Chapter 5 – Jennie
Somewhere outside, I can hear live music.
It’s faint, but it floats up through the open window like a reminder that something is happening—something I’m supposed to be excited about. But I’m not.
I stand at the edge of the window, arms wrapped around myself as I stare down into the garden below. It’s all lanterns, champagne tables, and expensive florals. White roses, I think. Classical instruments tuning under a silk-draped gazebo.
It looks like a fairy tale.
But I feel like a prisoner in a really pretty cage.
Tears blur my vision, but I blink them back. I won’t ruin the makeup they just spent nearly two hours applying.
The hair stylists, makeup artists, and nail techs all left about fifteen minutes ago, chattering and laughing like they hadn’t just dolled up a girl being forced into a mafia marriage.
I’m wearing the dress Adrian sent me this morning—black velvet, strapless, with delicate lace embroidery over the bodice. It hugs my curves and flows all the way to the floor in heavy, liquid folds that shimmer when I move. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn.
And the most suffocating.
It’s not white. But then again, this isn’t that kind of wedding. There’s no love in my heart today. Just dread. Just rage. Just the sick ache of knowing I’ve sold myself to the devil to keep my brother alive.
I turn from the window and face the full-length mirror. My breath catches in my throat.
I look…breathtaking.
My hair is pinned in soft waves, my lips painted a deep wine-red, and the way the velvet shapes my body—it almost tricks me into thinking I’m walking into a dream.
But I’m not. This is a nightmare with a pretty filter over it.
This dress fits like it was made for me, like it had been tailored to my exact measurements.
And knowing Adrian Rusnak…it probably was.
My stomach twists.
He moved me out of my dingy little apartment last night.
His men showed up just after midnight. Zalar was the one who came in to help me pack, silent but respectful, while I tried not to cry in front of him.
They brought me here—to this massive estate with its marble floors, endless hallways, and cold silence.
This room is bigger than my entire apartment.
The bed is huge. The view is gorgeous. But the door locks from the outside.
Even today—on my wedding day—I’m locked in.
I don’t know if it’s for security or control. Or both. But it doesn’t matter.
I feel trapped.
Caged in lace and velvet.
Even the thought of Logan walking free today—alive, safe—can’t lift the weight sitting on my chest. I should be relieved. But the cost of his freedom feels like a chain around my own neck.
I glance down at my hands. They’re shaking.
God.
How did I get here?
The sound of a key sliding into the lock makes me freeze.
I spin around, my heart hammering in my chest. I expect one of Adrian’s men—Zalar maybe—or someone faceless in a suit with instructions to escort me down the aisle like I’m some kind of packaged bride.
But instead, the door swings open—
And it’s Zoe.
“Zoe?” My voice cracks with disbelief.
She steps into the room in heels and a deep emerald cocktail dress that fits her like liquid silk, her curls pinned back loosely. She looks radiant—but exhausted. There are shadows beneath her eyes, the kind that only come from travel and stress and not sleeping well.
“Hey, baby girl,” she says gently, opening her arms.
I run into them without thinking.
Her arms wrap tight around me, and for a moment, I let myself breathe. Really breathe.
God, I didn’t realize how much I needed this.
Zoe pulls back and cups my face. “How did all of this happen?”
Tears sting my eyes again. “I don’t know.
I don’t know,” I whisper, and then the words just come pouring out.
“I was at home with Violet, and then these men came. They gave me a note. Logan—he’s in trouble, Zoe.
Real trouble. He stole money from the Rusnak front and…
Adrian said the only way Logan gets to live is if I marry him. ”
Zoe goes still. “Oh my God.”
“What do I do, Zoe? Please help me.”
Her expression shifts in a way I don’t understand—something tight and resigned in her jaw. She looks away for a second and then meets my eyes again.
“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “But I can’t do anything.”
My stomach drops.
“Zoe—please, you’re married to Lukin. Can’t you talk to him? Can’t he stop this?”
She shakes her head. “In the Bratva…I don’t get a say in punishment. Especially not when someone’s been caught stealing. You don’t know what that kind of betrayal means in their world, Jen. It’s not like ours. There’s no negotiation. No second chances.”
“But this is me,” I whisper. “I’m your friend. You can’t let me do this.”
“And I love you,” she says, reaching for my hands. “But I also know what marrying into this world means. That’s why I’m telling you now…you don’t have to do this. You shouldn’t do this.”
I shake my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Logan is my only family.”
“He’s your half-brother, Jennie.”
“But he was there when no one else was,” I snap. “When my parents died, he showed up. He helped me with rent, with my tuition, with life. He’s made mistakes, but I wouldn’t be here without him. I owe him this.”
Zoe sighs, her eyes softening. She doesn’t argue.
She just squeezes my hand. “Adrian…Adrian isn’t like Lukin.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’s darker. More damaged. More….” She hesitates. “Dangerous. He has kind moments, sweet ones. But they’re rare. And you never know when they’ll vanish.”
A chill creeps down my spine.
Zoe sees it in my eyes and gently brushes a strand of hair from my cheek. “Just…be careful. Okay? Watch him. And don’t lose yourself in all of this.”
I nod, but the fear is already clawing its way up my throat.
Who the hell am I marrying?
Zoe leans in and kisses both my cheeks gently. Her lipstick smells like roses and something expensive I can’t name.
“I only have a few minutes with you,” she murmurs, brushing a stray curl behind my ear. “Violet’s downstairs. She’s…well, she’s Violet. She already got into it with one of the bodyguards.”
I blink. “What?”
Zoe sighs like she’s already too tired for today. “She threatened to pepper spray him because he wouldn’t let her into the estate to see you. I had to intervene.”
Despite everything, I laugh. A real one.
“God, I love her.”
“Same. But she’s got no filter and way too much heart, so I need to keep an eye on her until the ceremony’s over. Just to make sure we all survive.”
I nod, trying to hold in the tears again.
Zoe steps back and studies me one last time. Her eyes go warm, soft with that kind of quiet pride that makes something sting behind my ribs.
“Don’t cry,” she says. “Your makeup is too good.”
“I’m not,” I lie.
She smiles, but there’s a sad edge to it. “You look beautiful, Jennie. Like a dream. I just wish this wasn’t your nightmare.”
I swallow hard. “Me too.”
Zoe turns and walks to the door, pausing just once to glance back at me.
“Head high, okay?” she says. “No matter what happens out there, you walk like you’re already wearing a crown.”
And then she’s gone.
The door clicks shut behind her.
And I’m alone again. Just me. My black velvet dress. And a future that feels like it’s closing in with every breath I take.