Chapter 2 - Jaroslav
Rigor stands in my Miami office, his arms folded across his chest. I’m sitting in the chair behind my desk, withholding the smile that wants to spread over my face.
“So, they agreed to it?” I ask, my heart racing because I already know the answer.
“They agreed. Valery Abashin will marry your brother, and presumably, this will strengthen our alliance. The whole point of this exercise is to resolve issues. They weren’t initially pleased with the idea, as I’m sure you can imagine, the idea of giving away their sister didn’t sit well with them,” Rigor sighs, pulling a chair closer to my desk and sitting down.
He smiles tightly as he looks through the wide windows over the city.
Miami is a colorful, churning ant’s nest beneath us.
Cars and people were moving back and forth, tiny specs on the ground from this high up.
“Do you want help making the wedding arrangements?” he asks.
“No, I will sort it all out. What did their sister say? Valery. What was her reaction?”
“She was boldly diplomatic. I was rather impressed. She said she would do it for her family,” Rigor replies. “Has she ever met your brother?”
“No, she hasn’t,” I reply with a smile.
Rigor’s phone chimes, and he excuses himself to read the message. I open my laptop, just looking for something to stay busy with, but my thoughts are on her, not on my work.
I sit quietly mulling over my plan, but soon the intensity of Rigor’s stare is burning into me and has me glancing up at him. “What?” I ask. “Is there something else you want to tell me?”
He cocks his head to the side. “Jaroslav, this whole situation only works if your family, you , are willing to let go of the animosity you have toward the Abashins. We need this alliance. I’m just worried that…” he sighs. “I don’t want Valery, or your brother, to go through this for no reason.”
“I know. And I agreed that this would solve the issues. You have my word that I will do all in my power to adjust the attitude my family has toward the Abashins once this marriage is concluded.”
“That’s not good enough,” Rigor growls.
“Fine, I’ll reword it. You have my guarantee that the alliance will have no more issues with regards to the relationship between our two families,” I say more sternly.
He nods. “Good. Alright. Well, then, I will wait for the wedding invitations,” he says without emotion. He pushes the chair back and stands. “I’ve got to get going,” he remarks.
“Thanks for coming by to tell me in person. I appreciate you playing middleman for this arrangement.”
“It’s for the alliance, it benefits us all, Jaroslav.”
I nod, standing as well, then walk Rigor out.
I have a lot to do now that Valery has agreed to the marriage.
Of course, when the opportunity was presented to me by Rigor, I put Zakhar forward as the possible husband…
But I only did that to get Valery to say yes when they suggested that she be the wife.
Otherwise, they might have sent her younger sister instead, and that would have been a huge problem for me.
She would never have said yes if she knew I was the one she would be marrying.
The alliance doesn’t care. As long as our family names are tied together, they’re getting what they want—but she would. Our past is tangled, and I doubt she wants anything to do with me.
I’ve been holding onto resentment toward her brothers for years. It started long before I met her, as our families were sworn enemies until very recently.
But that resentment became far worse when her brothers took away the most amazing thing that ever happened in my life. Her .
I had no choice. The war between our families was getting worse, and because there was no resolution in sight, I knew I had to push her away or I’d be putting her life in danger.
I hated her brothers for that. I still hate them. But once I get Valery back, that will all be in the past. I just wish that I’d handled things differently back then.
But how was I to know that we would eventually reach this uneasy truce? How was I supposed to know how things would turn out?
I would have done it all so differently.
I never would have let her go.
I’ve spent the last two years in misery.
Missing her, hating my life without her.
She is everything I’ve ever needed, and the days and nights were far too dark and cold without her at my side.
And the look in her eyes the day I pushed her away still haunts me.
I hurt her. I did it on purpose to make sure she didn ’ t come back.
It was for her own good, and I understood that making her hate me was the best way to ensure she stayed away from me.
There hasn’t been a day that’s passed since I broke up with her that I haven’t regretted my decision. I made it for the right reasons, to keep her safe, for her to have a better life, but it shattered me.
I knew at the time that if her brothers found out about us, they would’ve locked her away, and her life would’ve become a nightmare.
I did what I thought was right.
Of course, when we became allied with her family only a short time later, I struggled with anger, and the resentment grew deeper. But now…Now I can make things right. I can put things back the way they were always destined to be.
When Rigor came to me with this marriage arrangement, I jumped at the one chance I had to fix the mistakes I had made in the past. The universe meant for us to be together. There’s no denying it.
I had to lie, yes, to manipulate things. I had to ensure she’d agree. And now that she has, I can move forward with the plans—with me as her husband.
Just the idea of it sets me on fire with hope.
This is my second chance.
A one in a million opportunity to get her back, to win her love all over again.
I’ve planned the wedding of her dreams. Crisp white with baby blue accents. Peonies and blue irises adorn the tables and the archways. The chandelier is a blue sapphire, and there are soft fairy lights all through the venue.
I remember everything she loves. And while she might not realize this is our wedding, there will come a day when she appreciates these gestures.
It has to be perfect.
Everything has to be perfect.
It’s almost nine in the morning, and Valery will be in the hotel room getting ready. She chose her dress. It was the one thing that I left for her to decide.
I can barely keep it together as all of the members of our alliance gather in a small meeting room near the venue. I’m already dressed in my black tuxedo, ready to become her husband.
Zakhar is next to me. I told him what I’m about to tell everyone else, and honestly, he seemed relieved. I’m not worried about telling the rest of our alliance, because as I know, they won’t care.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” I say, holding my hand up to hush them.
