Chapter 2 #2
“About? I want to know what’s on your mind.”
“This is a lot to take in. A lot of change.”
“Of course. It would be a lot for anybody.” He suddenly stops dancing and brings his lips right to my ear.
“But I expect you to be a good girl. You seem docile and sweet enough but you’re not broken yet.
You’re not fully mine. And I am going to break you down, Sofiya.
Until all you can think is my name. Until you are fully consumed by me.
” His hands tighten on my body as a sense of horror spreads through me.
“You will take it all like the good girl you are. This is what I want in a wife. Do not disappoint me.” With those chilling words, he lets me go.
Our guests clap for us as Dimitri leads me back to our seats.
All I feel is numb.
Dimitri wants to break me down… how? By torturing me? Raping me? I’m not sure.
Can I go through with this marriage? I’m already married to him. His ring is on my finger. It suddenly feels like a vise, gripping my finger so tight, it will cut off blood flow.
But a look down at it shows the pretty ring on my finger with no problems. My finger is fine. The ring is sparkling.
I have to speak to my dad. He may not know anything about this.
“Isn’t it time for the daddy daughter dance?” I ask him.
My dad gives me a warm smile. “Of course it is.”
Dimitri’s smile is tight but he doesn’t object. He can’t control me yet. Can’t stop me from dancing with my own father at my wedding when it’s tradition.
“You are making me proud,” he says once we start our dance. Another waltz, like I shared with Dimitri, but unlike Dimitri, dancing with my dad is not a terrifying experience.
“Thank you.” How can I say this to him? “Dad, I’m worried.”
“Just like your mother.”
“Isn’t it worth listening to her? She’s on to something, you know.”
“What does she know?”
“Dimitri is going to hurt me.”
He frowns. “Did he say that?”
“He told me that he wants to break me down. He wants to hurt me. You can’t let me go through with this. Just take me home. I can get an annulment. Please.”
“Sofiya,” he scoffs. “You are married to Dimitri now before the eyes of everyone in this room, many of whom are high ranking Mafia members. This is happening. There’s no going back now.”
“But what if he hurts me? Tortures me?”
“I doubt he’ll do that. He wants a good alliance with me. He won’t hurt you.”
“And if he does?”
Ivan hesitates before he nods. “Then fine. I’ll protect you from him. But that would ruin all I’ve worked hard for in securing this deal with him. So please make me proud, Sofiya. Make the most out of this with him. I’m sure you misunderstood him. You have to try.”
Once again, my father’s expectations feel like they’re going to weigh me down to the floor until I can never get back up again.
We finish our dance and the tiniest bit of warmth I felt being around my father is dashed when I sit back down next to Dimitri.
“Did you beg him to save you from me?” Dimitri asks, not even looking in my direction.
A shiver runs down my body. “No. We were just talking.”
He nods but it’s obvious that he doesn’t believe me.
“You should know something, Sofiya.” Finally, he meets my eyes but it’s not what I want.
It’s too powerful. “If you ever try to leave me, I will make you regret it. You are mine now.” He settles his hand on my thigh, startling me so much I practically jump out of my seat.
His hand is large on my thigh. It’s distracting. It’s terrifying. But it’s also… exhilarating?
Dimitri doesn’t remove his hand from my thigh for the rest of the night. He’s making his claim of me known and there’s no way I can get out of this.
“Can I dance with my friends?” I ask at one point, nodding to Beth and Noelle, friends from high school I still talk to.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’ll be leaving soon and I don’t want you getting distracted. Besides, once we move in together, I doubt you’ll see them much.”
“Will I not be allowed to talk to my friends?”
“I told you, Sofiya, that you will be mine and no one else’s.” That’s the end of the discussion.
I want to snap at Dimitri, tell him that everything he’s saying is technically abuse but I doubt it will get through to him. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t see anything wrong with his actions.
That or he just doesn’t care if they’re wrong.
I’m his wife now. His property.
And it’s obvious that I have to start getting used to it.
The wedding reception finally comes to an end.
My heart is pounding at the thought of being alone with Dimitri. Of sharing my body with him. Can I do it? Will he rape me if I can’t?
The guests all clap for us as we leave the reception. I look at my parents one last time before Dimitri ushers me outside, knowing I won’t see them again as often as I have. I might never see them again if Dimitri wants to control me as much as he claims to want to.
He leads me to a black town car and opens the back door for me.
The gentleman his parents raised him to be but…
he’s no gentleman. I get inside the car and notice the driver in the front seat.
The urge to ask him for help is on the tip of my tongue but then Dimitri gets inside beside me and I lose my nerve.
“To the airport,” Dimitri says.
I do a double take. “The airport?”
“Yes. It’s our honeymoon. We’re going to Greece.”
“Greece?”
“Yes. Are you going to repeat everything I say to you?”
