He laughed a dry bark of laughter. “Fuck that.”
He’d no doubt be the last of us to meet a woman who’d want to put up with him long enough to marry him, but I could see it happening.Mark my words, asshole. You’ll know what this is like sooner or later.This freedom to know your other half could complete you and ground you—no matter where she came from. Never in a million years would I have imagined meeting my future wife and the mother of my children from a financier selling her to me as a way out of his punishment, but here we were.
Elena was it.
This was it.
This time tomorrow, I’d be one half of a couple forever.
After all the distance I’d put between us and all the head-scratching I had to wade through to find my peace in loving her, I never wanted a moment away from her again.
This whirlwind of a week was testing that, with how many things we’d crammed into the schedule, but I knew it would be worth the headache, stress, and wait.
“But why does she want to hurry through it all?” Maksim asked. “A wedding for the heir of the Volkov Bratva shouldn’t be an afterthought or an event to shoo in with as few details decided as possible.”
“I bet she doesn’t want a crowd,” Alexei commented while we walked back to the house after meeting with the security team who’d been planning the logistics of the ceremony that we’d have here the next morning.
“Iknowshe doesn’t want a crowd,” I corrected him. She’d told me flat out that she would prefer to go to the courthouse. My shocked expression had her retreating. She backed up and apologized and told me that she’d do whatever I wanted, and that prompted me to start the campaign of righting that wrong.
We’d be together as a legally bound couple. We were joined in love. And if she kept pandering to what she thought I wanted over what she desired, I’d need to start spanking her fine ass.
After I asked her, point blank, whatshewanted, she was honest.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I never had these dream ideas or fantasies.” She shrugged. “And now that I’ve met you, all that matters is that it’s you whom I’ll marry.”
That appeased me, but over a long conversation, she explained more. First and foremost, she didn’t like being the center of attention. I knew that already, but that preference was heightened with the concept of a wedding. The bride was supposed to be the center of attention, but I wouldn’t make her suffer for one second. Secondly, she didn’t want to dwell on guests and invitations and a whole production of a reception because she didn’t have anyone to invite or include. Her father wasn’t alive to give her away. No family of her own was left. Not even any friends. It emphasized how much of a homebody she truly was, but that wasn’t a bad thing.
“I respect that,” I told her with a kiss on the back of her hand. I couldn’t stop admiring the ring—my ring—on her finger. Theblue of the main gemstone rivaled the brilliance of her eyes that sparkled at me with excitement.
“ButIdo need to make sure certain guests will be in attendance. Members of the distant family. Allies and figures of other organizations we need to keep in mind.”
She didn’t protest, listening carefully.
“Our wedding isn’t just the start of our new lives together, sweetheart. It will also serve as a political signal to the rest of the world.”
“Meaning… you are off the market?” she guessed.
I chuckled, kissing her. “Yes, I suppose. But I mean it more as a way of showing allies and enemies alike that our family is growing. Expanding. Strengthening.”
She sighed, snuggling closer to me. “I hope that this is agoodthing, that our having a baby and getting married are an appropriate counter to how your father is dying.”
I kissed the top of her head and smiled. “It is. Nothing stays the same, the good or the bad.” Losing my father was hard, but not unexpected. He wouldn’t have lived forever. Ushering in a new phase of our rule with a queen by my side was something brighter to focus on. “Letting everyone see how secure the Volkov family line is will be a show of power.”
“I understand.”
For a second, I worried that she would assume I wasonlymarrying her to build on the bloodlines and use our child as a token of future stability. I also, after talking with Viktor and Nikolai last night, when they wondered aloud if Elena thought I was only marrying herbecauseshe was pregnant, worried ifshe’d think that. That if she wasn’t pregnant, I wouldn’t have proposed or made such a drastic decision about her. I would have. I might have fumbled and dragged my feet while I handled taking the throne. If anything, her unexpected pregnancyforcedme to quit dicking around and act.
To lead.
To leadustoward the future we deserved.
I reached the house with Maksim and Alexei, knowing they’d be busy after this. I doubted I’d see them for the rest of the day. “Elena wants a small and simple wedding, and I will do my best to give her that. You know her. She’s not about appearances and superficial crap. She does understand that we need guests present, specific ones, and she’s not opposed to that part of the plans.”
They both nodded, delegated to receive the guests and smooth out any details that needed to be addressed. Multiple distant relatives would be staying on the property here, and others would be lodging at our hotels on the Strip.
While it was all sudden, no one was against coming for the event at a last moment’s notice this week.
When the next morning arrived, I was too excited for the day to be through to stress about any last-minute details. Too many things had been happening at once, and if I didn’t stick with the mindset of going with the flow and rolling with it, then I would’ve struggled.
