28. Emily
28
EMILY
I’ve never seen a woman as tall as her.
If it weren’t for the faint lines all over her face, I wouldn’t have guessed she was a day older than forty from the way she carries herself like a haughty queen .
One look and I know she’s definitely related to Konstantin. They share the same strong jaw and grim-set eyes, though her left one is cloudy from a cataract.
She adjusts her flowing, beaded tunic-style shirt over her wide-legged pants. The outfit makes her look bigger and more imposing than she already is.
I have a feeling that even if I were taller than her, she’d still find a way to look down on me.
“ Dobriy den , Alla Antonovna,” Konstantin says. He stands like a steel rod has been shoved into his spine. “I didn’t think you’d come so soon.”
She flips her long, elaborate gray braid over her shoulder. “You knew I’d be here the second I heard from Gerasim Petrovich what you were up to. Leave.” She turns her eyes towards me. “I want to speak to this one alone.”
“Alla—”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
I’m stunned at the way Konstantin purses his lips and dips his head like everyone else does to him. He gives me a look that swims with concern, and my heart rattles faster.
Remember , I tell myself. This has to look real.
She’s the one both of us need to convince.
I do my best to straighten out my hair and make sure that I don’t have any signs of what Konstantin and I just did earlier. Is my face still flushed? Can she see just how much of a mess I was earlier?
Alla’s eyes zero in on me. The ferocity of her gaze nearly sends me stumbling backward. Konstantin is no more than a few yards away, but I feel like I’m alone on an island with this woman.
I clear my throat. “Nice to meet you, Alla. I’m?—”
“Your name isn’t important to me,” she says coldly. “I’ll forget it by nightfall.”
I wither under her tone. “Are you angry at me?”
“Does a dog feel anger at its fleas? No, my anger is reserved for my stupid grandson.” Her stabbing attention darts briefly to him before returning to me. “And this ridiculous idea of his . ”
Heat makes the back of my neck sizzle. “Ridiculous?”
“Do you take me for a fool?” she smiles, but the smile never reaches her eyes. They continue to glare at me, as if I’m nothing more than a speck of dirt on her shoe. “I know my grandson’s worth. And it is far too valuable to be wasted on the likes of you.”
My jaw drops. I hadn’t counted on her words to hurt as much as they do. From the way Konstantin looked at her from the distance, I knew that this was going to be a tough battle to convince her that this fake marriage is real.
But not like this …
“I …” I take a deep breath. This is it, Emily. Make it convincing. “I love your grandson.”
Alla’s eyes become thin slits. She leans closer to me, her slim hands running over her defined jaw. “Liar.”
“What?” Panic rises in my throat.
“You don’t love him,” she says. “Trash like you love things about him, but never him.”
Trash. That word sends me spiraling. Alla is talking to me the same way my parents would talk to Olivia. Even the judgment in her eyes is the same. I’m frozen on the spot.
She doesn’t believe me.
Which means all of this is already starting to fall apart.
“You’re only marrying him for the money.” Alla scoffs dismissively. “I can see it in your eyes. I can practically smell it on you.” she studies my face more intently, a nasty smile twisting onto her face. “How much is he paying you for this, little whore?”
Whore …
It would’ve hurt less if she slapped me in the face.
“N-nothing …” I say hoarsely.
“A cheap whore, then.”
“I’m not a whore,” I say, feeling panic and indignation squeezing around my heart as Allasneers at me. “I love him! It’s the truth!”
Is it? Do I?
“Don’t lie to me again, whore.” The smile disappears and she closes the distance between us, her aura suffocating and chilling my bones.
Suddenly, I have the awful premonition of her strangling me.
I try to back away, and that’s when she suddenly seizes my forearm, holding me in place with remarkable strength as her talon-like fingernails dig into my flesh.
I bite back the cry of pain that nearly escapes my throat.
She’s just looking for a reaction, and I can’t give her one.
I can’t give her more reasons to doubt this marriage. I can’t give her more reasons to hate me than she already does.
“You’re either very brave.” She chuckles, the sound slippery as oil. “Or very stupid to agree to his scheme. Either way, you can’t fool me. I know what my Kostya is doing. He thinks this will convince me into giving him control of the Bratva.”
Control? I thought he said this was about an inheritance? Curiosity now overrides my fear, and despite her painful grip on my arm tightening, I don’t try to escape her anymore.
Is … is his inheritance the bratva itself?
“Oh.” Alla’s cruel smile widens. “You had no idea, did you, devushka ? You had no idea and you still agreed?” She scoffs. “Not only a cheap whore, but a dumb one too.”
“I’m marrying your grandson because I love him.” I try my best to sound convincing as I repeat myself. “And he loves me.”
Does he?
“No, he doesn’t.” Alla snaps. “He doesn’t care about you. Nobody here cares about you. When this is all over and he gets what he wants, he’ll cast you aside and forget your name like the gold-digging whore that you are. But I won’t.” She leans in closer and whispers venomously in my ear. “I’ll remember the mockery you helped him make of this family. And I will make you hurt . In ways you cannot possibly begin to imagine. Ponimayesh? ”
My hands and feet have gone numb. All the blood has fled to my brain, working to keep me from passing out.
Above all that is something more painful—a spiky knot in my guts that works upward, pressing at the backs of my eyes, threatening to become tears.
She’s lying, Emily. Don’t let her get to you.
But is she?
After all, it’s what Konstantin told me from the start, right? He’s just using me until he gets what he wants.
Maybe … the only person to tell me the truth this whole damn time is standing in front of me.
Am I really so stupid that I started believing otherwise?
Suddenly, my nose stings, and I can’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes.
“Save your tears, little whore,” Alla says curtly. “You’ll need them by the time this is over.” And then, releasing me, she calls out. “Kostya! Idi suda! ”
Grateful to be excused, I step away from Alla, rubbing my forearm where five half-moon shapes are turning an angry shade of red. I want to get as far away from her as I can.
I want to get as far away from this place as I can.
I want to tell myself to ignore her insults because she’s a stranger—that nothing she says matters.
But I can’t help believe that maybe she’s right.
Konstantin doesn’t care about me. He’ll forget me when this is all over.
Konstantin strides quickly towards Alla, and when our paths cross, he stops me with a gentle touch.
I make the mistake of looking up and our eyes meet.
His widen when he sees the tears in mine. I turn to hide my forearm from his gaze, but one darting glance and I know he’s seen the marks.
Slowly, he reaches up and wipes away my tears, his touch impossibly gentle.
And just like that, I am foolish enough to believe that Alla is wrong.
That he cares about me.
That he won’t forget me when this is over.
“Kitty Cat,” he says, whispering.
“Don’t …” My lower lip trembles as I wrench my face away from his finger. “Please don’t …”
Please don’t break my heart.