Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Katya
Two young women arrive at the house. Alek introduces them as Nina and Susanna, his surrogate daughters.
Despite being only seventeen and sixteen, they somehow feel older than me, like they’ve lived a life I haven’t.
And that’s probably true. I haven’t lived much of a life since I was eight years old and everything before that is all a blur.
“This is Katya,” Alek says to the girls. The older one, Nina, offers me the tiniest smile, while Susanna rolls her eyes at me. Nina seems like an effortless beauty with her brown hair and pretty features while Susanna is trying harder with her blonde hair. I can tell it’s dyed from her roots.
“Not nice to meet you,” Susanna mutters. I flinch, taken aback. Have I done something to offend her?
“Be nice,” Alek warns. “A lot has happened for Katya in a short span of time. You two are going to help her pick out her wedding dress today. So make it happen. Help her choose something nice. I expect you all on your best behavior. Now, go with Ian. He’ll make sure you’re all taken care of.”
“Ian?” I whisper.
“The guard who’s going to watch you today.” Meaning the guard who’s going to make sure I don’t run today.
Alek ushers me and the girls out of the house. The moment I inhale the fresh air, a sense of panic overtakes me. Being outside is too much. I’ll never survive.
I bend forward, sucking in deep breaths.
“What’s her problem?” Susanna mutters.
“I don’t know,” Nina responds. “Hey. Are you ok?” Her tone isn’t exactly nice but it’s not horrible either.
“No,” I force out, squeezing my eyes shut. “No, I’m not all right.”
“Should we go back inside and get Alek?” Nina asks her sister.
“Who cares? I didn’t even want to come here today. I say we just leave her like this.”
“But Alek will know if she didn’t get a wedding dress. We have to go shopping.”
“Nina, you are such a suck up to Alek. I don’t care what he thinks. I’m not doing his chores for him.”
“Well, I don’t want to get in trouble with him.”
A hand touches my back, startling me so much I jerk upright. Nina jerks back herself.
“Sorry,” she says, raising her hands in surrender. “You just seemed like you were not ok.”
“I’m not.” I press my hands together, trying to get control of how I’m feeling but it’s impossible. I feel like I’m going to die.
Susanna rolls her eyes again and sighs like I’m the most dramatic person in the entire world. “Are you done yet? Let’s get this over with.”
“I’m not ok,” I snap back, unable to help myself.
“You don’t get to talk to me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re better than me. You’ve known Alek for a day and now you’re going to marry him? You’re certifiably insane. That’s all I can say.”
“Susanna,” Nina murmurs but her younger sister isn’t listening.
“I don’t like you,” she says point blank, unafraid to look me in the eye. I’ve always had trouble maintaining eye contact.
“What have I done to you?” I ask.
“Everything I just said. You’re probably marrying Alek only for his money. You’re a gold digger. And I don’t like gold diggers.”
“Let’s just go,” Nina urges. “Come on.” She practically pushes her sister to the car where Ian is waiting in the driver’s seat.
The two of them settle in the back so that leaves me no choice but to sit up front with Ian. Sitting next to a man I don’t know sends another wave of panic through me but I have to get through this. If I don’t, I really am going to die from the stress of everything.
Ian takes us to a bridal shop. The sight of all the white wedding dresses in the window is overwhelming. I’m going to have to marry Alek soon. My entire life will be changed. Can Dimitri save me before then? I can only hope.
My legs feel wobbly as we walk into the store. A sales woman named Amanda approaches us.
“How can I help you today?”
The girls look at me but I can’t get any words out. I’m frozen, like a deer in headlights.
Susanna scoffs and rolls her eyes, filling me with shame.
Nina answers for me. “We’re looking for a wedding dress for… Katya here.”
“All right.” Amanda sets her kind eyes onto me. “What kind of dress are you looking for?”
Once again, I can’t get any words out.
“Unbelievable,” Susanna mutters.
“We’ll just look around,” Nina says. “And we’ll come get you if we need help.”
“Of course. Over there is are sales rack and –,”
Susanna holds up a hand. “We don’t go anywhere near sales racks. Only the most expensive dresses you have.”
“Then those would be over in that section.”
“Perfect. Let’s go.” Susanna strides over to the expensive section of the store like she owns the place. How can someone so young in such a tiny body have such a presence about her? I never thought I would be jealous of a sixteen year old but here I am.
Nina gives me a questioning look before following her sister. After a moment, I join them.
