Page 26 of Craving Dahlia

9

DAHLIA

Ithink Evelyn planned to put me in a car that would take me back to my apartment, and then go back into the house to defuse things between Dimitri and Alek. But she takes one look at my face as the car pulls up to the steps of the estate, shakes her head, and slides in after me.

“I’m not marrying him.” I press my lips together, glaring at the doors of the house as if at any minute, Dimitri is going to come out and demand once more that Alek and I agree to his insane suggestion. “He can’t make me.”

“No, he can’t.” Evelyn rubs my shoulder reassuringly. “It’s Alek he’s upset with, not you. And I know he thinks Alek should do the right thing. He forgot, in all of that, that your agency in this matters, too. Men like Dimitri…” she laughs. “They can be high-handed, sometimes. I stand up to Dimitri, and he likes it. But he’s not used to it from everyone.”

“You don’t think I should marry Alek, do you?”

To my shock, Evelyn hesitates. “Is your father still threatening to cut you off if you don’t marry this man that he’s trying to arrange a match with?”

I nod shakily, biting my lip. “Yes. And not just financially, but from my family entirely. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I was in the middle of talking to Jude at the party when…”

I swallow hard, my throat tightening, and Evelyn moves her hand between my shoulder blades, still rubbing soothingly.

“Do you want to marry him? Jude, I mean.”

I shoot her a confused look. “Do you really need to ask?”

“Before all of this, no. But you went home, and you said you’re conflicted. With everything that’s happening…yes, actually. I want to hear what your answer would be.”

It’s nearly automatic. I shake my head before the words are even fully out of her mouth. “No. I don’t. I can’t imagine marrying him. Even if I hadn’t gotten sick at the party, I could barely get through a single conversation with him. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life like that.”

“And once you tell your father that, you’re going to be on your own.” The words drop heavily into the air between us. “Dahlia, you know I’ll help in any way I can. If I thought I could get Dimitri to move you into the mansion, I would…and before this, maybe I could have talked him into breaking convention and doing that. But now, Alek is staying there. And Dimitri isn’t going to just give up the idea that it’s best if the two of you get married.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.” I look out of the window, feeling my stomach sink. “You think I should marry him?”

“You’re absolutely sure it’s his? Best friend to best friend, there’s no doubt in your mind?”

I shake my head, feeling my eyes burning again. “I wish there was,” I whisper. “I wish there was anyone else it might be. But I’m sure. It can’t be anyone else.”

“Then maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Evelyn says hesitantly. “These men—men like Dimitri—they’re good men.Rough around the edges, and brutal, and sometimes difficult, but good.Honorable. And if you marry him, he has to take care of you. Youandthe baby?—”

“He said he wanted nothing to do with it. He basically implied that there’s no way I wasn’t sleeping around enough that I could know for sure it was his.” I shake my head. “He’s notgood. And I don’t even know if I’m keeping it. I don’t know ifIwant the baby.”

Evelyn nods. “Fair enough. And you know I’ll support you no matter what. I’m just saying…being a part of this family isn’t the worst thing in the world. And you’d be taken care of. Protected.”

I swallow hard, nodding as I squeeze her hand. I know she’s looking out for me. Trying to find a way to make all of this easier—trying to find a way to help me.

But now it’s more complicated than ever.

“If Idowant to keep it…” I bite my lip, the words sounding foreign as I say them out loud. “Maybe my father will help me. Jude won’t want to marry me, if I’m having someone else’s baby. But maybe my father will be willing to forget about that and help me out, if he knows about it. My mother will want me to keep it, and he probably will too, just for his public image.” I swallow hard. “I’m not going to have a babyjustfor that reason, but if that’s what I decide I want…”

“It’s worth a try,” Evelyn says encouragingly. “He’ll find out anyway, one way or another. So maybe he will help, if that’s what you choose.”

“Then I wouldn’t need to rely on Alek. I don’t want to rely on him anyway,” I add, bitterness lacing my voice as the driver pulls onto the street that leads to my apartment. “I don’t ever want to see him again.”

“That might be hard, since he’s Dimitri’s brother,” Evelyn says hesitantly. “I don’t know how long he’s staying for. But I’lltry to make sure he’s not around, if you come over. Or I’ll just come over here, with you, if you need me.”

I nod, my stomach tightening at the idea of Alek staying. At the thought that I might not be able to visit Evelyn again without him being there, just around the corner, like a bad memory that won’t stop lingering.

“Do you want me to come up with you?” Evelyn asks as the car pulls up to my apartment building, and I shake my head.

“No. Thank you. But I think I’m just going to go up. I need some time to process…all of this.”

Evelyn nods. “Okay. I’m just a text or call away if you need me. Any time of the day or night, you know that.”

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