Chapter Nine
Elena
It’s my wedding day.
The door opens before I’m ready for it to. I expect one of Leonid’s maids to come in, but Audrey enters the room instead.
My best friend’s wearing a gold silk dress with waves of her brown hair falling over her shoulders. Her pupils dilate when they meet mine.
My chest tightens and I fly to my feet. Emotions I’ve been suppressing since I was kidnapped hit me all at once. It’s so intense that despite the weight of my wedding dress, I run into her arms.
She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “Oh my God, Elena.”
“Audrey.” My eyes burn as tears spill over, a broken sob tearing out of me. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” she says, her voice trembling. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”
“Me too.”
When Leonid took me, my biggest fear was never seeing my best friend or my parents ever again. I’d been so afraid I’d die here and no one would know what happened to me.
Audrey would’ve been so devastated. My father would blame himself…and my mother? I don’t think she would’ve survived it.
I pull back. “Where are Mom and Dad?”
“They’re sitting outside, waiting. Your mom cried during the entire ride down here. She didn’t think we would really get to see you. We looked everywhere, even went to the cops, but they couldn’t do anything.”
Another wave of tears blurs my vision. “I’m so sorry all of you suffered because of me.”
She pats my back gently. “It’s not your fault. We’re just happy you’re okay.” She leads me back to the chair I was sitting on when she arrived. “What happened, and why are you suddenly getting married to this Russian guy who made us sign an NDA?”
I sniffle and wipe my face with the back of my hand. “He made you sign an NDA?”
She nods. “I found it really weird. Who is he?”
“Some guy from the mafia. He owns a yacht on the docks I work at.”
“Mafia?” Her brows crease with worry. “Elena, are you in trouble?”
Drawing in a breath, I brief her on everything that happened, all the way from the day I was kidnapped until now.
Her mouth is wide open with shock when I’m done.
“Elena,” she whispers, though her tone is sharp enough to make me hear the seriousness in her voice. “Are you insane? You can’t marry this guy.”
“I don’t want to,” I whisper back. “But I don’t have a choice. He threatened to kill Henry.”
I skip the part where I’m deeply attracted to him and how I melted against him when he kissed me.
She frowns. “Who the hell is Henry, and why does he matter enough for you to get yourself involved in this mess?”
She’s right.
Henry’s just my colleague, and outside of work, we’re barely friends. Still, I can’t let him get hurt because of me. I don’t want to live with the guilt of that on my conscience forever.
Plus, I don’t think Leonid would’ve let me go regardless.
Or maybe those are just excuses I’m making, because as much as I tell myself I hate Leonid, a part of me still yearns for him.
“You don’t understand.”
“I don’t need to.” She shoots to her feet, grabs my wrist, and pulls me up.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you away from here.” She glances around. “We have to go before he notices we’re gone.”
She starts to drag me away. I curl my fingers on the edge of the vanity table behind me to keep myself from moving.
“We can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“What happens to my parents if we run away? Do you think Leonid would just let them go?” I pull my hand away from hers. “This place is well-secured, and Leonid has connections. Even if we manage to get off his property, which we won’t, he’ll find us.”
“So you’d rather marry him than at least try to escape?” Her expression tightens with worry. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
My stomach cools and I lower my gaze. “I have to do this, Audrey. I know you care about me, and trust me, I would’ve left already if it was an option. But I promise, it’s not.”
Audrey exhales slowly, like the fight is draining out of her. “I hate this,” she says quietly. “I really hate this.”
“I know,” I whisper, hoping she gives in.
She stares at me for a long moment, scrutinizing my face like she can force another answer out of me.
But after a moment, her shoulders finally drop. “Fine.” The resignation in her voice makes my knees weak. “I won’t push it anymore.”
Relief and guilt crash into me all at once. “Thank you.”
“I’m your best friend. You don’t need to thank me. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.” She takes my hand and brushes the back of it with her thumb. “But if anything happens and you need to leave this place, you have to tell me so I can help you. Okay?”
My throat tightens with emotion. I nod.
“About—”
The door swings open, cutting her off.
“Okay, I couldn’t wait any longer, so I…” Tatiana bursts in, full of energy, but pauses mid-sentence when she notices the tension in the room. Her gaze bounces between Audrey and me. “I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?”
Audrey wipes her face quickly, forcing composure. “No.”
