8. Chapter Eight #2
“You mean peace between my family and yours. You never told me we were hosting a party tomorrow. I have to get ready. I need a dress. You didn’t prepare me.”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry. And I already picked out the dress for you. I have everything handled. You just need to show and welcome our guests.”
My heart rate calms down a little. “I’ll be fine then,” I say through gritted teeth. “It’s just a small wound. I’m already healing.” We both know that’s a lie.
“Your parents will be here. Do they know what you tried to do?”
“No. And I don’t want them to know.”
“Good. Let us keep this between ourselves for now.”
I huff. “Because my shame is your shame, correct?”
He cups my face again but this time, it doesn’t feel as gentle.
It feels more like a message. “You are my wife and I expect you to be on your best behavior. I wanted you because you fascinated me, Lana. I saw untapped potential in you. I want to bring it out of you. But I also don’t want you embarrassing me. ”
“And I don’t want you controlling my life.”
He plants a soft kiss to my lips before stepping back. “I guess we all can’t get what we want sometimes.”
My lips feel like they’re burning as he walks away.
The dress Nikolai chose for me is a soft, rosy pink that goes well with my fair skin and blonde hair.
The shoes are delicate. I match it with soft makeup.
I have to admit that I’m happy Nikolai picked out a dress.
I’m happy I didn’t have to plan any part of the party. Everything is too much right now.
The dress has long sleeves. Long enough to hide my bandage, I notice.
Nikolai enters our bedroom in a navy suit that makes him more handsome. The tingle returns to my stomach and a flare of arousal hits me. I want this man to claim me on our bed but I can’t get the words out.
“You look good enough to eat,” he rumbles. The arousal between my legs grows. He settles his hands on my hips. “Our guest will be arriving soon. Make me proud.”
A part of me wants to snap at him and another part of me wants to do exactly what he wants.
“Of course,” I say through barely moving lips.
He grips my chin. “Don’t ever try to kill yourself again, Lana. Is that understood?”
“Yes.” I have to blink back tears. Don’t crack. Ice Princess. Never forget it.
His smile is sweet as he lowers his hand to my neck. Nikolai traces my skin before moving his hand further down, stroking between my breasts. The dress is low-cut, showing off my cleavage, even though I don’t have much. Ballerinas typically are smaller chested. It’s the preferred look.
“I want to rip this dress right off you,” he says. “I want to show you all the things you’ve been missing in your life.”
“Then why don’t you?” I breathe out.
He stops his hand on my lower stomach. “Because some things are worth waiting for.” In one quick motion, he cups me between my legs. I gasp but as soon as he touches me, he pulls back. He lifts his hand to his nose and inhales. “I can smell your arousal, Lana. Do you want me to touch you?”
“We never truly had a wedding night.”
“I know.” There’s almost something like… regret in his eyes.
“You chose work over me that night.”
“My work is important.”
“And I’m not?”
He cups my face. “You have become incredibly important to me. It’s why I don’t want you to attempt suicide ever again.”
“I thought it was because you wouldn’t be able to live down the shame of your wife doing something like that.”
“I don’t want you to die, Lana. I think I have made that very clear by now.
” The doorbell rings, signaling our first guests have arrived.
He clears his throat and pulls away from me.
“This party is for peace. To show your parents that you’re settling in well.
That our families don’t have to fight anymore.
” He sets his hand on my low back and leads me downstairs.
I can only focus on his hand. His large, strong hand that I know has the power to hurt me and yet, he chooses not to.
The first guests to arrive are my parents. The sight of them almost makes me break down into tears.
My parents’ expressions show no warmth. Only judgement.
“Are we the first to arrive?” Mother asks. “Gregory, I told you we should have gone later. It’s fashionable to be late to a party. Not the first ones here.” She doesn’t even ask me if I’m all right. I would have expected it from my father but my mother sometimes has more empathy in her.
“I wanted to talk to Nikolai before everyone else arrives,” Father says, turning to my husband. “Now that you have my daughter, I hope everything is going well.”
Nikolai extends his hand and after a beat, my father shakes it. “Everything is going extremely well. I look forward to working with you more in the future, Gregory.”
“It’s Mr. Karetov to you.”
Nikolai’s lips twitch. It’s the only indication that he’s annoyed. “Of course.”
“Are my sisters not coming?” I ask.
“We thought it would be best if they remained home,” Mother explains. “They’re a bit too young for a party like this. You understand.”
