Chapter 26: Later Thursday: Romi’s letter

Iwas lying on my bed staring at the ceiling with puffy eyes and a blotchy face from all of my crying when Nonna entered carrying a tray filled with cookies and a cup of steaming hot chocolate. It had been my favourite comfort snack since I was a little girl. Even in my sadness, I couldn’t help but smile. Nonna always knew what we needed when we were sick or upset, and her presence always soothed our boo-boos.

I chuckled before breaking down into tears yet again. It seemed as if that was all I had been doing lately, and I was tired of it.

“Bella,” Nonna said, gathering me into her warm, soothing embrace.

“I have something for you,” she said, smiling and holding out a piece of paper.

My heart thudded against my chest as I read.

Sonia, you ran away before I could explain, and Miki waylaid me, so I haven’t been able to come to see you myself.

We can’t run off, and you know that—not when our enemies are about to attack. Our family needs us here. Besides, there has to be another way.

I spoke to Uncle Maxim, and he will try to think of an alternative arrangement that will appease both Miki and Glowacki and get them to call this stupid wedding off. No date has been set, so we have time. Let’s deal with our enemies first, then we’ll tackle this arrangement.

I love you and want you, and I promise you I will find a way for us to be together.

Please be patient and trust me.

All my Love

Romi xxx

After rereading the final words, I clutched the note to my chest and closed my eyes in relief.

Romi really did love me.

And he was right, of course. We couldn’t run. At least not yet. Now that I had calmed down, I was able to think more rationally, and I knew the best thing to do was get this arranged marriage called off, somehow.

“Trust Romi and your family, dear,” Nonna said, taking my hands in hers and kissing me lightly on the forehead.

“We all love you, including Miki.”

I huffed and pouted; it didn’t feel that way.

“Things are difficult right now, and Miki thought he was doing the right thing for our family and the alliance. When all of these attacks are over, and he has prevailed, he will be more amenable to listening to you. So will Glowacki. These agreements are not easily broken, but Janusz Glowacki’s not an unreasonable man; I am sure another arrangement can be found. Running is not the answer; we will find a way,” she told me, squeezing my hands.

Squeezing hers back, I nodded, desperately wanting to believe her.

“Now freshen up and come downstairs. The Glowacki’s are here and are joining us for dinner. Why don’t you speak to Dariusz when you get the chance and see what he thinks of this arrangement? Maybe he will be against it too, and you will have an ally in getting Miki and Janusz to call it off?” she said, smiling.

My eyes lit up at the prospect. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

“Great idea, Nonna. I’ll do just that,” I said, hugging her tightly.

A short while later, I headed downstairs to our large living room, where all our guests had congregated.

The minute I stepped inside the room, Miki pulled me into a corner.

“Why were you crying before?” he asked.

Really?

“You know why! I do not want to marry Dariusz,” I seethed, glaring at the young man who seemed entirely oblivious to me and our predicament.

“He hasn’t been informed yet,” Miki said, and I turned my gaze back to him.

“So, you just made this arrangement, the two of you, without consulting either of us?” I asked, my voice rising sharply.

“Keep your voice down. Glowacki will tell him soon,” Miki said, pulling me further away from the others.

“You will do what needs to be done for the family and the alliance, Sonia. Just like the rest of us have to do things to keep this family safe, so do you!” he stated firmly before his eyes softened, and he continued more gently, “It may not seem so right now, but I do want you to be happy. Dariusz is a good man, Sonia; I am sure a marriage between you both will work out well; otherwise, I would never have allowed such an arrangement.”

It didn’t matter how good a man Dariusz was; he wasn’t the man I wanted. My heart belonged to another.

I would not give Romi up, no matter what. I lifted my chin and glared at my infuriating brother.

“I am not doing it. Find an alternative!” I said between clenched teeth, just barely holding back from screaming at him and smacking him upside the head until he saw the error of his ways.

Oh, I so wanted to do that, but I held my emotions in check. Attacking Miki, especially in front of our guests, would not only be disrespectful to him as pakhan but also completely undermine his authority at a time when he needed to appear fully in control. So, instead, I bit my tongue and turned away in disgust. I heard him sigh heavily as I made my way over to join Gracie, my head held high. Nothing would make me marry against my will, and the sooner he understood that, the better.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for the love of my life. Relief flooded me when I saw him standing with Ash and Daniel, staring at me. The minute our eyes met, his lips lifted in a slight smile, and he winked at me. Suddenly, everything was right with my world again—well, for that brief second, anyway.

The stolen glances we shared throughout dinner helped to heal my wounded heart, and I felt so much calmer afterwards. I even managed to eat a few bites.

Not long after, Glowacki and his son Daniel left with Ash to go to the C to be ready for the lab attack tomorrow. As expected, Romi remained here with Dariusz. Unfortunately, he was busy and surrounded by people, so we couldn’t manage to snatch any more alone time, and the evening dragged by

However, when he went off to stage another pretend attack on one of Glowacki’s businesses, I finally managed to corner Dariusz. I was aware he’d had a private chat with his dad and brother before they had left for the C, so I figured he had to know about the situation by now.

He was a good guy, and I’d always gotten along well with him, but I’d never had feelings for him, and now that I was in love with Romi, I knew I never would. A marriage between us wouldn’t be fair, not just for me or Romi but for Dariusz, too.

“I don’t want to marry you, Dariusz. I want to marry for love. I don’t want an arranged marriage,” I told him.

“I’m not so keen on the idea myself, but my father has made the arrangement, so I won’t go against him,” he said with a sympathetic smile.

“If I got them to call it off, would you be annoyed?” I asked, holding my breath as I waited for his answer.

“No. However, if you don’t, and we get married, I will do all I can to be a good husband to you, Sonia, I promise,” he said before turning and walking away.

Shit! Maybe I should have told him about my feelings for Romi. Maybe that would have changed his mind. I hurried after him, but he was already gone, no doubt on his way to coordinate the other pretend attack that was scheduled for tonight.

I sighed, feeling a bit dejected, but it was probably for the best that he didn’t know. It still wasn’t a good time to disclose our relationship.

Frowning, I thought about his reaction. Dariusz hadn’t really seemed to care about the prospect of our marriage one way or the other. So, why would he want to go through with it? I wasn’t sure I understood, but while it was obvious Dariusz wouldn’t help me break this marriage agreement, at least he wouldn’t stand in my way either. I guessed I should be thankful for small mercies.