Chapter 27
Dmitri
Since I was a boy, I’ve lived by one rule: family above all.
Personal desires don’t factor in. Only what strengthens the family.
That’s why everything is centered around the good of the family, whether that’s marriage arrangements, business decisions, or anything else that has any impact on our livelihoods, our legacy.
I’ve stood by it.
Until tonight.
After this morning, the answer was clear.
Even if it makes me a new enemy and costs me Pakhan.
Pressure sits heavy on my chest as I walk into Crowne, one of the upscale bars where the wealthy meet to drink and talk away from the tourists. I head to the back past the large main bar where patrons are seated, the smell of liquor and cologne filling my nose.
My eyes eventually land on Artur, who sits at a table in the back corner with a half-full glass of vodka in front of him.
He catches sight of me and nods, gesturing to the chair across from him. “I’ll flag down the waiter for you. I went ahead and got started.”
I merely nod once I sit down, tension winding around my throat as my thoughts battle it out in my mind over what the hell to say first. The fact that I even called Artur to meet with me tonight is insane enough.
I usually wait a day, sleep on every major decision before pulling the trigger.
Not this time. Waiting even a few more hours felt impossible.
A waiter walks up in a crisp white button-down and black slacks. “What can I get you from the bar, sir?”
“Vodka,” I tell him, my eyes not leaving Artur as he takes a drink from his glass.
The waiter nods and heads off, leaving Artur and me alone once more.
Artur sets his glass down and folds his fingers together in front of him. “What did you want to talk about? Something urgent?”
“You could say that,” I reply. “It’s about the arrangement between me and Annika.”
Artur’s eyes narrow in suspicion. “What about it? You want to delay even longer?”
The waiter comes by at that moment to hand me my drink, which I immediately down in one go before handing the glass back to him. “Another, sir?”
I shake my head before handing him the cash to cover my drink. I don’t think I’ll be here long enough for another round. Once he walks away, I turn back to Artur, who still has the same cynical expression on his face.
“I’m calling it off.”
Shock ripples across his face, then anger. Here we fucking go. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the marriage, and I don’t believe it’s going to work out in the long run,” I tell him, watching his face get redder and redder with each word that I say.
Artur slams his fist down on the table, making his glass shake and rattle. People stop what they’re doing to turn and see what’s going on, but the spike in attention doesn’t faze him in the slightest.
“This isn’t about Annika! This is about you!” Artur growls at me. “You don’t want to marry her, even after all the effort that she’s put into planning the wedding!”
I clench my teeth as I stare at him, agitation firing within me as he continues to yell at me like he’s disciplining a child. “We can renegotiate terms.”
“I don’t want anything else from you or your fucking family!” Artur replies with a scoff. “My daughter deserves to be with someone who will take care of her for the rest of her life. You have the money and the resources to do that.”
I blink at him, more confident than ever that I made the right decision. “That’s the only value that you see in me and my family? A caretaker for your adult child?”
Artur points at me, fury etched across his face. “You shut your mouth! You have disrespected my daughter, and you have disrespected me. I will not tolerate it!”
I don’t care what he chooses to tolerate or not. This is my decision.
“You need to calm down,” I warn him, feeling more gazes on us as our argument becomes the main source of entertainment in the entire bar.
“Let’s discuss another option that works for you.
I can give you a bigger cut of the business done in your casinos and clubs.
Or throw in a discount on any products you want to buy from us.
We don’t have to figure it out tonight. Think on it. ”
Artur clenches his hand into a fist, his shoulders broadening as his muscles tense in anger. “I don’t need to ‘think on it.’ Do you know how Annika will feel about this? She was so excited to marry you, and you’re going to discard her like she’s trash? What kind of snake are you?”
I’m not sure why I thought we could speak like respectable businessmen. Artur’s throwing a tantrum in public, and I’m losing my patience.
I slam my palms down on the table and stand, leaning closer to him as he scowls at me. “I’m not a snake just because I don’t want to marry your spoiled daughter.”
Artur abruptly stands as well, making the table shake enough for his glass to fall over.
It rolls off the edge of the table and hits the floor, shattering into pieces at our feet.
“We agreed on this arrangement, and you’ve thrown it back in my face!
You damn Ivanovs…acting like the world revolves around you.