“Are you not going to ask me how I’m doing?” After I showed up at your house in tears, I want to add but keep to myself.
Mother’s smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “How have you been?”
I can feel Nikolai’s eyes on me as I respond. “Settling in. Figuring out how to be a good wife.”
“That’s good. Camille told me you got the lead in Swan Lake. I must admit, I am proud. Aren’t you proud, dear?” she asks my father.
He nods once. “We’ll come to the finale of your show like we always do.”
“You could come to the first show if you wanted.”
“No. Always the last. You need to show grit and strength from performing all the other shows first. Only then will I see you perform.”
I blink back the tears that threaten to fall. Nikolai must sense something because he places his hand on my low back… almost like he’s trying to comfort me. I find myself leaning into his touch.
“I think Lana will impress you,” Nikolai says. “She has always impressed me. Now, why don’t we go into the living room while we wait for our other guests to arrive?”
My father looks around the house with a critical eye. I know he’s trying to size up what Nikolai has compared to himself. Always in competition.
I grab my mother’s hand as Nikolai and my father walk on ahead. “Mother.”
She doesn’t look me in the eye. “Lana. Is there something you wanted to say?”
Nikolai glances back at me but doesn’t interfere.
“You let Father push me out of our house that day.”
“I can’t let your father do anything,” she says in a low voice. “And this is not the time or place.”
“When is it the time or place? I’m not allowed back at your house and you haven’t come over.”
“You’ve been on your honeymoon. I was giving you privacy. Now, this is no way for a hostess to be acting.” She pulls her hand away from mine and joins my father in the living room.
I take my place beside Nikolai because I know that’s what a good wife is supposed to do. Silence. Awkward, tense silence. My father was never happy being forced to give me up – not because he loves me but because he hated that it gave Nikolai a win over him.
Fortunately, the doorbell rings, bringing in new guests. Lev. I can’t hold back my sneer when I see him enter the house. Nikolai greets him warmly but the second Nikolai turns his back, Lev throws a glare in my direction.
More people arrive. Friends of Nikolai’s. Friends of my parents. The air in the house is tense. A peace deal was made but things are never easy between mafia members. There’s always a fear someone is going to start shooting at any second.
I feel my stomach drop when I see that Svetlana arrives. “What is she doing here?” I ask Nikolai, who was in the middle of conversing with Lev.
“She is a Bratva wife, Lana. She comes to these things. But don’t worry. I will not let her hurt you again.”
“Again?” Lev asks. “What happened?” He seems almost… too gleeful.
“She did this to my hands,” I say, nodding at the scratches still left behind.
Lev snorts. “That’s nothing. I’ve been shot before. Now that really hurts.”
“It’s not a competition,” I snap.
Nikolai stares at me and I lower my gaze in shame. “I’m going to greet Svetlana and make sure she doesn’t cause any problems.” He walks away, leaving me and Lev alone. All the other guests are talking to each other. Despite the crowded room, I feel alone.
Lev grabs my arm, making me gasp. “You think you have Nikolai wrapped around your little finger, but you don’t.”
“Why do you hate me so much? I haven’t done anything to you.”
“I already told you.” He digs his fingers in harder. “Nikolai was going to leave everything to me and now he’ll leave everything to you. You’re going to steal my legacy.”
“You had to know Nikolai would get married one day.”
“He was never interested in it. Until he saw you. I tried to warn him against it but he wouldn’t listen. Now I have you to deal with. If you think you’re going to steal everything from me, think again.”
“I am his wife. Of course he’ll leave his wealth to me. That’s normal. Deal with it like a man. Because right now, you’re acting like a child.”
The pure anger on Lev’s face makes a chill run down my spine.
But before anything can happen, Nikolai comes back and Lev lets me go. Nikolai looks between us. “Is everything all right?”
“Your wife and I were just having a chat.”
I remember Lev’s threat towards my sisters on my wedding day. He’s a man I don’t want to mess with. “Yes. We were just talking.” I can feel the sting on my arm from where Lev gripped me. It will bruise. “What did you say to Svetlana?”
“I told her to be nice and she said she would be. Now, let’s have a nice evening.”
Conversations happen about business and hobbies. Boring things. Non-mafia related things. As the night wears on, the tension in the room seems to disappear.
That is until I use the restroom and, once I’m done, come out to greet Svetlana face to face. It’s just the two of us in the quiet hallway.
“Hello, Lana,” she says. “You even stole my name. How inconsiderate of you.”