“Not at all,” I chime in. “Tatiana, this is my best friend, Audrey. Audrey, this is Tatiana, Leonid’s sister.”
Tatiana steps farther inside, beaming. She’s the only one who’s truly excited for this wedding.
“Nice to meet you, Audrey.”
Audrey glares at Tatiana for a second. When she opens her mouth, I know she’s about to blast Tatiana for being happy her brother’s forcing a woman he kidnapped to marry him.
We’ve been friends for a decade, and I know her better than anyone.
I grab her hand and shake my head.
Audrey rolls her eyes and sighs. “Fine. The pleasure is all mine,” she grits out, her voice laced with annoyance.
I can’t tell if Tatiana notices the hostility from Audrey. If she does, she completely ignores it.
“It’s time for the bride’s entrance.” Her eyes dart to me. “You look stunning.”
A faint smile touches my lips. “Thank you.”
She reaches out and gently takes my hand. “Let’s go. Your groom is waiting.”
My heart twists at the mention of my groom. All of this still feels strange to me. Just two weeks ago I was a charter manager, and now I’m walking down the aisle to a man I should be running away from.
Despite the fear that claws at my chest, I follow Tatiana outside.
The moment the door to the decorated patio opens, a soft swell of instrumental music fills the air. It sounds more like a funeral than my wedding.
My fingers tighten around Audrey’s hand. I’m not sure when she replaced Tatiana by my side. I was too busy trying to calm myself to notice anything happening around me, but I’m glad to have her next to me.
“Breathe,” she says in a voice that’s barely audible. “You got this.”
I try to breathe, but it doesn’t work. My nerves are still a mess, and nothing I tell myself calms the churning in my stomach.
Sunlight spills across the aisle, which is lined with white flowers.
And at the end of it, I see him.
Leonid.
My groom.
Standing like he belongs there more than anyone else in the room.
He’s wearing his usual tailored black suit. His steel gray eyes are fixed on me with that unreadable focus that makes it hard for me to breathe.
I should look away, but I hold his gaze as I take my first step. For some reason, looking into his eyes gives me the courage I need to keep moving forward.
If I agreed to marry a man as terrifying as Leonid, then I can ignore the noise around me until I’m by his side. Until his huge frame is shielding me from everything and everyone else.
I take another step, and in the corner of my eye, I see my parents sitting to the left of the aisle. I can make out my mother sobbing quietly and my father’s arms around her shoulders as he comforts her.
I don’t keep looking at them, because I know I’ll break apart if I do. I fix my gaze on the man who’s about to become my husband.
Leonid’s gaze doesn’t leave mine, either. It feels less like he’s watching me and more like he’s claiming me with his eyes. As if he’s memorizing every step I take toward him.
When I reach the foot of the flower-adorned altar, he reaches for me, and after a beat too long, I place my hand in his.
His touch sends a sudden, disorienting heat through my fingers.
His scent wraps around me, spice and cedar. It’s overwhelming in a way that makes my knees buckle. I should pull away, but instead I find myself leaning into it.
Drinking in his scent like it’s the cure to the poison in my soul.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispers in a deep, throaty voice.
My cheeks flush, but I keep my expression blank, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing how his words affect me.
The priest starts his sermon, and when he’s done, we recite our vows after him. I start first, forcing the words out even though I’m reluctant to say them.
Leonid repeats his slowly, as if he means every word he says.
The moment he slides the ring onto my finger, the air drains from my lungs.
I stare at the huge diamond catching the sunlight. He definitely spent thousands of dollars, if not more, on this.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Cheers erupt all around us, and I wonder what my parents think of this moment. I know they’re confused, so I have to come up with something to tell them.
Unlike Audrey, they can’t know this is a forced marriage. They can’t know about Leonid’s position in the mafia or anything else. Involving them will only put them in harm’s way, and I can’t risk that.
“Mr. and Mrs. Nazarov,” one of the guests yells excitedly from the small crowd of Leonid’s family, friends, and allies.
It hits me all at once.
I’m no longer a prisoner trying to escape her captor. I’m legally bonded to him now. To his world. To the violence of the mafia. As his wife.
Forever.
The thought of forever with the man standing in front of me is terrifying, but something far more dangerous than fear twists inside me when he reaches for me again.
My husband.
God.
His thumb brushes over my knuckles before he steps closer, towering over me in the soft glow of sunlight and white roses.
Then, without warning, he kisses me.