They flick through dresses with a critical eye like they’ve done this before. I set my hands on a dress tentatively like it’s going to bite me. When it doesn’t, I relax slightly. I can do this. I have to do this. Alek is leaving me no choice.
Dimitri always gave me a choice in life.
Stay in my room or leave. I always chose to stay.
But now I wonder if he should have forced me to leave.
I would have hated him for it but it probably would have helped me out in the long run.
Because now here I am, a twenty-one year old woman who doesn’t know how to conduct myself outside of my room.
Who has a panic attack every time I inhale fresh air. It’s tiring, if I’m being honest.
“What about this?” Nina asks, pulling out a simple dress. Some lace, nothing extravagant.
Susanna huffs. “It’s so tacky. She needs to wear something else.”
“I don’t mind the dress,” I murmur.
“She can speak,” Susanna mocks, making me flush. “Why are you so quiet anyway? And so… weird.” She gives me a look up and down, making it obvious that she thinks I’m some sort of alien. And maybe I am.
“This is all new for me. Alek… do you know what Alek did to me?”
They both give me a blank expression. It’s like talking to a wall.
“He kidnapped me,” I explain. No point in hiding the truth. I have no allegiance to Alek.
Both of them look at each other before they start laughing. It’s a savage kind of laugh only teenage girls can have.
“Yeah right,” Susanna says, flicking through the dresses. “I know Alek. He would never do something like that. You’re just making up lies.”
“Why would I do that?”
“For attention, obviously. Why else are you going to marry him after knowing him for only a day?”
“Because he’s making me do this. Because he kidnapped me.”
Susanna scoffs. “You’re so full of it. That’s why I don’t like you. And I’ll never like you. Now here.” She pulls out a dress. “Try this one on.”
The dress is beautiful, I’ll admit. Off the shoulder straps. Lace bodice. A skirt that drapes to the floor. It’s like a thing of art from a Greek statue. I love it.
I take it from Susanna and she gives me a smug grin. “Why would you pick out a pretty dress for me?”
“Why not?”
“Because you just said you don’t like me.”
Susanna sighs like I’m the problem. “Just because I don’t like you doesn’t mean I’m going to ruin your big day. Try it on.”
Nina gives Susanna a questioning look which Susanna ignores.
I don’t understand their dynamic so I can’t wonder if Susanna is telling me the truth or not. I haven’t had much experience interacting with people.
Amanda comes over. “Do you want to try on that dress?”
“She does,” Susanna answers for me.
“Great. This way.” Amanda leads me to a changing room. “Just let me know if you need help getting into it.” She shuts the door behind me.
Even if I do need help, I doubt I’ll ask for it. I’m too nervous.
My hands are cold as I take off my clothes and try on the dress. It’s a perfect fit somehow, like the universe is trying to tell me something. That thought makes me want to vomit which I would hate to do all over this pretty dress.
Amanda knocks on the door. “Do you need help?”
“No. I have it on.”
“Do you want to go out and show your friends?”
Not really. I get the feeling they’ll mock me but I also get the feeling that it’s customary to show your dress to your friends when wedding dress shopping. I’ve seen enough films and TV shows to know that.
I need to appear as normal as possible. I want to be as normal as possible.
So I take in a deep breath and I go out into the main section of the store where Nina and Susanna are waiting. Both of their eyes widen when they see me in the dress. I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or not.
“You look pretty,” Nina admits in a soft tone. It’s the most she’s sound sincere all day.
Susanna only rolls her eyes again like she agrees with her sister and is annoyed by that fact.
Amanda turns me towards the full length mirror. I try not to flinch from her touch. “There. You do look beautiful. What do you think of the dress?”
“I think it looks… wonderful,” I say. Even though I’m terrified to marry Alek and it’s really the last thing I want to do, I also like how I look in this dress. How womanly. How alive. That’s a feeling I haven’t felt… ever.
“You should wear it,” Nina suggests.
“I don’t know,” Susanna says. “You look kind of fat in the dress. I mean, your back rolls are spilling over.”
I frown and turn my back to the mirror but I don’t see what Susanna is talking about. I’ve always been naturally thin and between the healthy food I’m given and the exercise I do, I know I’m not overweight. So why did Susanna say that?
“I think you look great,” Amanda says. “Nothing is spilling over.”
“I just think there’s other dresses you could wear instead,” Susanna says.
Nina gives her sister a questioning look. “Do you not want Katya to wear this dress? Why? She looks great in it.”
Susanna gives her sister a pointed look. “I just think there are other dresses she could try on.”