Page 31 of Used By the Merciless Bratva
It had been a while since I last tasted ice cream.
“I’m in.”
***
“It’s okay,” I stated for the umpteenth time.
The makeup artist kept asking if every single thing she applied was okay—and I had the same answer. I would have ignored her if she didn’t seem unnaturally eager to please. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sava told me she was threatened with a gun to her head to do a good job.
It was Saturday morning.
My wedding day.
And there was no way to describe how I felt. It went beyond anger, regret, or even resentment. I was simply going through the motions with my mind switched off.
Sava had practically dragged me out of bed about two hours ago.
I was currently sitting on a chair and facing a dresser that Sava had brought from somewhere I didn’t care enough to know. As she applied the finishing touches, I gazed at the mirror.
The makeup artist did a great job of making me look like a beautiful bride. The soft pink shade on my eyebrows brightened my eyes, and the extra-thick mascara added just the right amount of boldness. The pink-tinted lip gloss had an extra shimmer that highlighted the fullness of my lips. A smile would have made me look like a happy bride, if I were getting married to any other man in the world.
The door opened, and Sava stepped in.
I turned toward the door to roll my eyes at his enthusiastic energy that did the opposite of rubbing off on me, and he replied with an even wider grin. Just as I was about to turn back to the mirror in front of me, he took a small step to the side. That was when I saw the blonde head just behind him.
That golden blonde hair was unmistakable.
Could it be…?
“Hi, babes.”
I all but flew out of the chair as my eyes landed on Marielle’s grinning face.
Our bodies collided in a tight hug as she met me halfway.
Something seemed to melt inside me as the tears spilled without restrictions. The last time I saw her, my life was going steadily, just as planned. But today, everything was going off track.
Seeing someone familiar, particularly my best friend, in such a time when life seemed to be going against me was enough to make me break down.
“Marielle?!” I enthused. “How are you here? Who told you?”
“I’ve missed you so much, Kat!” she confessed as she held me at arm’s length.
“You two know each other?” Sava inquired. “I thought this was a ‘welcome to the family’ visit.”
“Well, it’s that too,” Marielle answered, dabbing gently at my face with a white handkerchief.
“Marielle is my best friend,” I told him, and his eyes dilated.
“Are you kidding?! Did the Yezhovs take an oath to reap the hottest women from the surface of the earth?” he queried.
“The Yezhovs?” I repeated, looking from Sava to my best friend.
“There’s a lot of explaining to do,” she disclosed, glancing at the makeup artist standing beside the dresser. “Can they excuse us?”
“Sure,” Sava mentioned, signaling to the young lady to leave.
“And you, too, mister,” Marielle answered, a small smile on her face.