I flush. “No. I just wasn’t expecting this. I wasn’t told anything that we were leaving the country together.”
“I saw your clothes. Your bohemian style. I figured a trip to Greece would be up your alley.”
“You chose Greece for… me?”
“You are my wife now. I should do things that make you happy.”
“Really?” I ask in a soft voice.
A soft smile spreads across his face. “Yes.” But it doesn’t last long before his usual stoic expression takes over.
And when he places his hand on my thigh, I know the sweet moment is done. He’s back to taking control.
I’m leaving the country with him for our honeymoon. It would be exciting if I was in love.
But I don’t trust Dimitri. Not after what he said at the reception. He’s going to hurt me in Greece. I can just feel it in my bones.
We’re taken to a private hanger where Dimitri’s private jet is. He must have so much money to be able to afford this. My own father doesn’t own a private jet and we’re definitely rich. It seems that Dimitri is in a whole other level of wealth than even I’m not used to.
I’m conscious of the fact that I’m still in my wedding dress but no one comments on it. Not the flight attendant. Not the pilot or co-pilot.
And not Dimitri.
It’s only the five of us on the plane. Slowly, I’m getting more and more close to being fully alone with Dimitri, which I haven’t been since he was in my room the first day we met.
After we take our seats – we’re facing each other which just makes it all the more uncomfortable – Dimitri rakes his eyes over me. “I never told you how beautiful you are in that dress. Exquisite. I’m glad my bride isn’t ugly.”
I flinch. “And if I had been?”
“I wouldn’t have made the deal with your father. You are the reason I made the deal in the first place.”
His admission catches me off guard.
“I’m the reason?”
“Yes. I saw a picture of you and knew I had to have you. So I offered a deal to your father. An alliance to get your hand in marriage. He was more than happy to agree to it. He’s a social climber, your father. And who’s more at the top than I am?”
That tells me that Dimitri has so much power beyond comprehension. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to escape him. But I promised my father I would try. This is my duty. I have to make things work with Dimitri, despite what he has said to me.
It’s what is expected of me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper, gripping the arm of the chair tightly.
“You don’t have to say anything. Your surprised, innocent look is enough for me. I will break that innocence down until you are fully mine.”
“What does that mean? Break me how?” I’m shocked I even have the courage to ask.
“All in good time. For now, we should get some rest. It’s a long flight to Greece.”
It surprises me that I’m able to sleep at all but when I wake up as the plane is landing, I realize that I slept for the majority of the flight. The wedding and reception took a lot out of me.
Dimitri is awake and studying me. Always studying me like he’s trying to figure me out. Or he’s trying to dissect every part of me to figure out how best to break me down.
“We’re here,” he says. “Greece. We’re in Athens at the moment but we’ll be taking a boat to a smaller island nearby. I want privacy for our honeymoon.”
Privacy. Just me and Dimitri. It makes my heart beat faster while it also makes a sensation settle between my legs. I don’t fully understand how I can feel any sort of arousal for him. He terrifies me.
And yet, he’s also thrilling. There’s a dark, dangerous sex appeal about him. If I let him touch me, will he make it good for me?
I have to let him touch me. It’s our honeymoon after all. Technically, we haven’t had a wedding night yet.
Dimitri leads me out of the plane and to a waiting car that drives us to the port. I don’t say a word and neither does Dimitri. He seems content in the silence while I’m freaking out inside.
We arrive at the port and head down a dock to a waiting boat that will take us to the island.
“Which island?” I ask.
“Aegina. It’s the closest island to Athens. I may have some work I have to conduct while here. It will be good to be close by.”
“Then why not just stay in Athens?”
His eyes darken as he looks me over. “Because I want you all to myself.”
Before I can respond – how do I even respond? – a woman walks past us and shouts, “Congratulations!”
I want to tell the woman that she can take the word back. That this isn’t a happy affair.
But of course, I only smile and give her a nod because it’s the polite thing to do.
Dimitri helps me onto the boat he rented for us. The captain welcomes us aboard. It’s a smaller boat but big enough that it has a below deck filled with a kitchen and a bedroom. I quickly walk back up to be on the top of the boat. I’m not ready to be alone with Dimitri in a bedroom anytime soon.
Dimitri keeps an eye on me the entire ride to Aegina. “You look like a bohemian queen in your dress and the breeze blowing your hair back.”
“Thank you.” What else is there to say?
He smirks. “So polite. I like that. But I don’t want you just polite. I want you to be fully mine. I want you to think only of me. We’ll start tonight when we get to the island. I’ll be nice and let you rest first. Think of it as a wedding gift.”
I shiver and I know it’s not from the cool breeze.
We arrive at the Aegina port. Dimitri takes my hand and helps me onto the deck. My legs wobble and I fall into him. He holds me for a beat before letting me go.
“We’re here,” he announces.
The start of our honeymoon.