1. Chapter One #2
“I can’t say the same.”
“Sasha!” Denis snaps.
“Are you going to hurt Irina again? Or Ana this time?” I cross my arms when Nico extends his hand out to me. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be happy about this. I saw this man shoot another man right in the head without blinking. He is not a good man. I do not want to be married to him.”
Nico shoves his hands into his pockets. “I’m afraid you don’t really get a choice.”
“Are you going to hurt me if I don’t comply? Hurt me just like my uncle?”
“Are you asking if I’m going to beat you?”
I look him straight in his handsome eyes. “Yes. I have the right to know what kind of man I’ll be marrying.”
“You don’t have any right,” Denis says. “It is your job to marry well and you will do it. No questions asked. Nico and I have made an alliance. But this only works if you’re married to him. I will drag you down the church aisle if I have to but you are marrying him.”
“Are you going to beat me?” I ask Nico again, ignoring my uncle altogether. It’s more funny to ignore him. I know it drives him crazy.
“I have no desire to beat you.”
Nico’s answer surprises me, though why would he tell me if he was going to beat me? He could tell me he wont and still do it after we’re married.
“I saw you kill a man without blinking. I don’t believe you.”
Nico shrugs. “Believe whatever you want.”
“You two should have a minute to talk,” Denis says, ushering my mom and sisters towards the doorway.
“I want them to stay.”
“You don’t get a say,” he snaps back. “Nico wanted to talk with you alone.” He practically pushes my mom out the room. She shoots him a glare, which doesn’t even faze him.
Once I’m alone with Nico, I realize just how more intimidating and scary he is.
“You wanted to talk?” I ask.
He sits down beside me, keeping some distance between us, which is surprising. I thought a man who didn’t care what I wanted would be disrespecting my personal boundaries.
“I did. I was fascinated with you, Sasha, the first time I saw you.”
“Well, you scared me.”
“I’m sure I did.” He undoes the button on his suit jacket, exposing his white shirt underneath that clings to his body, showcasing the strong chest he has. That is something I don’t even want to notice.
But I can’t help but notice.
“Why do you want to marry me?”
“I want to make a deal with your uncle. I was deceived by the Irish and I want to take them down. I need help with that.”
“Why can’t you make a deal with Mikhail Novikoff?”
He smirks. “Why? So you could see your sister again?”
I flush, turning my head away. I will not let this man who I barely know read me like this.
“I refuse to make a deal with your sister’s husband because I hate him. Plain and simple. He shot me in the back.”
“Too bad he didn’t kill you.”
“Trust me, Sasha, if it weren’t me, then your uncle would be marrying you off to someone else. I know you don’t like me but am I really that bad? I think I would make a wonderful husband.”
I can’t help but snort. “Really? You’re a murderer.”
“And so was your father.”
His words hit me straight to the chest and I have to blink back tears. I will not cry before him.
I always knew the business my father was involved in but he managed to keep the bulk of it away from me and my sisters. It wasn’t until he died that we got thrusted into the madness that is the world of the mafia and all the men in it. The men who want to hurt us. Abuse us.
“Don’t talk about my father,” I manage to say.
“Did I strike a nerve? My apologies.” Except, he doesn’t sound sorry at all. “I’m a wealthy man. I have a lot of power in this city. And I’m handsome, if I dare say so.”
“You shouldn’t say so. It makes you sound arrogant.”
He leans in closer to me. I hold still, keeping my breath steady. His fingers tilt my chin up so I’m forced to look him in the eye. “For someone who thinks I’m a bad man. you sure are not afraid of me.” His eyes narrow as my heartbeat increases. “Or are you?”
“I don’t want to marry you.”
“I know. You’ve already said.”
“Why me? Other than making a deal with Denis.”
“Your younger sisters are too young and you’re too beautiful for me to ignore.”
His compliment makes me blush. I’ve never had a man tell me this before.
Since my dad didn’t let me date, I was rarely around boys growing up.
If any man tried to approach me or my sisters at one of the many dinner parties my parents used to host, my dad would swing in and lead them away from us.
He wanted to keep us as sheltered as possible.
For the first time since my dad died, I feel angry. Angry that he didn’t better prepare me for this world. Angry that he didn’t give me the experience with men so I knew how to handle myself around men like Nico.
“You think giving me a compliment is going to make me like you?”
He flashes me a charming smile as he lets my chin go. “Is it working?”
“No.”
He skims his finger down my cheek. “Your blush is beautiful.”
That’s it. Quickly, I stand up and put as much distance between me and Nico as I can get. “You are my sister’s husband’s enemy, which makes you my enemy.”
“Does it?” He stands up and approaches me like a cat stalks its prey.
“You also want an alliance with my uncle, whom I hate, so that makes you my enemy twice.”
“Didn’t know that’s how that works.” He keeps coming towards me and I keep moving away. It’s a strange dance around the living room.
