Chapter 37 Yulian
YULIAN
Today is my wedding day.
Fuck that right the fuck off if I had a say in it, but I didn’t.
Probably fearing I’d have cold feet or start some shenanigans, Dad planned the wedding to take place the moment I landed in Chicago.
My chest throbs, and I’m so sleep-deprived, I’m barely standing.
I pace my room in the venue back and forth, the walls closing in on me.
It’s all suffocating.
The smell of flowers.
The hum of hushed voices outside.
The burn of the collar against my throat.
I undo the first buttons of my shirt with agitated fingers as I try to breathe properly.
Cyrus insists I run away. He said he’ll protect Alya and take her out of the country if necessary, but he lost her the first time, and there’s no telling if he’ll lose her again.
Say we did escape Dad, but then what? We’ll both live on the run, and while I’m fine with that, I won’t put Alya in that position.
She loves stability and the idea of a home and would be miserable without her public recitals and the ability to move around as she wishes.
I pull out my phone, which I’ve kept turned off since the flight.
It’s a cowardly act, knowing full well that if I open it, I’ll find texts and missed calls from Vaughn.
Thing is, I don’t think I can handle that.
Every fiber of my being is already bursting at the seams with the urge to go back to him, to that safe haven tucked deep in the Altai Mountains.
It’s the same urge that made me go to New York four years ago, searching, trying to find a sliver of that peace I experienced in that cave.
I place a palm on my chest, on the sole tattoo I have there as a realization hits me. Whether it was in that cave, at the house on Brighton Island, at the Altai Mountains estate, the feeling was the same—peace.
Even if I was hurt, it didn’t matter, because Vaughn held me and stroked my hair and gave me those soft kisses that made me feel prized.
But now, I hurt him.
Pain blossoms in my chest, and it’s not because of my fucked-up ribs.
The last thing I want is to be the cause of his misery. He’s been so happy lately, lighter, freer—probably because his parents know about us. He even started planning for the future.
He told me he loves me.
I let out a tortured exhale. I shouldn’t have insisted he say that. It’s just a sure recipe for pain now.
Maybe I was selfish, but I wanted to hear it. Just once.
The first and last time.
Or maybe it’s not the last time.
See, I have a plan, even if it’ll hurt Vaughn anyway. I can’t get out of this marriage, but I will use it to my advantage. My not-so-dear dad needs this marriage for the alliance with Boston, so I’ll go through with it and build connections within Boston.
In a couple of months, I’ll be able to access my trust fund Dedushka left me that Yaroslav can’t touch. I’ll use that money to get Alya as far away from him as possible, then buy my way to the top and maybe see if I can help Lukas get rid of him.
I honestly don’t give a fuck if Lukas is at the top as long as he doesn’t hurt Alya and me, but dealing with him will be tricky. He’s always given off the vibes of someone who doesn’t trust anyone but Mikailo.
But he’ll have to help me, or I’ll find a way to kill him.
Tonight, I’ll ask my future wife to make this marriage for appearances only and to agree to get divorced in a couple of years, and then I’ll go back to Vaughn.
That is, if he’ll take me back.
What if he’s married by that time as well?
That ominous thought makes my blood boil.
There’s a knock on the door before Alya rolls her wheelchair in. She’s dressed in an elegant robe, her hair held in a French twist.
I let my hand drop from my chest as I force a smile. “Looking beautiful, Alyonushka.”
She purses her lips. “Do you want to get married, Yulik?”
“Of course not. But what the old man wants, the old man gets.”
“You have someone you love, don’t you? Cy mentioned a Vaughn?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” I force a grin. “It’s only the two of us. I will protect us, okay?”
“Not okay. I don’t want your protection anymore.”
“Alya…” I step toward her.
She was crying when I got here, holding on to me with all her might, mostly because I was injured, but she’s looked different lately in a way I can’t pinpoint.
“I won’t let you do this,” she announces.
“We can’t run away. Even with Cy’s genius, we’ll be Dad’s targets.”
“I’m not running away.”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“I’ll marry into Boston.”
My shoulders tense up. “Absolutely not.”
“You know I love you to bits, but you don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“And you don’t get to sacrifice yourself for me, Alya.”
“You don’t get to either!” Her lips tremble.
“I know you’ve been feeling guilty since the accident, thinking it was your fault even though I’ve always told you it wasn’t.
You feel a responsibility toward me because of that and Mama’s dying wishes, but I’m old enough, Yulik.
