Sofia sighs and pulls back her hand. “Well, if you’re sure…”
“I am,” I say firmly, meeting her gaze with confidence.
“Okay,” she says, but there’s still a hint of disbelief in her voice. “Well, we’re here. Anything you need help with?”
“Honestly?” I wince. “I haven’t even started hunting for a dress.”
She pales and shakes her head as she squeals. “We have less than three weeks!”
“I know,” I moan. “We’d better go shopping.”
“This coming week. I’m calling all the boutiques, and I’ll have them keep out their best selection for emergency orders.”
So, that’s settled.
***
That night, over dinner, it’s the same old story on repeat.
“It's not too late to back out.” Nikolai refills my glass just after I tell him my plans for the coming week.We’re going dress hunting, I’d told him cheerfully, expecting he’d act half-excited. Instead, he made an expression of pure pain.
“The wedding will go on as planned,” I say with a smile, lifting the wine to my lips.
Around us, the rest of the family is clearly eavesdropping. “I saw your face when you agreed to it. You looked like someone who'd been sentenced to prison,” Artyom adds.
“Dramatic as always.” I rise off the sofa and smack him on the arm playfully. “This marriage makes sense. It’s for the alliance.”
“But we’re more powerful than he is,” Dima insists. “We can handle him.”
I level a look at Dima. “I'm not naive. I know what I'm getting into. Besides, why should we even start a war? It’s not like I have someone else to marry.”
“You might, someday,” Natalia says softly. “Find someone better.”
I shrug. “Or I might find a brute.”
“Agafon is a brute,” Sofia’s husband, Vladimir, states flatly.
I try hard not to roll my eyes at my cousin-in-law, but of course, Dima notices.
His eyes narrow. “Agafon Letvin isn't known for his warmth. He's seventeen years your senior and hasn't had a relationship last longer than a weekend.”
“I'm not marrying him for his sparkling personality.” I force a smile. “Besides, it was my idea. Now, drop it.”
There’s a sharpness in my tone that makes them all back off. Nikolai studies me for a long moment, then nods. “Your choice. But the offer stands if you change your mind.”
I won't. I can't. I give him a smile and shake my head.
For now, I got what I wanted. Silence on the matter.
The truth is, whenever one of them says that I “don’t have to do this,” I weaken. I start hoping, imagining that there’s another way. Of course I don’t want to do this, and I would take the first opportunity to escape this arrangement.
But there is no choice. This is what Agafon wants in exchange for maintaining our alliance. I’ve watched my brothers and sisters build unions to strengthen our family’s position inthe underworld. And now, this is the only way I know how to protect them and thank them for all the sacrifices they’ve made for me.
***
The next week, we’re shopping for my dress. There’s only so long I can put this off, and now, the wedding is two weeks away.
God. Two weeks.
