Chapter 8 - Chiara

Maxim holds the door open for me as I step out of the car. We”ve arrived at his brother Paval”s house for his daughter’s birthday party.

Maxim holds out his arm and I slip my arm through his as we walk into the house.

I thought it was going to be packed with people, but it is a very intimate event, with just his brothers, their wives and their children. It is a family event.

My heart beats a little faster when I realize this means I am going to have to interact with all of them, and I won’t be able to withdraw or hide as I have been doing for the past few weeks around Maxim.

Paval walks over to us and immediately hugs Maxim, patting him hard on the back and welcoming us both into his home. He holds out his arm towards me, and I step closer for an awkward half-hug. “It’s so good to see you again, Chiara. It’s lovely to have you here.”

A little girl rushes past us, straight into me, wrapping her arms around my leg.

I glance down in fright, tensing up, until I see that it is my little flower girl. I kneel down in front of her.

“Hello,” I say with a big smile, and she puts her arms around my neck.

“You are the lady in the pretty dress,” she grins.

“You remember me?”

“It’s my birthday,” she shouts loudly instead of replying, squealing with excitement. Then she bolts off into the garden, toward the other kids.

“That’s my daughter, Leanna.”

“She is gorgeous, how old is she today?”

“Four. Come on in, let’s go and say hello to everyone.”

We follow Paval in the same direction that the little birthday girl ran, and I feel even tenser as I step out onto the patio and find myself surrounded by his family.

So many people introduce themselves to me that I struggle to remember all of their names.

“This is Fyodor, that’s Kiril. Kat is Fyodor’s wife…”

I smile, say hello, and step a little closer to Maxim, feeling like he is my comfort zone amid all of the unknown.

He wraps his arm around my waist, and I am reminded of how amazing his body feels against mine.

I glance up at him, at the gorgeous smile splashed across his lips. “Are you doing okay?”

I nod with a tight smile.

“The girls are all really sweet, give them a chance. I promise you”ll like them.”

Darya rushes over to us.

“Chiara, oh my word, I”ve been waiting for you to get here.” She grabs my arms and pulls me away from Maxim. “I”m stealing her. The girls are busy pouring cocktails.” She laughs, and I am whisked away.

In all the bubble and chatter, though everyone is really friendly and makes me feel welcome, the person I connect with the most is Amelia. She”s Paval’s wife, and we are sitting on the patio chairs, watching the kids run around screaming and laughing.

“How did you meet Paval?” I ask, curious if hers was also an arranged marriage.

“It’s kind of a funny story, actually.” She giggles. “I used to work as a waitress. I had no mafia ties, and I actually had no idea about how any of this, you know, this world, functions. I was clueless. I didn’t know it, but I was working in the restaurant of a family who was a rival of ours, and Paval was planning to kidnap their daughter after an incident. Well, he kind of kidnapped me by mistake instead.”

She laughs, as though she is remembering what happened with fondness, and even amusement.

“What do you mean, kind of kidnapped you?” I say in horror.

“I mean, he did kidnap me. I was held hostage here for months.”

I can’t figure out why she is smiling at me while she tells this story.

“You married the man who kidnapped you?” I say, not able to hide the shock in my voice.

“I know, I know, it sounds really bad. But, honestly, I would not change a thing. I mean, sure, in the beginning, I hated him, but somehow I fell in love, and I have not stopped loving him since.”

I stare at Paval, trying to imagine how scary it would be to be kidnapped by him and held as a prisoner in his home. The thought is horrible. I would hate it.

Amelia is still chatting away about her children and what an amazing father Paval is, but I find myself staring at Maxim.

He is so different from his brothers.

He”s gentle, and has been so respectful of me from the moment I met him. I mean, except for that first time we spoke, when he didn’t tell me who he was. But even then, he listened and took the time to empathize with me while I vented everything. Even afterwards, he never held it against me, all the bad things I said about my future husband, who turned out to be him.

At home, he is very respectful about giving me my space, still providing everything I need and then some.

He has not once been pushy about being intimate, even though I know he wants to. I can feel it, when we are close together, the tension, the electricity. I feel the same way he does, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to be with him again. I”m really fighting against it.

Gentle really is the right word for it.

His brothers, I”ve noticed from watching them, don’t seem to have that same side to them.

I mean, for some reason, I cannot picture Maxim kidnapping anyone. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe he is exactly like them, and he”s just doing a good job of hiding it from me.

I hardly know him at all, so I can’t make assumptions about what he”s capable of.

We are married, though, and a husband has needs as much as a wife does, and he hasn’t forced any of those expectations onto me.

“How are you getting on with Maxim?” Amelia asks, interrupting my thoughts.

“Oh, um, it’s nice,” I say, not sure how to answer that.

“Nice? That doesn’t sound like a passionate newlywed couple,” she laughs.

“It’s all so different, living with him. I am not used to it at all. I guess I”m a bit slow to adjust to change.”

Amelia nods, watching me closely, a faint smile on her lips.

