Page 31 of Summoned
Boyana leans in, whispering in my ear, “See the blonde next to Nikolai Tanev?”
She tilts her chin toward a nearby table where a platinum-haired woman with a plunging neckline sits beside a man at least thirty years her senior. Most men wouldn’t dare bring their young mistresses to formal events. With Tanev’s wife gone, there’s little reason for restraint.
“I see her. And?”
Boyana sips her champagne, prolonging the moment, a coy smile tugging at her lips. “Quite the story. She poisoned Tanev’s wife and took her place.”
I arch a skeptical eyebrow. “Didn’t his wife die of cancer?”
“She did. But the mistress was her nurse. You can imagine how easy it would be to… help things along. Prettytoxicologicalsituation, right?” Boyana’s smile widens.
“You’re telling me all this gossip is coming from somedesperate socialites?”
She shrugs. “I’m just saying. When a nurse moves into a millionaire’s home a month after his wife’s funeral, questions tend to answer themselves.”
I survey the blonde woman’s demeanor for a while. Her face glows with barely restrained admiration when she stares at Tanev. Or is itcalculatedadmiration? Love or transaction? One’s an illusion. The other, a well-considered investment.
“Bo, what do you think of Daniel Deliberov?” I ask in a low tone.
“In what sense?”
“So… is he a good match?”
Boyana toys with the rim of her glass before glancing up. “Oh, absolutely… if you’re into men who are into men.”
“Thank God!” Relief washes over me. For a moment, I almost thought the rumors might be false—that he might really want me as a wife.
Boyana’s brow furrows. “Wait… did I miss something?”
I weigh how much I’m willing to share. My rule is to keep my issues to myself. Exposing weakness is how you end up crushed beneath someone’s heel. But this whole thing is so absurd, I just need someone to voice it out loud to. “My father’s decided Daniel’s the perfect match for me,” I say through clenched teeth.
Boyana freezes for a second. “Wait, wait… what?!”
I swirl the wine in my glass. “You heard me.”
She chokes on a laugh, biting her lip to keep it in. “And did you tell him Daniel is…?”
I shrug. “To my father, that’s irrelevant.”
“Of course it is!” She shakes her head, and another giggle slips out. “He’s probably already planning the wedding and the honeymoon suite. Until you manufacture an heir!”
“Shhh! I don’t want anyone to overhear.”
“All right, all right… But honestly, I’m not surprised. The Sotirovs married off their daughter to one of the Borisovs’ boys, even though Kalina was seeing some broke musician and swore she’d slit her wrists if they forced her into it… And what about Deborah from class B? She’s engaged to her father’s business partner. But she’s happy. Always said money matters more than love… And Desislava—”
Boyana continues listing girl after girl, each trapped in their own pre-arranged fairytale. Deborah. Kalina. Desislava. They’ve always been the dolled-up lapdogs, trained to sit pretty and wait for a master. They’re not like me. I’m a lioness. I fought my way to the top in my smaller battlefield, and I’m ready to do the same in the real world. But I can’t do it on a leash.
“See, those things happen. Like cancer.” She nods toward Tanev’s table. “That’s why I plan to find my mysterious man and emigrate with him, before my parents come up with any catastrophic ideas.”
For fuck’s sake, she’s still thinking about Branimir. Maybe I should just tell her the truth, so she stops making wedding plans—
Boyana nudges me. “Your dad’s calling you.”
My head turns toward his table. He makes a subtle gesture with his hand. Despite every fiber in me wanting to ignore him, I grit my teeth and get up from my seat. I walk over with straight shoulders and a faint smile, barely masking my simmering irritation.
My mother gives me a silent warning.
“Do you remember the youngest Deliberov son, Nicole?” my father asks, as if we hadn’t spent the entire car ride dissecting the boy’s LinkedIn profile. He nods to the gaunt young man seated a few chairs down.
