me. “Did you get me anything?”
“I don’t need to buy you presents. I’m your brother.”
