Page 16 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

Daniil laughed quietly from behind us, the low sound almost grating to me then. “We’re blending in nicely around here now.”

If my feelings had been completely detached, I would’ve at least chuckled at that once. I would’ve been able to see the humor in the typical situation, of getting hitched for the sake of the family business.

Before, it would’ve seemed like nothing at all—a small moment to forget about while I reaped the rewards instead. But then and there, with the weight of my guilt bringing me down little by little, I could only force air from my nose and keep walking.

Eventually, my brothers saw us off as we got into the SUV, and as the door shut behind me, the driver started for the house.

Lara was painfully quiet in the back seat beside me, keeping her gaze fixed squarely out the window as the city passed by.

It was difficult to believe she had been my fiery Levov Princess before. The one who could stand her ground and return that attitude whenever she needed to. Since the moment I dragged her into that chapel and put the ring on her finger, she had been silent.

That tension from her made me feel uneasy, and while I was determined to not show it, I couldn’t help but feel like that iron grip on the situation was slowly slipping from my fingers.

I wanted to say something to her—anything, whether it be a comment about the ceremony, about us being legally married, or even how beautiful I thought she looked in the dress that had been hastily picked for her.

I knew none of those things would help either of us. There was no need to add more fuel to the fire, especially given how numb and emotionally removed she looked.

Regardless of my guilt and the slight doubt that had crept in when I needed it to the least, there was nothing I could do about it then. It was done, and we were married. I couldn’t back out or let those pesky feelings get in the way of my goals.

At the end of the day, I officially had myself a wife, and she would come around to me eventually. She had to.

That was my hope, anyway.

Chapter 9 - Lara

I felt like a little girl playing dress-up for a mock wedding—something dramatic and orchestrated for the entertainment factor alone—but the damning truth of it was impossible to swallow, and much more depressing than that.

As the driver moved us through the city while the sunset glowed against the high-rise buildings, I couldn’t see any beauty in it. Not when my life had been changed so completely, and Alex didn’t even have anything to say about it.

The whole ceremony was nothing but humiliating. I felt like a poor daughter given away to some stranger as an advantageous move by her father, all to form an alliance or maintain a social standing of some kind.

But the situation was even worse. I wasn’t sold off for the benefit of my family. Instead, I had been taken and forced into the arrangement.

I heard horror stories before about forced marriages and how miserable those women ended up if they managed to survive at all. Even if it sounded completely made up, I knew those situations really did happen. I just never thought I’d find myself in a similar one.

My brothers never once forced the idea of marriage on me. They made it very clear that it was my choice, and they wanted nothing to do with it.

Our family was well off enough that arranged marriages between other crime families weren’t all that necessary. If anything, my brothers put themselves in those positions for their own gain, rather than selling me off like a prized lamb.

Still, despite the grace and consideration they extended to me, I ended up the bride of a stranger anyway.

Even thinking about it made my heart drop.

I hated how he had complete control of the situation, and I hated that brief flicker of weakness that crossed my mind—the rogue thought that despite the circumstances I found myself in, I couldn’t deny how good Alex had looked while we stood in the chapel together. How his formal wear hugged his body perfectly, and if things were different, I wouldn’t have minded the idea of having that connection with him.

But I knew better than that, and I had to force myself to forget all about it.

I was angry and embarrassed, even if I kept it hidden.

During the drive, I tried my hardest to keep it down and to seem indifferent. It wasn’t all an act though—I really did feel empty inside, knowing my freedom had been restricted even more. Aware that with every passing moment, I didn’t see my brothers, the more likely I’d be stuck with Alex.

I didn’t know how long it might last, but every second felt like agony. There was no questioning how he would expect me to just accept it and adapt, but that seemed impossible.

With my family, I had only ever known relative freedom. Thanks to Ari and his sacrifices, I never saw the hardships he did. I was only ever taken care of and allowed to be as selfish as I wanted to be.

But given everything that had happened, it felt like my entire existence had been flipped upside down. Everything I had ever known was reversed like it was nothing at all, and trying to grasp that was undeniably difficult.

As much as I wanted to try and blame myself for not accepting everything, one glaringly obvious fact didn’t go missed—Alex had done it to me. He was the one who purchased me at the auction and forced me into his life regardless of what Ithought. He forced me into marrying him without any second option.

---