I can make my own decisions, and I want to move out of your shadow. ”
“Alya…” I get on my haunches and take her hand in mine. “Marriage is not a joke.”
“Tell that to yourself, jumping into a marriage with a girl you’ve barely met while your heart is elsewhere.”
I narrow my eyes. “Smart-ass.”
“Always have been.”
“Listen, I have a plan, Alya. I can sacrifice a couple of years in this marriage and then—”
“No.”
“Hear me out.”
“You hear me out.” She lifts her chin, then smiles softly, looking more and more like Mama. “Actually, I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while but was hesitant to.”
“Tell me what?”
“Remember the attack in DC?”
“Yeah…?”
“The guy who saved me, his name is Levian Markov, the youngest brother of the leader of the Boston Bratva. He’s an illegitimate child and was hurt all his life there, so he grew up trying to exact revenge for himself and his mother. Then he rose in the ranks and now rivals his older brother.”
I narrow my eyes. “How do you know all that?”
“I…have been speaking to him, meeting him, actually. He comes to the center when I’m volunteering, and we’ve been sort of dating…”
“What?”
“Anyway, the most important part is that Levian was the one who planned that attack.”
“What?”
“Just listen to the very end.” She exhales a breath of frustration.
“He planned that attack to get rid of the rotten opposition at the upper echelon of the Boston Bratva while making Markov look like a weak leader in front of everyone else. It’s working, and he’ll be voted in instead of his brother soon, considering everything he’s done to mend their image since then.
It’ll all come together when he secures an alliance with us through marriage and a possible new alliance with New York once he tells Kirill that Markov was the one behind that attack at the summer camp. ”
“Boston did that?”
She nods twice. “One of the mentors at the camp was Markov’s spy.
He couldn’t bear the idea of Papa and Kirill becoming allies, as that would’ve pushed him out, so he staged that attack to put you and Vaughn in danger in order to make Chicago and New York point fingers at each other.
Levian only found out about this recently and wants to make amends. ”
“Is that what he told you to make you agree to this?”
“No, I’m saying this so you understand his position and also understand that I love him, and I trust him more than I trust Papa.”
“Alina…”
“I mean it. He might have experienced harsh circumstances, but he’s very warm and caring.
We only talked at the reception for a bit, and even after that brief encounter, he didn’t want me to get hurt.
Though he confessed that he knocked me out to get me out of there so that I wouldn’t resist or cause a ruckus, but the most important part is that he cares about me. ”
I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know about this.”
“This is my choice, Yulik. Not yours or Papa’s.”
“Have you told Papa this?”
“Yeah. But he wanted me to marry Levian’s older brother, to which I said hell no. I mentioned Levian, and he waved me off and dragged you here instead. Sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Point is. I’m fighting for this. I want to be with Levian no matter what anyone says. Maybe you should be with the person you love instead of looking like a lamb to the slaughter.”
“Very funny.” I stand up, letting her go. “Is there any way I can talk you out of this?”
She shakes her head. “But can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Meet Levy and don’t be a dick.”
“Levy?” I repeat incredulously. “And I’m a dick?”
She lifts a shoulder. “You can be sometimes.”
“Alina!”
“What? You can. If you’re on your best behavior, I promise not to tell Vaughn all your secrets when I meet him.”
“You…” I let out a sigh. “You don’t seem shocked that I’m with a guy.”
“I’ve known that you were attracted to both genders for a long time.”
“How long?”
“Since Dad broke your legs after finding a guy in your room.”
I scoff. “And you never said anything?”
“You never said anything either.” She pouts. “I thought I was special, but apparently not.”
“I just didn’t think it was worth it since I was hiding it from Dad and everything.”
She reaches out and takes my hand in hers. “You don’t have to hide who you are, Yulik.”
“I won’t. Not anymore.”
“That’s how it should be. I’m so excited to meet the guy who puts up with your shit.”
“Hey!”
She grins and releases me. “But first… Levy! Come in.”
My head whips to the side as Levy steps into the room, wearing a dark suit. He radiates calm and danger, and I don’t like that. At all.
His gaze slides to my sister, and when his stoic face breaks into a smile, she smiles up at him like an idiot.
He places his hand in hers as she says, “Levy, meet my brother, Yulian. Yulik, this is Levian.”
I step toward him and take his outstretched hand, squeezing hard enough to inflict pain. “You hurt her, and I’ll slice your throat open. Alina has a family, and most importantly, me—your grim reaper. If anything, and I mean anything happens to her, you’ll be held responsible.”