Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
MILA
I was halfway down the staircase from the family wing when I saw Axel standing at the bottom.
He looked sharp in a dark suit and crisp white dress shirt that was open at the collar.
I thought about how he had walked around our hotel room with a relaxed, dangerous vibe, his shirt unbuttoned and a drink in his hand.
He was confusingly masculine and attractive, and I didn’t like it.
Not when I had decided never to talk to him again.
“What are you doing here?” I said bluntly, wanting him to know I wasn’t happy to see him.
“Grisha invited me to join the family for dinner.”
I stared at him with defiance. “No one told me.”
He stood there, with his hands in his pockets, looking more like a fashion advertisement than the fixer I had seen dismantle a team of dangerous men. “Are we good?”
My tone was tart. “Are you worried I’m going to humiliate you in some big dramatic fashion between the main course and dessert?”
His expression didn’t change, but his jaw tightened. “Should I be?”
How had I let myself become tangled up with someone who had no issues with violence and lawless behavior?
I had started to soften toward him when he helped me during the skeet competition, but I quickly learned that he wasn’t any different from Sergei or the other men who worked for my uncle.
Despite his manners, he was criminally dangerous, and I should never have involved myself with him.
It pained me that I now had to pretend to be in love with him. I desperately needed a way out of this mess I had created. It was getting to be too much. “Let’s just get through dinner. Then we can talk about how to end this without too much fuss.”
He said nothing and offered me his arm.
My uncle’s two cousins, their wives and five of their grown children were at dinner, along with my uncle, my aunt, myself and Axel. Uncle Grisha had placed Axel and me beside each other, near the head of the table, where he and my aunt sat.
My uncle spent most of the meal loudly relaying stories and jokes to his cousins, who sat further down the table but responded with equal energy. The rest of us ate in silence, an obedient audience to the three grown men.
I spent most of the meal pushing food around my plate.
I had completely lost my appetite, and all I wanted to do was get away from this charade.
The staff began to clear the table before dessert.
My uncle chose that moment to stand up, wineglass in hand.
Everyone around the table quieted, and I could tell he loved having an audience.
I tried not to react when Axel casually put his arm on the back of my chair.
He wasn’t touching me, but he was too close.
I hated how good he smelled. Subtle cologne mixed with a masculinity that you couldn’t bottle. It was intoxicating.
I glanced at his handsome profile, and he turned and gave me a look I couldn’t understand. It was intense with equal measures of heat and knowing. My body responded.
No. Not him.
I was not going to be attracted to Axel. That was unacceptable.
Grisha spoke. “I’d like to make a special announcement, one that I know everyone will be thrilled about, but I hope two people in particular will be especially pleased.”
I stared at the centerpiece on the table, counting the minutes until I could excuse myself.
Grisha looked around the room. “As you know, I broke my own rules last weekend when I allowed someone outside the family to attend one of our famous weekend trips to Zavidovo, but that was because someone was being tested.” He pointed with his wineglass toward Axel.
“Not only did he pass the test, but he scored higher than my own family.”
In alarm, I glanced over at Axel, who listened with a relaxed, unreadable expression on his face.
Grisha continued. “So I’m pleased to announce that Axel has my official blessing to join the family.” He winked at Axel. “I’m sure you understand what I mean.”
Everyone started to whistle and cheer. I still hadn’t clued in to the punchline. I looked at Axel and said quietly, “I don’t understand.”
He leaned forward and whispered against my ear, “He’s telling me I have permission to propose to you.”
The entire room seemed to tilt. Had everyone gone mad?
“Propose?” I pulled my face back to look at him in shock.
What was happening?
Marriage?
A proposal?
To someone I had only really talked to a handful of times? I couldn’t marry Axel, and in that moment, I realized that I could no longer let this family control my life.
I stood up and pushed my chair back from the table, set to flee.
Axel was just as fast. He stood up beside me and then, not so gently, pulled me into a tight hug.
Panic rippled through me.
From the outside, I’m sure it looked like an emotional embrace, but he was the human seat belt that prevented me from fleeing. Against my neck, he murmured, “Just play along. We’ll sort this out later.”
