Chapter 21

Arianna

N ikolai has the infuriating ability to make me forget everything. When we're together everything else melts away and, for a moment, it's just us. He managed to make me forget how pissed I am at him. He made me no promises, he's been straight from the start with me. Despite this, the jealousy I felt seems to have gone away. We were loud enough for everyone to hear. If the woman with him didn't realize he was not hers before, she will now.

As if the mere thought summons her, the woman who has been fawning over Nikolai all evening enters the bathroom and comes over to stand next to me by the mirror. Slowly, she checks her reflection, applying a slick of lipstick. She looks at me through the mirror and I feel myself squirm under her naked scrutiny.

"Hmm… You're pretty, but I'm not sure I see what all of the… what is the word you Americans say? Oh yes, fuss… I can't see what the fuss is all about," she states calmly appraising me. "No matter. I wanted to come and speak to you. Woman to woman. To make sure we have an understanding, you and I," she continues in her blunt Russian accent.

"I'm not sure I understand…" I say, confused.

"As the daughter of one of the most powerful Bratva in all of Russia, I am not someone who takes insults lightly. I will forgive you this one time. I understand powerful men like Nikolai have desires—needs—that must be met. That a wife would be foolish to expect fidelity from someone like him. So, I am happy for this little… tryst… to continue for now. I am sure he will soon tire of you anyway. But I will not have it done so… publicly again. Do you understand?" she says, raising an arched brow at me.

I'm utterly bewildered. What is she saying? That she's Nikolai's wife? That he's married after all? How can that be true? It can't possibly be when I know there's been discussion over who he should marry.

"You're Nikolai's wife?" I ask, confused.

"I will be," she states.

Relief floods through me. She's just some delusional woman who thinks she can tame Nikolai. One of the many women that want to be his wife. Does she really think that by threatening me she can have him? If she thinks I'm afraid of her empty threats she's got another thing coming. A bubble of laughter escapes my lips and I defiantly meet her gaze. It's me he's been with. Me he followed in here and just fucked like a man possessed.

"Then it sounds to me like you're not in a position to demand anything of me. From where I'm standing, it seems like he's made his choice. And honey, you're not it."

I give her a pitying smile, enjoying the shocked way her mouth pops open and her eyes practically bulge out of her head. Clearly, she's not used to being spoken back to. I don't give her a chance to think of a response. I snap my purse shut and sashay past her out of the bathroom.

As I turn the corner, I spot Nikolai standing near the main entrance. He's talking to a man and a woman, my view's blocked so I cannot see who the man is, but the woman looks vaguely familiar. From Nikolai's posture, I know he's annoyed. Tension radiates off him like a cobra ready to strike. I notice Dimitri quickly striding toward me, looking more panicked than I've ever seen him. Endo is stalking across the room toward Nikolai with Kimiko hot on his heels.

It's then that the crowd parts and I see who it is. It's one of my father's and Lucchese's associates from Mexico, Diego Castro. It dawns on me then why the woman looks familiar. Her appearance has been drastically altered since I last saw her, her hair has been darkened to the same color as mine and grown out to be almost as long. Her nose shape is different, her lips fuller, and her breasts enhanced. But I still recognize her face.

It's a face I never thought I'd see again. Maria.

I want to cry out, to run to her. I start to walk toward her, pulled as if by an invisible force. Not caring that my father's man is by her side. What are they doing here? How is she alive and well? She looks up at me and her eyes meet mine. They look almost hollow, vacant. They're the haunted eyes of someone who has lived a life of unimaginable pain. I see a flicker of recognition in her eyes and then she gives an almost imperceptible shake of her head. She's telling me to stop. If you can communicate wordlessly through looks alone, hers is clear. She's telling me to run.

Automatically, I stop, rooted to the spot.

At that moment, Dimitri reaches me. "Arianna, we have to go. Now."

But it's too late. The man notices Maria's attention has flickered away, and his eyes follow her gaze to land on me. A small glint of recognition flickers in his eyes. He's seen me. He recognizes me.

Dimitri ignores my protests, firmly gripping me by the arm as he continues to hustle me away from the party, out of the back exit, and into a waiting car.

"What's going on Dimitri? Why was Maria there with Diego Castro?" I ask.

My head is spinning. I can't believe Maria is alive. What was she doing there? Does Dimitri somehow know Castro might recognize me and that's why he made me leave?

He looks at me from the corner of his eye as he keeps his gaze laser-focused on the road.

"I don't know who Maria is, I assume that's the real name of the woman with Castro. Who is she?" he asks.

"She was my maid once. I haven't seen her in a long time. My father sent her away. I thought for sure she'd be dead."

"Well, she's not Maria the maid anymore. She's you," Dimitri states seriously.

"You mean…" It dawns on me then what Maria's fate was. It's the exact kind of sick and twisted punishment only my father would think of. "Oh god. She was the woman who married Lucchese in my place, who pretended to be me."

Dimitri doesn't reply. He doesn't have to. I feel sick. As if poor Maria hasn't been punished enough because of me. She had to marry that horrible monster in my place. The relief I feel that Nikolai killed him and spared her from a lifetime as his wife is quickly replaced by concern.

"What was she doing there with Castro?"

"It seems that following Lucchese's demise, your father decided to marry you off to another suitor. This time to ally with Castro, I would think," Dimitri states.

"Dimitri, we have to go back, we have to save Maria!" I cry, frantically turning in my seat to look at the rapidly retreating Manhattan skyline in the rearview.

"No, we don't. What happens next is for Pakhan Kuzmin to decide. But, I highly doubt he will want to do anything."

"Why wouldn't he? My father is his enemy," I declare.

"Because Diego Castro is an associate of the Garcia Cartel, he's here representing his father, the Don. To make a move against him, and now your father by association, would mean breaking off a very important, very lucrative alliance," he explains. "He's already managed to piss off his future wife and father-in-law with your antics this evening, the last thing he needs is to rock the boat with Garcia. He needs a clear head tonight, without distractions."

This is the most rattled I've ever seen Dimitri. The fact that he's so on edge worries me. What the hell kind of mess have Nikolai and I caused? I'm so flustered by it that it takes a moment for Dimitri's words to sink in.

"What do you mean his future father-in-law?"

Dimitri grimaces, clearly, he wasn't supposed to tell me this.

"This wasn't just an engagement party, both Endo and Nikolai will one day be expected to marry the Yakuza and Bratva daughters to strengthen the alliance."

The woman hadn't been delusional or lying. She really is going to marry Nikolai. I've been so stupid. So foolish to think this little bubble of happiness, that whatever it is between us could last. That maybe things had changed and he wouldn't be getting married after all.

"Nikolai cares for you, that much is clear. But the Bratva will always come first for him," Dimitri says softly.

I can't stand his pity. "Nikolai and I could never work. He's my father's enemy. And even if it could. I don't want this life. I want out of the Mafia lifestyle and everything it stands for. I want the cycle of pain, death, and destruction to be over. For him to let me go," I reply, though the words ring hollow.

It's true that I hate the lifestyle and want this all to be over, but don't want to leave Nikolai.

"Perhaps you are the one who needs to let him go," Dimitri says gently.