We drove to campus in silence. I didn't try to fill it with conversation or make excuses to fix what I'd broken. I just drove. When we arrived, she got out without a word and headed to her first class. I followed at a distance, took up my position outside the classroom, and pulled out my phone. I had three days to figure out how to protect Shanice without forcing her into a marriage she didn't want. Then prove to her that she was more than just a problem I needed to solve. I started making calls. There had to be another way. I just had to find it.
Shanice
The day dragged on like torture.
I sat through my classes without hearing a single word. My mind was a loop of rage, fear, and grief that circled endlessly. Marriage. Mikhail. Liability. My brain circled around those three things as if it would help if they ran non-stop in my mind. It drove me crazy and I couldn’t seem to change the station for it to play a different tune.
Mikhail wasn’t asking because he loved me or because we'd built something real together. I was a problem that needed solving and he was the man sent to carry it out. By the time Mikhail drove me back to the mansion, I was vibrating with barely contained fury. He still hadn't said a word, tried to explain, or even apologize. Hell, I couldn’t even get him to look at me.
That was fine. I didn’t have anything to say back to him. I needed space. The moment we pulled up to the house, I got outand slammed the door behind me. I needed to find Katrina to let everything out before I exploded.
I found her in the living room, curled up on the couch with a book, one hand resting on her belly.
She looked up when I stormed in, her expression brightening. "Hey! How was your day?"
"How could you?" The words burst out of me, sharp and vicious.
Katrina blinked, setting her book aside. "What?"
"How could you let this happen? How could you let them do this to me?" I was shaking now, my hands clenched into fists. "Do you have any idea what I've given up for you? What I've sacrificed?"
"Shanice, what are you talking about?"
"I gave up my apartment. My independence. My sense of safety and my time. " The words poured out, each one sharper than the last. "I put off school for years to help you raise Zara. Years, Katrina. Because you needed me and you were working yourself to death trying to keep food on the table. I couldn't stand watching you struggle if there was something I could do. I love you and thought friends would never want to see one another struggle."
Katrina's face went pale. "I know. And I've always been grateful, Shanice."
"Grateful?" I laughed, and it sounded ugly even to my own ears. "You think I want gratitude? I wanted to go to college. I wanted to have my own life, but I put all that on hold for you. And I didn't complain. I didn't resent you for it because you're my best friend and I love you. I still don’t regret or resent you."
"Shanice, please tell me what’s happening."
“Now, when I'm finally getting my life back, and I'm finally doing something for myself, this happens." Tears were streaming down my face now, hot and angry. "Marcuskidnapped me. ME! Your problems became my problems. And now I have to marry Mikhail to stay alive. I have to give up any chance at a normal life, at a decent relationship, at knowing if someone actually wants me or if they're just solving a problem."
Katrina stood, moving toward me. "What are you talking about? What's going on? Marriage?"
"You don't know?" I stared at her. "Olek didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"That I'm a liability so his cousin wants me dead. I witnessed what happened to Marcus. That the only way to keep me safe is to marry Mikhail." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Mikhail asked me to marry him, and I would. I totally would if it was about love and that we've built something real. Not because it's the only way to protect me."
Katrina's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God."
"Yeah." I sank onto the couch, all the fight draining out of me. "And the worst part is, I was starting to fall for him. I was starting to believe that what we had was real. That he actually liked me. But it was all just him setting me up for this. Making me care so I'd say yes to this stupid proposal."
Katrina sat beside me, her own eyes filling with tears. "Shanice, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Olek didn't tell me any of this."
"Of course he didn't. Because why would he? It's just another problem for him to solve." I wiped at my face angrily. "And I'm the one who has to pay the price. Again."
For a long moment, we sat in silence. Then Katrina said, "You're right."
I looked at her.
"You're right about all of it," she continued, her voice thick with emotion. "You've given up so much for me. For Zara. And I never properly thanked you for it or acknowledged how much you sacrificed."
"Katrina…"
"No, let me say this." She took my hand. "You put your life on hold to help me raise my sister. Marcus kidnapped you and held you hostage. Now you're dealing with the fallout of my choices. You're right to be angry and resent this. And I'm so, so sorry."