I pulled back to look into his eyes, hating how long and thick his eyelashes were. He cupped my face with his hands and dropped a surprise, fast kiss on my lips, so fast I didn’t really have time to register it. But the rest of the table erupted in cheers and hollers.
Then he fixed my chair and guided me to sit back down, all the while keeping a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. To the world, it looked like the loving gesture of a considerate gentleman, but it felt like subtle coercion to stay and play.
My uncle, oblivious to the energy between us, continued speaking. “Of course, we’ll leave the timing up to the happy couple, but to pressure Axel just a little bit, you should know that Lena and I have already started discussing the guest list for this wedding, and we’ve already set a date.”
The whole table erupted in laughter.
He looked around at everyone, amused. “You think I’m joking.”
Everyone laughed harder.
Except me. I could barely muster a smile. I registered, dimly, a piece of cake being set in front of me and coffee being served, but I didn’t touch either.
Axel let go of my wrist and then put his arm behind my chair. I felt boxed in by his presence, but I dutifully kept my smile plastered to my face.
Around me, everyone talked and ate their dessert, and someone asked the staff for a couple bottles of vodka. And then the shots started flowing.
I stiffened when Axel leaned over and whispered in my ear, “This is where you act happy.”
I immediately pasted a huge smile on my face and leaned back into him. He responded by putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered between clenched teeth.
He kissed my temple. “We’ll figure it out.”
When the focus had shifted away from us and everyone was leaving the table, Axel stood up and offered his hand.
While my uncle looked on approvingly, I put my hand in Axel’s and let him lead me out to the gardens. The late evening sun had started to set, and despite it being spring, it was already getting cool outside. A breeze blew through my sweater and immediately chilled me. I shivered in response.
Without a word, Axel slipped off his suit jacket and put it around my shoulders. Immediately it cut the wind, and I was enveloped in his scent. I hated how tempted I was to bury my face in the fabric and take deep, calming breaths. It made no sense.
When we moved behind a hedge, away from any windows of the house and protected from the breeze, he spoke. “Your uncle told me he expects a proposal within the next week. They want to put out invitations.”
My throat tightened, and his words made me feel dizzy with disbelief. I turned toward him, my words more pleading than angry. “Can’t you make this go away?”
He watched me without expression. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
“Refuse to marry me,” I told him.
“These are the unfortunate consequences of your actions.”
“No.”
“Your uncle wants this union, and he wants to believe you’re happy.”
“Well, I’m not happy!” I shot back. “This is crazy. We can’t get married.”
His expression was impossible to read. “You started this.”
My eyes widened. “I started this to avoid getting married.”
“You told your uncle you were in love with me. What did you think would happen?”
That shut me up. We stood there in silence. My mind raced, but it went nowhere.
“I can’t think right now,” I told him. “I can’t even make sense of this.”
“Your objective was to avoid Sergei and move to Canada, and that’s happening. My objective is not to derail my career. We can achieve all that if we get married.”
I couldn’t even hide how his words shocked me. Not two weeks ago, Axel had been completely against this fake story and had all but demanded that I confess the truth to Grisha.
Which I selfishly refused to do.
How had we gotten to this point so quickly? I crossed my arms. “Are you listening to yourself?”
“Your uncle wasn’t making a suggestion.”
“Just because someone tells you to do something doesn’t mean you have to do it.” I hated this. I shrugged off the warmth of his coat and tossed it at him. The cold wind immediately cut through my thin sweater. “My answer is no.”
He took his coat from me. “Take the night to think about things.”
“Leave me alone.”
Without looking at him, I walked back to the house. I bypassed the back door through which we had come and moved to the side door, to give me access to the family quarters without passing the room where the family was dining.
I was cutting across the library, my path lit only by three dim lamps strategically set up in the corners.
I wasn’t going to stand around and wait until someone forced me into marriage.
I had my passport, my money, plus the money Axel had given me from winning the competition.
I would make another escape, only this time I would be more strategic.
No one could force me into marriage. That’s not how things worked. I would find my way to freedom and escape the darker side of my uncle’s world.