Page 2 of Beautiful Enemy

“Ok then. Let’s get you dressed and ready.”

Within the hour, I’m in my wedding dress – a simple conservative gown that covers my arms and legs. I was raised to hide my body away. I still can’t fully shake the teachings my father instilled in me, even though I hate him.

My hair is around my shoulders in simple waves. I look elegant. For the first time in my life, I look like a woman.

“You’re beautiful,” Anya whispers, hugging me from behind as we look in the mirror.

My inhale is shaky. “I’m ready to go.”

We walk down the stairs of Anya and Erik’s large, gorgeous home. Erik’s original home was blown up in a fight with a scary Italian man named Dante Moretti. Erik tried to kill him but didn’t succeed. He’s been waiting for Dante to strike for the past two years but he never did. I’m not sure what happened to him. No one is.

Their new house is a better fit for them since they were able to choose it together. I hope one day I can have a good enough marriage with Viktor that we can make big decisions together. I want to be treated like anequal.

But mostly, I want to be listened to. My father never did. His constant dismissals always hurt.

Erik is waiting for us in the foyer. Handsome in a rugged dark brooding prince kind of way. I don’t have any romantic feelings for my brother-in-law but I can recognize that he is handsome. So is Viktor, so at least there’s that. I’m not marrying an ugly, old man.

“You look beautiful, Nadia,” he tells me.

I give him a shy smile, ducking my head. Whenever I’m around men, my shyness comes out in tenfold. “Thank you.”

Erik’s eyes slide over to Anya. “You didn’t try to get her to escape?”

“I offered but she wasn’t having it.”

They share a smile between them. The way they’ve become so at ease with each other is a beautiful sight.

Erik turns back to me. “It’s time to go.”

The wedding is being held in a beautiful glass chapel in the woods, about an hour away from the city. Viktor is more reserved. I know he wanted a wedding away from the chaos of New York.

Across from the chapel is a rustic hotel where the reception will take place. It’s where I’m at now as we wait for more guests to arrive. Anya and I hunker down in one of the hotel’s largest suites.

When someone knocks on the door, Anya opens it, revealing Ivan Romanov and his wife, Viktoriya, and their eighteen year old daughter Elena.

Ivan is a partner of Erik’s, despite some troubles they faced in the past. Mainly, Anya killing one of Ivan’s men in self-defense to protect both me and Elena. Ivan has never quite forgiven her for that.

But he and I have no troubles between us.

“I just wanted to come and wish you congratulations,” he says, taking my hand and shaking it with wild abandon.

“Yes, congratulations,” Viktoriya says with an upturned nose. “Though I wouldn’t have chosen that particular dress. It dwarfs you, girl.”

“Nadia’s dress is beautiful,” Anya says pointedly.

“Don’t mind my wife. She just says what’s on her mind.”

“That’s the problem,” Anya mutters under her breath so only I can hear, making me smile.

“I think you look pretty,” Elena says. She’s come into her own over the past four years, even though she still has a lot of awkward teenage-ness to her. She holds her arms around her body like she’s unsure of it. It wasn’t that long ago I was exactly like her. I still am her in so many ways.

“You should look like that,” Viktorya says to Elena. “Graceful. Elegant. Instead, your hair is a mess.” Shetsks, running her hand through Elena’s brown hair. Her own blonde hair is in a perfect updo.

Elena’s shoulders slump. “I tried to make it look nice. I had to do it on my own.”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I think Elena looks beautiful,” I cut in. “Your dress is really pretty.”

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