Chapter 18 - Raisa

Sunshine begins to heat my pillow and pulls me awake. Oleg’s arm is wrapped around my waist, holding me against him. I roll over, snuggling against his chest. After we got home last night, I came to sleep in Oleg’s bed, not my own.

I grin, sleepy but remembering how we made love on the flight home the night before.

And again at home before we fell asleep.

He finally gave me what I’ve been waiting for—what I’ve been wanting.

And it was better than I could ever have imagined.

It hurt a little in the beginning, it felt like he was too big for me, but when I relaxed and stopped feeling nervous, the pain quickly became pleasure and then I wanted all of him.

“What are you smiling about?” he asks in his morning voice, which is even deeper than his normal voice and vibrates up against my chest where I am laying on him.

“Um.” I didn’t know he was awake or that I was still grinning. “I was just thinking about last night,” I confess, and instantly my cheeks flush pink.

“Well, then I am very happy to see you smiling,” he chuckles, pulling me right onto his chest and pressing his lips against mine.

I love how Oleg makes me laugh all the time. Even when we aren’t doing anything, when we are just being together. I smile constantly and the happiness just bubbles out of me in the most natural way.

“Coffee?” he asks, stroking his hand over my hair.

Mm… I can think of something else I want, but I think I might be a little tender from last night. So, coffee it is.

“Yes, please.” He playfully throws me off his body and I get tangled in the blanket. He is up and out of bed before I can unwrap it from my legs.

Oleg pulls on a pair of sweatpants and I look around for my t-shirt. He tosses it to me and winks, then walks out of the bedroom.

I throw on the t-shirt, it’s his and fits me like a dress.

I run downstairs to join him for that coffee.

When I get to the kitchen, Oleg is on his phone. He has it wedged between his shoulder and his ear as he makes the coffee. Almost dropping it he gets annoyed and puts the speaker on, placing it on the counter.

“So, it’ll start around three this afternoon. We’ll have a barbecue for lunch. The kids have all been wanting to see their cousins and swim and all that shit.”

“Sounds great, man. We’ll be there.”

“We?”

“Yes, Raisa and I will be there.”

“Right. Yes. Alright. See you later.”

The person on the other side hangs up before Oleg has a chance to say anything more and Oleg rolls his eyes, shaking his head.

“Who was that?” I ask, and he jumps a little, thinking he was alone.

“Jeez. I thought you were still upstairs. That was Leon. We have a family lunch today.”

“Oh,” I say, feeling my stomach tighten with nerves. “He seemed confused when you said ‘we’.” In all honesty, it sounded like he wasn’t happy at all that Oleg is bringing me.

“Leon just got back from a business trip. He only recently spoke to me about us being married. It’s still kind of new to him, so I think he’s still processing, but he’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure he wants me there?” I lift myself onto the kitchen counter, sitting on the edge, waiting for my coffee.

Oleg turns towards me and steps between my legs, he wraps his hands over my hips and kisses me. “Don’t worry about what Leon wants. I want you there.”

I smile, feeling warm and happy inside.

It’s difficult to admit, but even more difficult to pretend it isn’t happening. I am falling for Oleg.

He is such a gentle, beautiful man. He shows strength when it is needed, but he has the softest heart and is so protective and caring towards those around him. It’s impossible not to be falling for him.

Not to mention how fucking incredible he makes my body feel.

Oleg hands me a cup of coffee and the scent washes over me.

Alright.

I can do this.

I can go to his family barbeque and meet all of his brothers.

As long as he stays near me, I think I’ll be ok.

All morning my nerves seem to get worse instead of better. I thought that maybe by the time I got there I would have calmed myself but the opposite happened and while I was getting ready , I even had a little panic moment. I’m scared to see all of his brothers in one place.

But, taking a few deep breaths and talking to myself for a bit, I managed to calm down.

Now, we are about to walk into Leon’s home.

Oleg seems unaware of my tension as he takes my hand and leads me through the double doors of Leon’s mansion.

“Oleg!” One of his brothers shouts from the living room when he sees us.

I turn to see Alexei grinning at Oleg—Yefim standing nearby. “Hi Raisa,” Alexei says, and to my relief, he seems friendly. I smile tightly. “Hello,” I say back, looking around and trying to take everything in all at once.

I feel overwhelmed and it causes me to step close to Oleg, seeking reassurance. He wraps his arm around my back.

“Where’s Leon?” Oleg asks after greeting everyone in the room.

“Out in the garden with the kids.” Yefim nods towards the patio doors.

Oleg looks down at me. “Let’s go say hello to Leon, then we can get a drink.” I nod, smiling, my stomach churning. This is the part I was most nervous about.

Out in the garden there are kids running around everywhere. They are screaming, laughing, jumping in the pool, and kicking balls around and it looks like they are having the best time in the world. It’s so strange to see because I was not expecting a proper family vibe—I mean, with kids and chaos like this. I don’t know I was expecting it to be more posh somehow. Or serious.

Leon walks towards us with a scowl on his face. So far, he is the only one who I’ve seen here who isn’t smiling.