“Take your time, Chiara. There”s no rush. You will find he has a good heart, just like his brothers do. Don’t force yourself to try and feel anything, let it happen naturally, when you are ready. I know how it feels to be away from what you know, and confused, and even angry.”

“Angry?”

“Paval told me it was an arranged marriage between families. So I”m guessing it wasn”t really what you had planned for your life?”

I smile. “It isn’t.”

“But sometimes life throws stuff at us, things we didn’t expect, and things we definitely didn’t want. Give it a chance. You might find that the man you”re married to is actually the man of your dreams.”

“Funny, Maxim said something very similar to me the first night we met.”

“See, I”m not even the first person to tell you that. Give it a chance. You never know what might happen.”

I hear Maxim laughing as two of the kids scramble over him, pulling him onto the grass and wrestling him. I never imagined him being the type of guy who played games with kids. He comes across too serious in nature, too cold or controlled in most ways. I guess the image I had of him didn’t fit with someone who would be willing to let his guard down to play the fool like this, but he looks so natural with them. His wide smile and playful nature catches me off guard as I stare at them.

One of the other ladies walks over to him, laughing, and scooping up a little boy into her arms. I think her name is Kat. “They really are rascals.”

“No, don’t worry about it, let them play,” Maxim grins. He stands up again and swings the other little boy into his arms, tossing him over his shoulder and spinning him around as the kid squeals with laughter.

Kat and Maxim chat for a bit, and then one of his brothers joins them. They all look so relaxed, and he seems really close to his family.

Seeing this side of him gives me a different image of who he is.

The little birthday girl rushes over to me, and hands me a sticky sweet with grass stuck to it. “It’s for you. I opened it for you,” she says, pushing it into my hand.

“Leanna,” Amelia says, laughing. “I don’t think Chiara wants your opened sweetie, birthday girl.”

Leanna looks at me hopefully. “But it’s a grape one. It’s the best flavor.”

“I love the grape ones,” I say brightly, grinning at her.

“Yay!” she shouts, and rushes away again.

“Do you want to have children one day?” Amelia asks, taking the sticky sweet from my hand and pulling a wet wipe out of the packet next to her. “These are a lifesaver,” she smiles, handing it to me so that I can clean my hand off.

Do I want children?

I do, one day, and watching this big, beautiful, happy family today, my heart tugs at me, telling me that I might even want them sooner than one day. My eyes fall onto Maxim again.

But I don’t think it”s meant for me. That”s my husband, a man I don’t even know, and I didn’t get to choose. How can I dream of having a family with him?

“Chiara?” Amelia prompts, noting that I didn’t answer her.

“Oh, sorry, um, I don’t actually know if I want children. I love children, it’s just such a big decision.”

“I didn’t want children. I was horrified when I found out I was pregnant. But it turns out that it”s one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life.”

“You mean, apart from being kidnapped?”

She laughs again. “Yes, you know, apart from being kidnapped.”

We carry on chatting, and again, I find myself watching how my husband interacts with everyone. He looks up, perhaps feeling my eyes on him, and grins. Without even thinking, I grin back, his smile infecting me, his bright blue eyes captivating me.

Then I look away, trying to push those thoughts aside. He”s not really my husband. He”s just a part of this arranged marriage we were both forced into. He doesn’t love me. This is a business transaction, and I need to remember that before I fall for his blue-eyed, beautiful, expressive face and get really hurt in the process.

There is nothing between us, and I need to keep myself in check.

“Food is ready,” one of his brothers shouts.

“Coming, Kiril,” Amelia calls back.

“Come on. Let’s go eat. These cocktails are going straight to my head, and if I don’t get some food in me soon, I”m going to be getting up to no good.” She winks at me, and I grin, feeling like I”ve made a real friend amid all of this weirdness.

We each take a seat and the men start carrying the barbecued meat over to the table. A chef arrives and places a gorgeous salad on the table as well, and someone pops a bottle of champagne.

The kids are swarming around their own mini table, which is laid out beautifully, just like this one, but filled with burgers and pizza and chips instead of salads and meats.

“We let them eat there so they can make as much mess as they want. Otherwise, you end up with grubby fingers all over your plate,” Amelia smiles.

Maxim sits down next to me and holds my champagne glass out to his brother, who pours some for me.

His hand brushes across my thigh, and when I glance at him, he pretends not to notice.

So, I decide to ignore it, even though my body is suddenly alive and charged beneath his touch.

He dishes up some salad for me and asks me which piece of meat I prefer.

I grin. I know what meat I want.

I shake my head. I can’t believe I”m letting my thoughts slip like that.

“A lamb chop, thanks,” I quickly reply. But I can see by his face that he caught my grin, and didn’t miss the joke that was not said out loud.

The birthday celebration is actually a really lovely event, and I find I”m enjoying myself chatting to everyone at the table, not even minding Maxim’s hand on my leg.

But I am still tense inside, nervous about this marriage.

I don’t know what my future holds, and what he will expect of me as a wife.