Like you arrogant fucks are better than everyone else. ”
“Don’t speak a word about my family,” I bite out as we glower at each other, only separated by a little table that won’t do anything to break up a physical fight.
“Fuck you,” Artur grits out.
“You two need to leave the bar and sort this out outside,” one of the bartenders calls out to us from the bar.
I wave him off, knowing we’re causing a scene. “We can still talk about this, Artur. We can come to another arrangement. Just find another rich guy for Annika to marry. Maybe one who will even love her back.”
Artur lets out a cold laugh. “Do you really think I’m going to work with you now? How can I trust you? You’ll just back out at the last minute again if you change your mind again.”
“I keep my promises,” I tell him. “But this marriage, my personal life, will no longer be part of any business terms.”
Artur shakes his head at me as his eyes narrow once more. “You don’t want to screw this up, Dmitri. All you have to do is go along with what we agreed. We could both get what we wanted, and all would be well.”
All wouldn’t have ever been well. I would’ve woken up every day resenting my own life.
I would’ve been the one to sacrifice my happiness, and I can’t bring myself to do that. Not after being with Cara. Being with her made the choice obvious.
I don’t want to give her up, which means the wedding can’t happen. The marriage can’t happen. The deal has to fall apart, and I already know that the consequences of my choice won’t be pretty.
They have to be better than a lifetime of misery, though.
“We don’t have to be enemies,” I urge him, despite knowing that my words are falling on deaf ears. The hatred on his face is clear.
Artur steps over the glass on the floor, coming dangerously close to me as it crunches under his heel. “Like I said, you’ll regret this, Ivanov.” We’re apparently no longer on a first-name basis. “You’ve fucked over the wrong person this time. You’ll never be named Pakhan now!”
Good.
Still, I glare at him for blurting out Bratva confidential information as he walks past me, his shoulder knocking against mine. I slowly curl and uncurl my fingers as I watch him leave the bar.
It’s over with. The deal is dead, and it looks like I’ve made enemies out of the Suyunovs instead of close allies.
If Pakhan dies with this deal, so be it. It was my father’s dream, not my own.
Frustration still pulses through my veins as I storm out of the bar soon after, the humid night air failing to lessen the angry heat radiating off me.
Why did I have to be dragged into this mess in the first place?
There are other single men in my family that could’ve married Annika, but it had to be me.
I had to be the one to sell my life and my happiness. Now, I’ve finally put my foot down and chosen myself.
My phone goes off in my back pocket, making me slow down as I head down the sidewalk without a destination in mind. I grab the device to see that Gabe’s calling, a sharp exhale leaving my nose.
It might be important.
“What?” I snap.
“I looked into the information Cara found on Enrico Ferro today,” Gabe tells me. “She made a note about him being a big fitness guy, and she had an idea of where he might live, so I did some recon to see if I could spot him. And I did.”
I pause in the middle of the sidewalk under the soft glow of a nearby streetlight. “Right now? You have eyes on him?”
“Through the window of the local gym he frequents,” Gabe replies. “He’ll probably finish up soon.”
It’s dark, and he’ll be tired from working out. We won’t get a better opportunity than tonight to question him.
“Is he alone?” I ask him.
“Yes. None of his men are around,” Gabe tells me.
“Call a few other guys and text me the address. We’ll grab him tonight,” I say, my anger shifting into adrenaline. I need to take my mind off the fact that I just blew up my life.
“Will do,” Gabe replies before ending the call. Less than a minute later, he sends the address of the gym to me.
I call my driver to pick me up, using the few minutes of silence while waiting for him to gather myself.
I went back and forth today about backing out of the marriage, trying to decide what was the best option in the long run.
The answer was crystal clear, even if it might make my life hell for right now and the foreseeable future.
Not marrying someone who doesn’t care about me. Who doesn’t excite me. Who drags me down instead of supporting me.
I’d rather have Cara by my side at work and in my bed at night than deal with a wife who just wants my money. That’s the choice that I made, and now I get to deal with whatever consequences come next.
Whatever it’ll be, it won’t be forgiving. That’s for sure.
I won’t regret this decision, though, no matter what happens.
As soon as my driver pulls up next to me in an SUV, I climb into the passenger’s seat and show him the address. “Hurry.”
With a nod, he hits the gas, leaving behind Crowne and the mess that I made there.