Chapter 34
ARTYOM
Valentin and Karolina say their vows, but I’m not focused on them.
Tonight is not about the newly married couple. It's about proving to Nina that this family is a safe place for her and Ava.
I've watched her fade, over the past few days. Since Denis — she was with me then, more alive than ever.
There was a special kind of satisfaction that came from knowing that I’d shown her the darkest part of me and she hadn’t run screaming. She’d let me hold her, let me show her what it meant that she could look on without flinching while I did what needed to be done.
But now…
I look over to where she sits by my side in a sunny yellow dress.
Her dark hair is braided away from her face but cascades over her shoulders.
I don’t know if anyone else would detect that there’s something wrong.
It’s subtle, but the tension is tight across her brows and around her lips, and she’s folded in on herself.
Ava is cuddled against her side, but Nina doesn't even seem to register the affection.
Her eyes are fixed blankly at the front of the room, where Valentin is sweeping Karolina into his arms to march her down the aisle.
It’s cheesy, and over-the-top, and a definite cover for the lack of chemistry between them.
Everyone else in the room is clapping in time with the music, but Nina is perfectly still.
Karolina laughs loudly, looping her arms around Valentin’s neck, as they exit the church.
I appreciate the effort they’re both going to. Even if this marriage is nothing more than a business deal now.
Valentin wanted to back out of the arrangements — of course he did, the bastard can’t commit to attending a business meeting, let alone decades of marriage — but it made the most sense to continue.
If we backed out of the arrangement now, Karolina’s family would have cut off the critical supply of drugs for us to run.
It’s not good for business to back out of deals.
I suppose you could say I'm just as bad as Denis, forcing Valentin into this. But I had to punish him somehow for his backstabbing. He may be my cousin, the closest thing I’ve got to a brother, but I can’t show weakness.
Not at a time like this, when the tremors of Denis’s death are rattling the branches of our family tree.
Karolina was happy to go ahead with the arrangement, even when I made sure she was appraised of exactly how loveless the marriage would be, how unlikely it was that Valentin would ever settle down.
It made the most sense. It had to be done.
I join in the clapping and cheering as they come past our pew, throwing an arm around Nina’s shoulder and hauling her up for appearance’s sake.
Ava throws handfuls of rose petals towards the couple with the intensity of a baseball pitcher.
“Why are you so pleased? You threw a fit when you found out about their engagement,” Nina hisses in my ear.
That was before. Things change.
“That was when it was outside of my control. Now it’s just another part of the puzzle.”
I wave at them as they pass. I’m surprised to see a genuine smile on Valentin’s face — he was adamant that he didn’t want to go through with this, but as he leads Karolina out the doors, I would swear that I see adoration in his eyes. Maybe my cousin’s a better actor than I thought.
Valentin and Karolina are a powerful couple. They’ll be useful allies to have when I take over.
And I made them, so I can just as easily bring them crumbling down.
After the ceremony, we head back to the Estate for the reception. Throngs of people fill the ballroom.
This place has seen so many weddings this year, it’s ridiculous.
The tap of a cane lets me know Vanya wants to speak to me.
She nods her head. When I try to bring Nina with me, she shakes her head.
“Alone.”
Nina huffs but takes off to join Karolina, where she’s posing for photos at the other side of the ballroom. Ava balances on her hip, waving at Vanya and I as we leave. I blow a kiss to her.
Nina doesn’t look back, but I admire the low back of her yellow gown, anyway. If there’s anyone who deserves to look like a princess every night of the week, it’s my wife.
“Ah, I know that look, darling. I hope you’re glad about my announcement now,” Vanya places a hand on my shoulder and steers me out of the ballroom.
“It would have happened eventually, even without your scheming.”
She raises her eyebrows and purses her lips. “It didn’t seem that way to me. You’re a complete man now, Artyom.”
It remains old-fashioned bullshit, but Babushka does have a point. With Nina by my side, I feel invincible.
Vanya sits down in her armchair with a groan. “My feet are killing me more and more these days. And that left knee is about to fail on me.”
She picks up the silver-framed picture of Vassily she keeps on her desk and strokes the faded image. He’s seated in a high-backed armchair, cigar in hand, whiskey in the other, which is precisely how I remember my grandfather.
She sets it down with a sigh.
“Your uncle, Tyoma. That was not your best work.”
