“You are married to him now, dear.”
“So then we’ll be the first people in history to get divorced,” I seethe sarcastically.
“But think of the opportunity that this marriage could give you. You’d have real power. The ability to control your fate.”
I snort. “As if he’d give me that kind of freedom.”
“He can be reasoned with. He’s not all monster.”
“No, just part monster,” I say. “That’s so much better.”
“What I’m trying to say is that he will not hurt you if you don’t give him a reason to.”
“So I’m expected to be the obedient little doormat, am I?”
She shrugs. “There are worse things in life.”
“Worse than being turned into a glorified housekeeper?”
It’s a cruel barb, and unnecessary. As misguided as she is, she does think she’s trying to help. I shouldn’t attack her so viciously. Not like it’s gonna do anything positive for me, anyway.
Yulia freezes for a moment before she regains her composure. “I found my place in this world. It was more than I ever expected from my life.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
She nods sadly. “I was born poor. I grew up poor. When I caught Aleksandr’s father’s eye, everything changed for me. I got to experience a different kind of life. The kind of life that gave me more than just the gnawing futility of uncertainty.”
“Very poetic,” I say. “But can you honestly sit there and tell me you were free?”
“Freedom is overrated when you don’t have options, Olivia.”
“Maybe it was for you,” I say. “But I do have options. I have a life in New York. I have a career and friends and family. But my career is crumbling because I’m trapped here, my friends are probably wondering why I disappeared, and my family is worried shitless about me. Aleks is ripping every single option away from me.”
She nods in sympathy. “You’ll have your friends and your family back one day.”
“You really think he’ll let me see them?”
“He will,” she says. “When he can be sure of your loyalty.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “How could I ever be loyal to someone like him?”
She cocks her head to the side. “Sometimes, it’s just about appearances, Olivia. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”
I stop short as understanding hits me sideways. “Are you telling me to fake it?”
“Like I said, I will try and help you any way I can, in the ways I’m able.”
“Does he know you’re up here with me?”
“Yes. I was sent to tell you the rules. About what it takes to be a Bratva wife.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh goody, I was hoping to hear the do’s and don’ts. This should be fun.”
“Loyalty and obedience,” she says, ignoring my sarcasm.
My eyes haven’t even finished rolling before I’m rolling them again. “Shocking.”
“You will be expected to maintain decorum in front of his men and his business associates.”
“When would I even meet them?”
“There are dinners and events to go to. As his wife, you will accompany him.”
I frown. “I’ll opt out, then.”
“I doubt you’ll be given the choice.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” I snap. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
“He is don,” Yulia says, her expression ironing out into deadly seriousness. “In this house, his power is absolute. Don’t cross him, Olivia. He’s not the merciful type.”
“Now, you are trying to scare me, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a little,” she admits. “But you’d do well to heed my advice. Whatever he does, you cannot and should not question it. It is expected that he will most likely have other women—”
“Whoa, hold up,” I blurt. “It’s expected?”
“It’s common, at least. Many dons partake in… extramarital affairs.”
“And their wives are fine with it?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” she says with a tired sigh. “More that they have to accept it.”
“Did you?” She stops short, and I instantly feel bad for asking. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she says quickly. “I did accept it. Whenever I was relegated to my bedroom in the opposite wing of the house, I told myself that it was for the best.”
I stare at her in horror. “He would bring other women here? He would sleep with them in your bed?”
“His bed,” she corrects. “Everything was his. Still is, in many ways.”
“So you’re telling me that if Aleks decides to sleep with a bunch of different women right in front of my face, I’m supposed to just pretend like I don’t see it?”
“Precisely.”
I snort. “Yeah, that’s never gonna happen.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Why on earth would I be okay with that?”
“Expecting loyalty and commitment from a partner only comes when feelings are involved,” she says. “I didn’t think that was the case for you and Aleksandr.”
At those words, my skin starts tingling with warning.
“It isn’t the case,” I say firmly, despite the fact that my cheeks are raging with color.
“Then why should any of this matter? I am simply giving you the instruction manual for a peaceful life.”
I open my mouth and shut it again. I have no answer, no defense. No way of getting myself out of this other than to feign indifference.
“It… it doesn’t matter,” I say. “But… if I have to suffer in this sham of a marriage, then so does he.”
“You weren’t listening, were you? He is don. He has all the power, Olivia.” Yulia smiles sympathetically. “The way you get ahead is to think smart and behave smarter. But if you take any one piece of advice from me, take this one: a woman can’t get anywhere in the Bratva life without a strong man to back her.”
I snort. “Noted. Very progressive of you all.”
“And in the absence of a strong man,” she continues, “you have to be shrewd and sly and devious. You have to make him think he’s in control.”
“I’d like a third option,” I grumble.
“Then run,” she says simply. “But be prepared to keep running. Because if you leave, he will look for you. And he will never stop looking.”
A part of me wonders if she’s playing reverse psychology on me. If she’s here trying to earn my trust and manipulate me on behalf of her son.
But there’s a desperate look in her eyes that I believe is sincere. She’s just as trapped, just as stuck as I am.
Besides, I have to trust her. There’s power in numbers, right? There has to be.
I can’t afford to do this alone.
21
ALEKS
“Anything?” I ask, glancing towards Demyan.
“Radio silence,” he reports. “It looks like Rob finally took you seriously.”