Kapitel 2: All I Ever Wanted
(IVANNA)
"Wedding?" I screech. No. no. This can't be happening. I'm supposed to be going to college. My mother made my fatter promise that all the three of us would go to college, yet he is already backing on that promise. She wanted all three of us to be educated before marriage, and I was counting on that. "What wedding?"
"Quiet Ivanna." My father hisses with a stern look on his face.
I glance at my cousin, hoping to find some answers. But Ivan won't look me in the eye. I have a feeling that whatever is going on here is about to be bad. Really bad. I know that because on a normal day, Ivan would relish in my unhappiness, yet now he won't even look at me.
One of Sakharov's men enters and whispers something in his ear. I notice how Sergio's lips curl as he listens then he waves the man away shortly after. His gaze then returns to my father then he says, "The wedding will take place tomorrow at my home in Tyva. We leave tomorrow."
Tyva? What the fuck is happening?
The lines in my father's forehead deepen. 'B…but what about me and my family? We have a right to have a say in―"
Sergio stiffens and shoots my father a glare that doesn't need an explanation. "Be very careful, Misha." He says sternly. "You lost your right to talk when you lost my shipment."
The moment stretches for longer than it actually should and for a beat, everyone is silent. Never once have I seen anyone put my father in his place. No one has ever dared to. Who is this man? I hold my breath until my father finally holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry." He apologizes.
His apology appears to appease Sergio. Even so, I still have no idea what they were talking about. Unable to hold onto my patience any longer, I blurt out. "Can somebody please tell me what this is about?"
Sergio looks at me menacingly then takes a step closer until he towers over me. His eyes are so gray. They look anything but angry. I don't understand what is so amusing about this situation. "You have quite the spirit. That is good, Malishka. You are going to need it."
He circles me then walks to the door, trailed by the five men who accompanied him here. "I expect her to be ready by then, Misha." He says over his shoulder.
My chest burns with anger. Such an entitled bastard. Expect me to be ready? Like I'm some piece of luggage that he wants to cart off? No one is taking me to Tyva. I'm going to college. I'm not going to get married off to some entitled scary Russian man who is most likely in the mafia.
The door closes and I round up to my father. "Pa, what is this all about?"
He drags his palm over his face then slumps into a chair nearby. Uncle Vasili and Ivan don't move an inch. The rest of my father's men leave the room. Everyone's actions are absurd and do little to lessen my anxiety. What is happening?
"Sit, Ivanna."
"I'd rather stand." I say, my head lifted high stubbornly. "I'd rather stand until I know exactly what is happening here."
Pa slams his hand on top of the desk. It catches me by such surprise that I flinch. "For fuck's sake Ivanna, do what you are told."
I hate when he speaks to me with such a cold tone, like I'm one of his men. Ivan shakes his head, what I know that indicated to me being an idiot. Uncle Vasili's face scrunches into his usual frown. Knowing to do better, I push away the hurt and confusion and slide into a chair. "There. Now someone please tell me what is happening."
"You have been chosen to wed the heir to Sergio Sakharov, Karlen. It is a good match Ivanna, trust me. It is an honor even."
An honor? Unbelievable. I stare at the man who promised that I'd go to college before I got married. The man who said that I'd one day get to choose my husband. Lies. Every single one of the promises he's ever made are pure lies. "Absolutely not. You're not going to marry me off to some strange violent mafia man in Tyva. I'm going to school. You promised."
My father's face hardens into a stern expression, one that I've never seen since I was little. I suspect that this is the face he pulls when the job takes a turn for the worse. The face of the mafia leader who does unspeakable things to people with absolutely no remorse in his face. "Listen to me, Ivanna. You will do as you're told. Okay? Otherwise, people will die in this family. Your sisters, me. Is that what you want?"
The threat hangs and my mind drifts to my two sisters upstairs. They are asleep and trusting. They have no idea that I'm being forced to make a choice that I don't want so they can stay alive. This is not a choice at all. I would do whatever to make sure they are safe, even if it costs me nothing, or everything.
"Alliances happen in the mafia world every time. There's nothing that I can do to help this situation. It is out of my hands. I expect you to do your duty and make Karlen happy. Do you hear me?"
Even though I'm just two years older than them, I've always been the one to take care of them ever since my mother died. I taught them about periods and boys and everything in between. I even helped them buy bras. I've been there to always comfort them and manage their screen time. My eyes start to burn.
My stomach suddenly begins to cramp, and I press my palms on my belly to ease my insides. How can my life change so drastically, in a matter of what? Minutes? "You promised, Pa." I force out, fighting the urge to let the tears flow freely.
"His expression doesn't budge even a little. My allegiance to the Bratva comes first. Now, Ivanna, do not disgrace me. This way, we will gain more power through your husband's family. The Sakharov family is one of the richest families in Russia. It is also the head of one of the largest clans.
Power and wealth. That is all that the mafia has ever cared about. I rub my eyes, smearing the mascara all over. "This isn't fair, Pa."
"Grow up, Ivanna." Ivan sneers. "Sergio is one of the highest-ranking men in the Bratva. You will get married to his son who will someday inherit everything. Any woman would kill for that chance.
"Screw you, Ivan." I snap. "You can go marry the boss if you want. As for me, I want to go to school. I want to get a degree. Just like Pa had promised Ma."
To my father and his men, college means freedom. It means living off in some city and going to clubs and bars and drinking too much. I would study and have a normal life before getting married.
It is all that my mother ever wanted for us.
Don't make my mistakes, Ivanna. Learn to fly.
My mother was a top Russian model long before she got married to my father. Their marriage had been a love match at first, but she always regretted giving up her career for my father.
"Stop. Ivanna, quit being a child. We have reached a decision. Now go to your bedroom and pack up. I expect you to be ready first thing tomorrow. Am I clear?"
"But Pa―"
"Not another word, Ivanna. You are leaving with Sergio Sakharov. That is final."
I purse my lips and rise. The men say nothing as they watch me leave the study, thinking that I've agreed to be married off just like that. I'd rather mop the ocean than marry a man I have never met, all because my father screwed some shipment that I know nothing of.
They should have known better.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein