Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Who’s Tigran?”
He laughs softly. “My brother. You have a lot to learn.”
“No kidding. What do you do for a living?”
“I import computer chips.”
I look up and almost recoil. “Are you serious?”
His smile is almost sad. “It’s more complicated than that, but yes.”
I flop backwards. The ceiling’s cracked in two places. I hadn’t noticed that before. I feel dizzy and sick and like the world’s closing down around me.
It’s impossible. If I want to keep the baby, I have to marry a stranger. If I want my freedom, I have to get rid of the baby. On one hand, I can help my family, but I’ll be trapped with this admittedly gorgeous but clearly psychotic man. On the other, I’ll always hate myself for letting this opportunity pass, but at least I won’t be trapped for the rest of my life.
It’s lose-lose for me no matter what I do.
So someone might as well walk away a winner.
“Get out,” I say without looking at him.
“Did you make up your mind?”
“Yes.” I push myself onto an elbow. “Leave me alone. I need to get changed.”
The pure obsessed excitement in his expression makes me positive this is the biggest mistake of my life.
Chapter 13
Lena
Everything feels wrong.
The dress isn’t right. The ring feels too heavy. Even the room is messed up. I was never really the kind of girl that obsessed over my wedding day, but this isn’t remotely how I saw it going down.
I look tired and scared. No amount of messing around with my hair is going to tame it now. I wish I could rip the stupid stud from my nose. I look goofy and weird, like a little girl playing dress-up in her mom’s clothes.
There’s a soft knock at the bedroom door. “Come in.”
It takes a second to recognize the man that enters. He looks a lot like Arsen: muscular, attractive, dark hair and dark eyes. I’ve seen him before though, and the memory hits me like a knife wound.
He was there when Saro got killed.
“They’re almost ready for you,” he says, looking at me like I’m an unpleasant stain on the carpet. “You should come out.”
“Uh, are there other people here?”
“Just me and the priest.” He looks away, back over his shoulder. “I’m Tigran. Arsen’s brother.”
“Oh. His brother.” It isn’t lost on me that I had no clue what my future husband’s brother looks like. That’s probably not the best way to start a marriage. “My name’s Lena. I know this is weird—”
“Just come out when you’re ready.” He walks away. I’m left stunned. It was like he hates me, but I don’t even know the guy. Except there’s clearly more going on here than I realized, and now I’m starting to shake with nerves.
I don’t want to do this.
But it’s the right decision for my family. This way, my mom and dad will be taken care of financially, and I’ll be able to have my baby without worrying about them. Maybe Arsen will make a good husband and father, or maybe he’ll be a total nightmare, but either way I’ll figure out how to deal with it.
I’m not going to cry right now.
My legs feel heavy as I walk back out into the living room. The priest is an older man. He looks tired and haggard, and gives me a little smile when I show my face. Arsen turns to look at me—
And his face brightens.
It’s strange. I’m not even sure it’s real. But one second, he’s chatting with the old man, and the next he’s looking at me like I’m the only ray of sunlight on a cloudy day.
Like he’s basking in me.
“Let’s get this over with,” Tigran says. He’s in the kitchen pouring himself a drink.
Arsen looks away from me and his expression fades. “I don’t want to hear any more from you.”
“Why not, big brother? I can’t comment on this fucking farce?”
“Tigran.” Arsen’s tone is low and warning.
“The girl’s nobody. What the hell are we even doing here? She’s pretty, sure, but she’s just some Russian chick with frizzy hair and bad nails.”
I look down at my hands. Bad nails? They’re not perfect, but come on. That actually stings.
Arsen marches over to his brother. Tigran steps back, but Arsen doesn’t hesitate. He swings a fist and slams it straight into his brother’s face. Tigran’s jaw slams back and he grunts in surprise, collapsing back against the counter. The two men glare at each other, neither of them backing down, and I’m pretty sure my wedding night is about to turn into an outright brawl.
“She is going to be my wife,” Arsen says, his voice a dark threat. “You can talk to me like that, but you will respect her.”
“You’re going to fight me over some fucking—”
Arsen raises his fists again. “My wife,” he snarls.
There’s another horrible moment where I’m sure they’re going to kill each other. But Tigran finally curses, grabs the bottle of whiskey, and takes a long pull. “Fuck it. Here’s to your marriage, brother.” He shoves the bottle over to Arsen, who takes a quick sip.