Page 5 of Beautiful Enemy

“Well your daughter is twenty-one now. She’s an adult. You can’t force her to talk to you if she doesn’t want to. Now, leave.”

“Nadia?” my father snaps. “Tell him. Tell him that I’m going to walk you down the aisle.”

I hesitate. It should be so easy to say but it’s not. Too much baggage from years of pain with him. I can’t say anything.

“Leave,” Anya says, standing up. Erik silently checks in with her and she nods, telling him she’s ok. “Leave. Nadia doesn’t want you to walk her down the aisle. So just go.”

He glares at both me and Anya. It’s so intense and cold and scary that it makes all the air leave my body. Then he leaves the room, taking the coldness with him.

I slump against a nearby chair. “He still scares me.”

“I know.” Anya pulls me into a hug. “Are you ok?”

“I should be the one asking you that. He hurt you. Again. He didn’t hurt me.”

“What he did to me doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re ok.”

I look up at my big sister in wonder. She’s so intent on making sure I’m safe, she never worries about her own self. I wish I could be just as selfless as her. She doesn’t even know that I would give up my life to save her own.

If I found the courage to do so, that is. I’m still working on that part.

“Are you both ok?” Erik asks.

“Yes.” Anya squeezes his hand. “My hair is ruined but I can quickly fix it. Why is he even here, Erik?”

“Because I couldn’t stop him from attending his own daughter’s wedding. He played a part in the deal with Viktor. I know he still works with Viktor in some regards. I couldn’t exactly kick him out but trust me, I wanted to. If I had my way, I would have stomped right on his face.”

I shiver. Erik used to be known as The Boogeyman when him and Anya married four years ago. He was known for the torture he would do to his enemies. I’ve seen softer sides of him since then so I know he’s not a monster.

But that doesn’t make him a good man. He still has a darkness inside of him. Does Viktor have that same darkness? Will I have to fear my husband once we’re married? There’s so much I don’t know about Viktor. So much to uncover. The unknown is terrifying.

“But I will make sure he doesn’t get close to you again,” Erik says. “I know you might be scared after what just happened, so I’ll give you two a minute. But then the wedding does need to start.”

I nod. I know my duty.

Erik leaves us and I help Anya fix her hair, neither of us speaking. There’s a silent bond between us. We just survived another encounter with our father and hopefully one day, we’ll never have to deal with him again.

Once Anya and I calm down, we head out of the hotel with Erik beside us and go over to the chapel. All of our guests have arrived by now. There’s no one outside waiting. It’s almost eerie, like an old Victorian graveyard.

“I’m going in,” Anya tells me. “Good luck.” She gives me one more hug before heading into the chapel, leaving me and Erik alone.

He slides my hand into the crook of his arm and then we’re walking into the chapel ourselves. All of our guests stand up as the music begins. There’s at least fifty people in attendance, most of them Erik’s men or Viktor’s men. People I barely know but I have met in passing. Some I’ve never met at all.

This wedding isn’t for me. It’s for Viktor and his status. It’s to show us off for his reputation. All Bratva men do it.

Viktor stands at the end of the aisle with a priest, looking handsome in a navy suit. His dark hair is a little ruffled and his stubble defines his jaw, reminding me that he’s not a young boy. He’s a man. He’ll soon be my husband. He’ll soon consume all of me.

My hand tightens on Erik’s arm.

I manage to walk down the aisle without stumbling. My eyes catch my father, who’s sitting in a pew, glaring at me, sulking. I quickly look away.

Viktor doesn’t smile at me but neither does he glare. His expression is just neutral. Neither happy or sad. He knew this day was coming just like I did. He’s not marrying me for love but for strength.

I don’t take it personally. It’s what people do within the Bratva. They marry for political gain, and rarely love.

I reach the end of the aisle and Erik places my hand in Viktor’s. I stand before the man who will become my husband.

“We are gathered here today,” the priest begins, “to witness the joining of these two lives in holy matrimony.”

---