“Shouldn’t Zakhar be wearing the tux?” Timofey asks, cocking his head to the side, his eyes narrowed.
“That’s why I asked you all to meet me here before the wedding. I’ve decided that Valery will be marrying me, not my brother.”
“What? Why?” Rigor asks, confused.
“Because I am the leader of this family, and if we want our alliance to truly strengthen, it should be me.”
“That’s great news,” Oleg says, smiling. “Our sister should be marrying the strongest brother.”
I nod in agreement. “She should. So, no one has any objections?” I know they won’t. This is a better deal for the alliance. But even if they did, I’d tell them to go to hell. This is happening either way.
I left it to the last minute to tell them so that no one could pass the news on to Valery.
“None from us,” Rigor says wholeheartedly.
“Not from us either,” Matvei says, smiling.
This is going down even better than I expected.
There is a knock at the door, and my right-hand man, Tulip—a nickname he earned due to the tulip-shaped scar on his right cheek—enters the room.
“Sir, the guests are seated, and the bride is ready.” My eyes trace over his scar.
He got it the same day I earned the scar that runs across my eyebrow.
The day he proved his loyalty to me in a battle against some powerful enemies.
“Excellent. Thank you.” I smile. I’m about to marry the love of my life. The girl of my dreams. I’m about to claim back everything that is rightfully mine. And this time, I won’t let anyone take her away from me. My heart is hammering faster as the excitement builds.
“Shall we?” I ask, gesturing for my alliance to follow Tulip toward the church.
My feet are firm on the ground, my hands clasped in front of my body as I wait for her.
The church is bubbling with a rumble of soft conversations.
The longer I wait, the faster my heart beats, but when the music starts playing and everyone, including myself, turns our eyes toward the church doors, my heart feels as though it will burst through my chest and run away from me.
She steps into the church, her head tilted down and a veil covering her face.
She walks slowly, elegantly, while every person’s gaze is fixed on her.
She looks like a dream. An ethereal beauty, indescribably perfect. Her dark hair is curled and falls loose over her shoulders beneath the veil. Her dress is the brightest white. A corset style that hugs against her breasts and her waist and then flares out over her hips.
I remember tracing my fingers over the delicate bones of her shoulders, kissing the soft curve of her neck. Her ivory skin was almost glowing in the low light.
I press my lips together, not wanting to get carried away by the memories.
Our connection was deep.
At the end of the dark red carpet, right in front of the altar, Matvei steps forward to lift the veil from her eyes and kiss her cheek before finally, she turns to look at her future husband.
At me.
This is the first time she realizes that she is not marrying my brother. And in front of her brothers, she can’t even react. A smile stretches across my face.
Her eyes flare wide, her mouth drops open in surprise, and she gasps quietly before quickly looking down at the flowers in her hands, trying to hide the emotions overwhelming her.
Taking a moment, she bites at her bottom lip, then looks up at me again.
I stand patiently, waiting, my eyes not leaving her face for a second. I can’t believe she is standing in front of me. The most beautiful girl in the world, even more beautiful in that wedding dress, and about to become my wife.
“Jaroslav?” she whispers, her mouth open as though she wants to say more.
But she doesn’t. She glances to her left at the crowd seated in the church to witness our marriage.
Her face is pale, even for her. As though the blood has drained from her cheeks.
Her breath is sharp and short. Her heart must be racing at the sight of me.
“Valery,” I whisper back. “It’s good to see you.” My eyes sparkle with mischief. This is going exactly as I planned.
The priest begins the ceremony, and she continues to stare at me in disbelief.
I keep my eyes locked with hers, noticing the emotions swirl in those beautiful grey eyes.
Confusion. A flicker of fear. Anger? Control.
She’s holding back a lot that I’m sure I will hear about when we’re eventually alone.
I’ll allow her to be angry. It must be a shock. We haven’t seen or spoken to each other in years. For her first meeting with me to be at the altar of our marriage…I understand the anger. But in time, she will see it as I do.
Her perfect cupid-shaped lips are pressed tightly together now as the priest begins the final words of our union.
“Do you, Jaroslav Shevchenko, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife. To love and to hold, to cherish in sickness and health, till death do you part?”
I answer immediately, eager to have her as my own. “I do.”
He turns to Valery.
“Do you, Valery Abashin, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband. To love and to hold, to cherish in sickness and health, till death do you part.”
“I do.” Her voice is dry like the rustle of autumn leaves.
She swallows hard and clears her throat quietly.
“I do,” she says more clearly, tilting her head up in defiance.
She is as strong as she always was. Stubborn, sassy, opinionated.
I love everything about her, and I can’t wait to take her home.
The priest guides us through slipping the rings onto each other’s fingers, and as soon as that gold band locks around hers, my body is able to release the tension it’s been holding onto. I fear that she might not go through with it, and that it might not be real.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
My heart flares wildly. My skin burns with anticipation.
Valery hesitates, and her eyes flare with panic, but I step forward, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her close to me with my other hand cupping the side of her neck, using my thumb to tilt her head backward.
My lips find hers.
In an instant, the world melts away.
It’s like she never left. It’s like I’ve had her in my arms and no time has passed at all.
Until she gently, subtly, pushes her hand against my chest to pull away.
She smiles tightly, and a soft, nervous laugh escapes her lips, shy and quiet, her cheeks flushed pink.
The crowd of guests claps and cheers for us as I take her hand and walk her down the aisle, out of the church, and into the late afternoon summer sun.