Page 35 of No Longer Safe

“Tsk, tsk, is this the bride-to-be?” A raspy voice said above me and I almost shot up from where I was lounging. Thankgoodness I hadn’t because if I had, I would have head-butted a very old, feeble-looking woman.

From upside down, she looked like any old granny, but when she came around the couch and looked me up and down, I saw that she wasn’t just any granny. She was a very posh nana. No grannies here.

“Well?” She poked me with her cane and I was taken out of my dumbfoundedness.

“That’s not the bride-to-be, Grandmother.”

Oh, not even a nana present. Lovely.

Alexei followed his grandmother around the couch and smiled down at me. It wasn’t a friendly smile, no it was a smile of someone ready to do wicked things. I sat up slowly, watching the cane as I did so. She seemed ready to wack anyone with it that misbehaved and I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

“This is Carina’s sister, Audrey.”

I held my hand out to her, and instead of getting a shake like I thought, with a loudwackher cane connected with the back of my hand. I yanked my hurt appendage to my chest and looked at Alexei with sheer horror.

When she turned around to inspect the space, now finally ignoring me, I mouthedWHAT THE FUCKat Alexei. He shrugged his suit-clad shoulders and followed his grandmother around the room.

“Is she living here with him?” She stuck her nose up and I watched as Alexei briefly closed his eyes before answering.

“Yes, Grandmother.”

“Hmph,” She shook her head. “Not on my watch. Living in sin! How dare they!”

There was no way I wanted to be in this old hag’s presence any longer. I got off of the couch really slowly and tiptoed to the stairs.

“Audrey will be staying here with Carina and Ace.”

The old woman turned her narrowed bright eyes on me and I felt the floor fall out from beneath my feet. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Are you sharing a room with them?”

What the fuck, indeed?

I shook my head, unsure of where this insane situation was taking me.

“That means you aren’t preventing premarital relations.” She sighed as if that were my actual wedding duty. I decided right then and there, I hated rich people, every single one of them. Ace was included if it meant I had to put up with this for the rest of the wedding celebrations.

“We will be staying at my parent’s estate for the rest of the week, we just thought it cruel to force the girls to travel so much in a few days. They need rest.”

The woman, who looked feeble but certainly was not, marched across the space between us and poked me with her cane again, but this time much softer. “Hmmm, I can see you look rather fatigued. I am sorry for striking you with my cane. All of this is not how it’s done.”

Unsure of what to do with myself, I cleared my throat. “How is it supposed to be done?”

The woman straightened up and scowled. “The marriage arrangements are usually made a few months in advance and then they marry within a few days of the contract being signed.”

My mouth went dry. Contract? What were we cattle?

“Then it’s a good thing that this was a love match, Grandmother.”

“Bah! Love? Who marries for love? We marry for influence! We marry for convenience. We marry for the money we will make. That is how your grandfather did it when we married, your father before you, and of course…” She slapped his cheek,with somewhat loving affection. “You will do the same, just as Ace.”

My eyes rounded and as soon as Grandmother couldn’t see Alexei’s face, he shot me a warning look. Grandmother didn’t know that Carina didn’t have any of those things. Oh this was wonderful. She was going to murder us all.

“I am ready to retire, boy.” She clacked her cane on the back of Alexei’s leg and he hobbled up the stairs to show her to her room. At least I wasn’t the only one on the other end of the abuse.

“Your nana is interesting,”I would have never called her that to her face but it seemed fitting now that Alexei and I were alone.

He snickered. “That is not my nana. My nana will be here tomorrow.”

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