“Oleg—this must be Raisa.” He glares at me.

“Hello, Leon. It’s nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand to shake his and he moves stiffly, shaking mine in greeting as he continues to glare down at me.

“This event is for my family ,” Leon says darkly. “I don’t want any outsiders causing shit for me. I hope you hear that loud and clear, Raisa Kuznetsov,” he speaks directly to me.

No matter how nervous I feel on the inside, I don’t appreciate his tone or his attempt at intimidating me. A veiled threat, no matter how it is delivered, does not sit well with me.

“Thank you for your warm welcome, Leon. It’s lovely to be here,” I snap back at him and stare directly into his eyes, not breaking away until he does.

Oleg clears his throat loudly, pulling me tighter against his side interrupting the weird power play introduction Leon chose.

“Leon, this is Raisa, my wife. Raisa was looking forward to meeting everyone.”

“I’m sure she was,” Leon mutters.

“You know what, Oleg, I think I will go and get us a drink. Your brother looks like he needs a moment,” I say calmly, turning my back on Leon and facing Oleg.

“Alright, the girls will help you find everything.”

I walk away from them, but still overhear Leon’s comment. “Are you sure you should leave her alone to walk around the property?”

I shake my head in annoyance and let out a heavy sigh.

Leon is not friendly—at all—in fact, he’s a total asshole.

Anya spots me and comes rushing over. She hugs me tightly. “Hi. Oh my word, I was looking forward to seeing you again. The girls are in the kitchen, we are just about to start making cocktails so you have perfect timing.”

She grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen where I am introduced to all of his brothers' wives, Clara, Sasha and Tia.

“Girls, this is Raisa,” Anya yes happily.

Sasha hands me a knife and a bowl of strawberries. “You can cut these.” She grins, immediately making me part of the cocktail making team.

We all chat and laugh as we work together.

They are all so lovely.

I’ve been around so many girls before, all having fun and relaxing. They seem so close to each other and it makes me miss Ruslana. Ruslana would have fit in here, too.

Even though I was worried about Oleg leaving me alone at the family event—it turns out that everyone here is so friendly and welcoming—everyone except Leon—that I actually feel completely at ease with them all.

Oleg does keep coming to check up on me and make sure I’m ok though, which I do appreciate. At dinner he pulls my chair right next to his so that we eat with our legs touching beneath the table.

After dinner, they don’t leave the chaos for the housekeeper to deal with, everyone gets involved, clearing the table and stacking things nicely in the kitchen.

I admire his family for this. I know it impressed me when I saw how well Oleg treated his employees, and now I see that his whole family is like that.

I am just finishing up, carrying a dish through to the kitchen, when I walk past the passageway and hear Oleg’s voice.

I pause, listening, because he sounds tense.

Leon is lecturing him.

“There were other, better ways to resolve this issue. I don’t know why you thought forcing a marriage was the best or only option.” He sounds angry, as usual.

“It is a good option and it’s working. I don’t regret my choice,” Oleg says calmly.

“Honestly Oleg, the Kuznetsovs weren’t such a big problem. Now you are stuck in a marriage with one of them.”

“The marriage prevented this situation from becoming worse, Leon.” Oleg sighs in frustration.

“Are you sure you weren’t just coveting Raisa and looking for an excuse to marry her?” Leon asks.

“Coveting her? No, don’t be ridiculous. Raisa is just a tool. She is an important piece of the puzzle for negotiating with her brothers. That’s all. Don’t overthink this.”

I feel my heart constrict, causing pain to shoot through my chest.

His words cut deep into me.

I can’t listen to another second of this, especially seeing as it feels as though I am about to burst into tears.

I put the bowl I was carrying on a side table and hurry to the bathroom for some privacy. I can’t have anyone in his family seeing me crying. That would be too embarrassing and right now I am embarrassed enough that I actually thought something was happening between Oleg and me. I can’t believe it—I thought that he had feelings for me.

It honestly felt that way.

But clearly, I’ve misunderstood the entire situation.

As I close the bathroom door, the tears stream down my cheeks and pain clenches tightly in my chest.

It was stupid of me—of course it was.

He kidnapped me and forced me to marry him.

He didn’t even want it.

It was all just for his business—for his brothers.

I stand alone in the bathroom for a while, staring at my reflection and splashing cold water on my face to try and wipe away the redness on my cheeks.

I dry my face and take a few deep breaths.

At least I heard the truth—I just wish it had been sooner, before I started falling for him, because I could have saved myself a lot of pain.

But from now on I will be a lot more careful around him.

I am just a tool to him.

It’s better if I just stay away from him as much as possible. At least I have my studies to keep me busy.

That is my goal, anyway. It always was. I wasn’t ever meant to fall for some random guy. My dreams are just to become a doctor and to make a home for myself in this city. I don’t need Oleg. I don’t need some asshole guy who just wants to use me as a tool.

I can take care of myself.

I nod at my reflection in the mirror.

Then, with one last deep breath, I step back out into the family party.

My heart closed off, colder, more protected than before.