Chapter 2 #2
Susanna gives our mom the most incredulous look on the planet.
“Mom, no. He’s going to pick me. This is great news.
” She skips away. That was not the reaction I had been expecting but I guess this is good.
Hopefully Luca will pick Susanna since she clearly wants it.
I’m not ready to get married yet and to a complete stranger on top of it all.
For the sake of everyone, Luca better pick Susanna.
Mom comes with us as we go over to Alek’s house the following day. Luca will make his decision and choose either me or Susanna to marry. My heart refuses to stop pounding in my chest. I think I might die from the nerves of it all.
Alek and Katya greet us. It’s clear Luca isn’t here yet.
I give Katya a hug while Susanna gives her the cold shoulder. Despite it being two years, Susanna has still never fully warmed up to Katya.
We all settle into the living room to wait for Luca.
“How are you two feeling?” Katya asks in her soft voice that has gotten stronger over the years since she’s been married to Alek.
I know she used to suffer from severe trauma in the past. I can’t even imagine going through something traumatic.
Losing my dad was hard enough but he died from natural causes.
Katya’s parents died because her father murdered her mother and did it right in front of her.
Susanna flips her hair over her shoulder. “Good. I can’t wait until Luca picks me and I marry a handsome man and get to live my life for myself.”
Katya’s smile is strained as she looks at me. “And you?”
“I’m fine,” I murmur. Except, I’m not at all.
If Luca chooses Susanna, that will be for the best. But what if he chooses me?
Susanna assumes it’s a done deal with her and Luca but it might not be.
Neither one of us knows who Luca really is.
We’ve only spoken to him the one time at the club and Susanna mostly berated him for hiring a horrible bartender for the entire time. Who knows what he’s thinking?
It feels like forever for Luca to arrive but when he does, I know this is it. Everything is going to change.
The mood turns cold when Luca enters the living room. He makes a point of looking between me and Susanna, like we’re cows at auction.
Maria stands up and shakes his hand. “So, you’re the man who’s going to marry one of my daughters. I’m not happy about this but I knew this day would come. So you better treat whoever you pick right. I will stand for nothing less.”
“Of course, Mrs. Petrov. I don’t plan on abusing any one of them. Though, I am a controlling man. I will admit. I thought about it all last night. Who I would pick.”
Susanna stands up and flashes her megawatt smile. “It’s me, of course. Who else would you pick? We had chemistry when we met the other night at the club. We both know it.”
Luca’s smile is tense, which puts me on edge. This isn’t going to go well. I can feel it in my gut. “I like your spirit, Susanna. How feisty you are. And as for Nina, you have a quietness about you that is endearing.” He lets his eyes linger on me for a moment. I shift around in my seat.
Susanna frowns. “So, you are going to pick me, yes?”
“No. I am not.”
All the air in the room is sucked right out of it. I go still while Susanna sinks onto the couch, looking completely confused and defeated.
Alek gives me a look that I can’t decipher. Was he hoping Luca was going to pick Susanna as well? Or was he hoping all along it would be me?
“You’re choosing Nina?” Mom asks.
Luca’s nod is definitive. “Yes.”
“Why?” Susanna whines. “Why in the world would you pick her over me? She’s so plain in comparison.”
“Ouch, Susanna,” I mutter.
“It’s true.”
“It’s not true,” Luca says. “I find Nina very beautiful. I am choosing her because I find Susanna too theatrical. I don’t want a theatrical wife. I want a wife I can be proud of.”
It’s another blow to Susanna’s self-esteem. “You’re saying that if you married me, you would be ashamed of me?”
“Yes.” Luca is not holding back. It’s obvious to me that he’s not the sort of man to sugarcoat things. This is the man I am going to marry. That realization makes me cold.
“Well, fuck you,” Susanna snaps. “I am so much better than you anyway. You’re going to regret choosing my boring sister over me. Mark my words.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Mom mutters. “Luca has made his choice. We have to respect that now.”
“Whatever,” Susanna says, standing up. “I don’t have to listen to this.” She storms out of the room.
“I should talk to her,” I say but it’s not out of concern for my sister. It’s more because I don’t want to be around Luca more than I have to be. His intense eyes are settled right onto me and its too much to handle. I hurry after Susanna and find her in the kitchen.
“Don’t,” she says, holding up a hand before I can even speak. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“How you’re going to rub it in that you’re so much better than me.”
“I don’t think I’m better than you.”
“The handsome, powerful mafia man just chose you to be his wife. Of course you’re better than me.”
I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. “I am not. I didn’t want this. I wanted him to choose you.”
“Then you should have said that! Maybe if you had told him you don’t want him, he wouldn’t have chosen you.”
“You really want a man who chooses you second just because the one he really wants doesn’t want him?”
She blinks and thinks on it for a moment before she nods. “Yes. Because I’m tired of living with Mom. I’m tired of being stuck in this life. I want more out of it.”
“You’ll get more in the future. You know it. Alek will probably find another mafia man to marry you off to.”
“He better be more handsome than Luca is. I can’t believe this. He should have chosen me.”
I try reaching out for her but she pulls away.
“Don’t, Nina. I don’t want your comfort right now. This is partially your fault. He chose you for a reason. What did you say to him?”
“Nothing.”
She scoffs. “Whatever. You’re going to get married and live a life and I’m going to be stuck here. So I hope you’re happy. You’re no longer my sister.”
I know Susanna is partially just being dramatic but I also know there’s some truth to her words and that scares me most of all.