Page 20 of Devil's Bride

“Speak before I change my mind,” she says. She turns off the cooker and shifts her full attention on me.

I tap the island. I have so many questions, but I don’t know how many I’ll get to ask before she becomes grumpy and dismisses me. If I wanted to, I could use my power as her new mistress to get all I want from her, but I’m not that kind of person and bullying her into giving me answers goes against the friendship I’m trying to build.

“How would you describe Alexei?” I hear myself ask. I didn’t give much thought to that question, but I’d seriously like to know regardless.

“He’s not as terrible as people think he is,” Nina answers easily. “He does what he needs to because of who he is, but the man’s got a good heart.”

I bite back a scoff. I don’t think Alexei and good heart fit in the same sentence. He’s nothing but a cruel Bratva boss.

Nina lifts a brow. “You don’t look like you believe me.”

There’s no use lying if she can see through my lies that easily. “To be quite honest, I don’t,” I answer. “He has a reputation that’s far off from what you’re describing him to be.”

She shakes her head, a bit exasperated. “Listen, child. Alexei is cruel. Even I am terrified of him sometimes and I basically raised him, but he’s been through so much. The kid watched his mother die and then kicked out of his home, both by his own father. Do you think he made it all the way to this age by being a good guy? He’d be dead if he hadn’t become who he is.”

My stomach churns and the kitchen grows so quiet I can hear the chirping of birds outside.

Alexei watched his mother die at the hands of his father? I taste bile rising up my throat because I can’t imagine my father being that kind of man to my mother. I wouldn’t be able to stomach it, to say nothing of a child having to witness it.

My chest constricts with a pang of emotion. It’s weird, but I feel sorry for Alexei. There’s no way he’d grow up a normal child after witnessing something so terrifying.

“I didn’t know that,” I mutter, dragging my fork across my plate. “That must’ve been hard on him.”

She sneers. “Hard? He was never the same again.” There’s fury in her voice as if even she detests what he went through. “There are many things you do not know, rebenok. Get close to him and find out for yourself, give your marriage a chance.”

Get close to him. Find out for yourself. Give your marriage a chance.

For a second, I almost let myself take her advice. I almost want to nod and tell her I’ll try, but I don’t. This marriage is sham and it’ll never be anything more than that. But I also can’t deny I want to know more about Alexei.

A part of me wants to comfort him for everything he’s been through even though I know I shouldn’t. He forced me into a marriage I didn’t want to be part of, and he’s a cold-blooded killer. A mafia boss who does nothing but terrorize the whole of New York.

I finish my breakfast without saying another word to Nina. I offer to do the dishes but she strongly refuses so I just prop my hip against the kitchen counter and wait for her.

When she’s done, she dries her hands, her attention fixed on me. “Would you like me to show you around the mansion now?”

I shrug. I’m a new wife and it looks like I’m going to be here for a while, so I might as well get used to the place. “If you can, sure.”

She nods. “I’ll show you to the patio first.”

I follow her lead around the house. The mansion is larger than I even imagined. There are two dining rooms, two living rooms - with one specially reserved for playing games, and a library as big as a palace.

The place that catches my attention the most is the patio where we got married. It the flowery scent and the picturesque view is heaven. The flowers are especially beautiful when there’s a soft breeze rustling them. It’s a perfect place to read a book, host a guest over tea, and watch the sunset.

Our last stop is in a room with a large piano and a cello. The piano sits near a glass wall at the end of the room as if whoever owned it liked to bathe in the sunset as they played.

“Wow,” I whisper, peering around as I walk inside. There are music notes stacked beside the piano and one tucked in front of it. “It’s beautiful here.”

And it’s quiet. I can almost taste the sadness of this place.

“It belonged to his mother,” Nina says behind me. She gives the piano an emotional stare.

I whirl around. “She used to play these?”

Nina nods. “She was good at it. This was the only place where she could find some peace. Alexei loved to hear her play as a child.”

I open my mouth to say something, but my chest constricts so much that it is hard for me to speak. “I didn’t know… that.”

I don’t know anything about Alexei or his mother. I know nothing about his pain and the burdens he carries. The only thing I’ve ever let myself learn about him is his cruelty. Even now, when I’m feeling so sad for him, I don’t want to let myself know more. I’ll only grow weaker if I do.

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