“That’s how it works for me.”
“I’m curious, Sasha. You’ve been groomed your entire life to get married and yet, you don’t want it. So what do you want?”
I move around the backside of the couch. “For you to leave me alone.”
“Not going to happen, I’m afraid.”
“See? This is why I don’t want to marry you. You don’t respect my boundaries.”
I try to run away but he catches me around the waist, pulling me flush against him. I can feel all of the hardness of his chest. It’s making it hard for me to even think.
“I am to be your husband. Once we’re married, you’re mine to do with as I please.”
I shudder. “I want my freedom.”
“What?”
“You asked me what I want. I want my freedom. I don’t want to be shackled to a man who thinks he can grab me like this.” I elbow him in the stomach and he lets me go, though he doesn’t even look wounded. Bastard.
“I get it. You feel as if you have no choices in life.”
“How do you get it? You’re a rich man. You’ve always had choices.”
He smirks. I hate how handsome he looks when he does it. Cheeky like he’s keeping a secret that makes me desperate to want to know what exactly he’s keeping from me. “True. I have always had choices. I’ve had the choice of any woman I could want. And right now, I want you.”
“Right now? So if we marry -,”
“ Once we’re married.”
“- are you going to cheat on me? If you get tired of me that is.”
“Oh, Sasha.” His eyes rake me over head to toe. The summer dress I’m in barely offers me any protection. “I don’t think I could ever get tired of you.”
His compliments are unnerving. I feel thrown off my feet and I don’t know how to find steady ground again.
“I don’t want this,” I repeat.
“I know. I heard you.” He smiles down at me, knowing he has all the power here. “But this is going to happen. We’ll be married soon. Denis and I have been in talks about it for months now. I know he wants the wedding to happen by the end of the month.”
I practically gag on air. “By the end of the month?”
“Isn’t it better for you to just get it over with?”
“I’d rather not get it over with at all. I don’t want this to happen.”
He sighs, moving away from me, and shoving his hands in his pockets. “You can take it up with Denis. But I’m only agreeing to this alliance with him if I get you as a wife. And I will get you for my wife, Sasha.”
“Why?”
“You’re fascinating.”
Denis enters the living room. “How is everything going?”
“It’s going great,” Nico answers for the two of us. “Sasha and I are great fit. I can already tell.”
“That’s great,” he says, clapping his hands together.
Nico pats him on the back. “I should get going. Sasha, I’ll see you at the wedding.” There’s a dark sparkle to his eye that makes me want to punch him in his distractingly handsome face.
Before I can open my mouth to object, Nico leaves the house and Denis storms over to me.
“If you don’t go through with this wedding,” he says, “then I will not hesitate to hurt your sisters.”
I’ve seen him do it too many times to know that he’ll do it again.
My only choice is to marry Nico.
Unless… unless I had help. If I could escape and get to Mikhail, I’m sure he’d try to take Nico down. But it’s been a little less than a year since I’ve seen Natalya and Nico is still alive and I’m still stuck here. My older sister has abandoned me.
Even if she’s trying to get me back, she’s failed at it and I can’t help but feel all alone again.
I have to get to her and Mikhail. They’re my only chance out of this mess. Once I’m married to Nico, I’ll be on the opposite side of a war to Natalya and while we have our differences, that is the last thing I want.
“Fine,” I grit out, since Denis is still waiting for an answer from me. “I will marry Nico. Happy?”
“Yes. But don’t give me that attitude. Now go to your room.”
My eyes flick to the front door. Denis has a guard stationed there, making it impossible to leave. If I want a chance to escape, I have to wait until nightfall. The only problem is, my bedroom is on the second story.
Denis keeps his eyes on me as I head up the stairs.
The guard stationed upstairs makes sure I get into my room.
I hear the door lock from the outside. My family and I are truly prisoners here.
This home used to be a safe space. Used to be full of love and laughter and fun, even when my father was being strict. He still loved us.
Denis doesn’t love us. He just wants to control us.
I look out my window and see that the tree in the backyard should be close enough for me to get to. But it’s still risky. Am I willing to put myself in danger just to not marry Nico?
Instantly, I know the answer. Yes I am.
Once night comes, the guard duty will increase but I’ll have the cover of darkness as my friend. Besides, the guards rotate around the house so I should have a small window of opportunity to sneak out the back gate without them noticing.
That is if none of them notice me jumping to the tree. Or if none of them notice me falling to my death.
Ana and I share a wall. Someone needs to know my plan in case I get hurt.
I knock on the wall and she knocks back. “I’m going to escape tonight.”
“What? Sasha, are you crazy?”
“I’m desperate. I can’t marry Nico.”
“Why not? He’s handsome.”
“Not that handsome,” I grumble though we both know it’s a lie. “I don’t trust him not to hurt me. I’m leaving tonight and will get help. I’m going to get us out of here.”