“No one knows what happened to him.” I lean back against the desk and fold my hands behind my head. “The CCTV footage is mysteriously missing, and his guards don’t remember a thing.”
“Everyone knows what happened.”
“Even if they do, they can’t prove it.”
“It’s not about proof,” Vanya says softly. “It’s about respect. Family. Trust.” Her tone turns stern. “How can they trust you to lead, when you murder your uncle? And when you do it right under our noses, in this place that I promised would be a safe haven for our family.”
“They wouldn’t respect me if I didn’t kill Denis.”
“They would respect the restraint. Order. Tradition. Family comes first,” Vanya says, cracking her cane against the desk leg for effect. “You always forget this.”
“Maybe it’s because my family never wanted me.”
“Your mother never wanted you. Your father was a good man and he would have protected–“
“But he didn’t. He wasn’t here.” I thought I could keep my cool, but Vanya has a vision of leadership that doesn’t apply to the reality of this toxic cesspit we live in. “My father wasn’t here, but Denis was. The closest thing I had to a father figure, and he resented me my whole life, Vanya.”
“It’s a wonder that you want to lead this family which you despise so deeply.” Her mouth is set in a line.
“It is a wonder. You know it’s not for them that I’m doing it. It’s for you, Babushka. You’re the only parent I ever had. If not for you, I would burn this place to the ground.”
I can see the grief wash over Vanya at my words, as she turns her watery eyes back to me. “I tried my best. But maybe it wasn’t enough.”
I let out a chuckle. “No one could compensate for Polina’s utter lack of mothering instinct, not completely. You did the best with what you had, Babushka, but you can only fix what’s broken so far.”
Vanya rises unsteadily to her feet, without her cane, and pulls me into a hug. “My boy. You need to be careful. She’s trying to ruin you.”
Denis might be gone, but Polina lives on. With more rage than ever to fuel her, as she tries to avenge the only person she could ever tolerate.
“I know.”
The conversation replays in my head throughout the night.
People want to discuss business, they want to discuss when I’m taking over the leadership, they want to run their plan by me, they want my congratulations on their new grandchildren. I smile, even though I feel like Vanya has turned me inside out.
When I finally have a moment to myself, I search the room for my cousin to congratulate him. Tradition, order, restraint, yada yada.
The flicker of yellow in the corner of my eye catches my attention. Something about it makes me freeze.
The exact shade of yellow Nina was wearing.
But it’s not her. It’s Boris with a gaudy patterned tie. I avoid eye contact, not wanting to get sucked into that conversation. I sweep the room once again with Nina in mind.
I take in the ballroom, decorated in wine red and shimmering banners of our family crest. The ridiculous number of bridesmaids wearing rose-colored silk.
My heart constricts.
I don’t know where Nina is.
A month ago, I’d have been tracking the hum of her laugh throughout the room, catching her freckled skin out of the corner of my eye, and checking my phone every five minutes in case she needed help.
But being married to her has made me relaxed.
Too relaxed.
She was furious at me, but I got distracted. I didn’t make time for her.
Haven’t I made this mistake before?
A sweep of the room reveals nothing. Not a hint of her yellow silk dress.
Her best friend, Lily Carson, is deep in conversation with Nikolai. I pull them away from the drinks table and Nikolai frowns at me.
I don’t care if I’m cock-blocking him.
“Have either of you seen Nina?”
“What’s wrong?” Lily asks when she sees the look on my face, putting her hands on her hips. I narrow my eyes at her. If Nina was leaving me, surely she would tell her best friend about her plans.
If Lily she knows something, she’s doing a good job of hiding it. She searches my face for a clue as to what’s going on. “You’re worried about her, aren’t you?”
I force my face into what I hope is a relaxed expression.“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. She just wanted to go to bed early,” I say distractedly, spotting Valentin across the room. Someone else who might know something.
I hurry across the floor to him.
“Nina? Have you seen her?”
Valentin shrugs in response to my growl, then stumbles back at the look on my face.
“Fucking hell, Tyoma, you’ve been terrifying enough lately that no one’s going to touch your wife.”
“Then where the fuck is she?”
“Did I hear a ‘Congratulations on your wedding that I forced you into’?” Valentin cups his ear.
I throw it over my shoulder as I leave. “Congratulations, Valentin. Hate to leave your wedding early, but I need to find my wife.”