Chapter 9 - Arko #2
“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I hissed at them all, throwing a glance over my shoulder at Beatrice, who looked mortified and like she wanted to melt into the floor.
“We…we’ll wait outside,” Alek nodded, motioning at my embarrassed siblings to file out.
I waited until they were gone, the anger rolling off me in waves.
Damn them and this childish behaviour. Hadn’t they heard of privacy? Just who did they think they were to barge in here like that, without even knocking? The sheer audacity…
I rushed to my closet, grabbed clothes, and let the blanket drop to the floor.
That’s when I heard Beatrice let out a hiss. I was so angry in my head that I’d forgotten she was still in the room. I whirled and saw her eyes wide and her cheeks red as her eyes drifted up from between my legs to meet mine.
Fuck.
“S…sorry.” Her throat bobbed as she turned her back to me.
I stood there frozen for a quick second, wondering how this gorgeous morning with her turned so shitty so fast, then rushed to put on my clothes.
“I’m done,” I said, swiping a hand through my hair. “You can turn around.”
From how red she looked when she turned, I felt a sliver of pride swell in my chest. Yes, my siblings were outside, and it was clear I had to come out with the truth now, but even through the haze of my pressing reality, I realized that Beatrice Lebedev liked what she saw.
“Sh…should we head out?” She averted her gaze. “God, this is a nightmare.”
“Yeah.” My throat was dry. “It looks like my siblings and I need to have a word. I’m sorry…I didn’t know they were coming.”
She nodded and still didn’t look at me as she walked to the door. I joined her, opening it so she could step outside first, then following.
To my shock, my mortified siblings were still standing outside, like they still didn’t know what to do with themselves.
“You know where the living room is,” I hissed at them.
“We just wanted to say we brought breakfast,” Alena said, clearly trying to ease the awkwardness. “But we can come back later if you need.”
“No.” I shook my head, glowering at them. “It’s alright. We might as well head down.”
An awkward silence fell over the hallway again.
“This is Andrey.” Anton, our youngest brother, looked at Beatrice and gestured his head at Andrey. “Alek, Anton, Alena, and Anja,” he introduced each one to Beatrice. “And I’m Artyom,” he said, giving her a grin.
“But you don’t have to worry about remembering all our names.” Artyom gave her a cold smile.
In that moment, I realized what my siblings thought.
According to them, they’d walked in on some kind of morning after a one-night stand.
While I would have loved to have kept Beatrice a secret, knowing my siblings wouldn’t take well to calling a Lebedev sister-in-law, I also knew I needed to give Beatrice the respect she deserved.
Besides, sooner or later, the truth had to come out. It was best to rip off the band-aid now.
“Actually,” I said, talking Beatrice’s hand in mine.
I felt her stand taller, her fingers momentarily limp with shock at the touch of my hand.
I curled it tight around hers, watching my siblings look frazzled.
“I’d like you all to stay for brunch so we can get acquainted.
I’m sure you’ll want to get to know my wife better. ”
I watched them all collectively pale.
“Y…your wife?” Andrey’s voice was cold as he narrowed in on her.
“He’s joking, right?” Alena exchanged a look with a very shocked Anja. “Tell me he’s joking.”
“I…don’t think he is.” Alek shook his head, his eyes glued to where we held hands.
“I most certainly am not,” I said, standing taller, drawing a circle around Beatrice’s wrist. “Beatrice and I were going to tell you soon enough.”
“Nice to meet you,” Beatrice said, her voice remarkably steady. But I felt her nervousness from how hard she now squeezed my hand under the scrutiny of my siblings’ gazes.
“We didn’t know you were seeing someone, brother.” Andrey looked pissed. “Let alone that you’d gone and married her.”
“Well.” Alena let out a nervous giggle, true to her character and need to break the tension. “How about we all settle down in the living room and hear all about it. I’m sure we all have questions for…Beatrice and Arko.”
“Yes,” Anja backed her sister. “Let’s do that.”
“Sorry.” Andrey shook his head, still in disbelief as he gave Beatrice a scrutinizing look. “What did you say your full name was again?”
“Beatrice Lebedev.” I heard her shaky voice, and the room’s temperature dropped a few degrees.
The silence that followed was deafening. Then all hell broke loose.
“Lebedev?” Andrey’s voice rose an octave. “As in, Caspian Lebedev’s sister?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Alek demanded.
“This has to be a joke,” Anton said, looking between us.
“It’s not a joke,” I said calmly, even as my heart raced. “Beatrice and I are legally married.”
“What the fuck?” Anja’s mouth was still open. “What were you even thinking, Arko?”
“How about we all settle down?” I tried to divert their attention from the series of questions I knew were slowly taking root in their minds. “Let’s have some coffee and dig into the spread you brought.”
“Yes! I’m starving,” Beatrice said chirpily. “I can ask the maid to lay out what you got in the living room itself. It can be like an indoor picnic!”
“That sounds fun,” Anja smiled.
I shot Beatrice a grateful look, noticing that she was trying to cut the tension and understood what I was trying to do. I didn’t know why she helped me, since she certainly owed me nothing, but in that moment, I didn’t care to question it.
My siblings nodded, all turning to head for the stairs. I stayed rooted in my spot and felt Beatrice’s hand fall away as she followed them down. For some reason, it felt like a loss to not have her by my side.
I watched them file away, but Andrey hung back, waiting for me. When I collected myself and made to move, he joined me, shoulder to shoulder, as we descended the stairs.
“Have you lost your mind?” he demanded. “How could you marry a Lebedev? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I thought about it before I acted, Andrey.” I shot him a glare.
“You should have discussed this with us. Her brothers will be furious when they find out! Stop this madness, Arko. Just annul the marriage and send her back.”
For some reason, the very suggestion of it got my blood boiling. The idea of sending Beatrice back, after everything, after the morning we had just shared, felt utterly ridiculous.
“Stay out of this, Andrey,” I warned him. “I’m the eldest, and it would be wise for you to remember that I have a plan.”
“What plan?” he hissed. “Is your need for revenge so great that you’re willing to ruin everything this family has worked for?”
“I am doing this for our family!” I whirled on him, silencing him with one look. “And you’ll do well to remember that. When we go in there, you will treat my wife with respect, you hear? I need her for our plan to work.”
Andrey paled and said nothing more about his displeasure, as if he, too, understood that I was no longer sure of what I was doing.