Chapter 6

The whole crowd present in the chapel roared with applause after the priest had given his blessings on the newlyweds. A whistle was also heard from the crowd and a few cameras flashed solely on the couple.

Nadia's eyes widened slightly after her new husband not only kissed her but also bit her lip badly. She felt his teeth cruelly sink into her soft flesh and it pained deeply. But she didn't move nor did she try to create a scene, especially in front of the flashing cameras. She simply stood silently in her spot, helpless as Anatoly tore open her lower lip before pulling his mouth away.

Once he did, Nadia looked up into his eyes and her whole face grew pale when she found Anatoly's hardened expression fixated down on her. It was as clear as day to her that he didn't like her, didn't approve of this marriage, and he certainly didn't fancy a disabled girl becoming his wife at any point in his life. He didn't bother faking what he felt at that moment - resentment and disgust.

Nadia felt her mouth bleeding but she quickly used her tongue to lick her bleeding lip before she clamped her mouth. Then her body shuddered when Anatoly suddenly took her hand in his, but he wasn't gentle at all. His hold was tight and his thumb roughly rubbed the back of her hand.

Anatoly made her turn around and they both faced the crowd. Frost flew into the air and both families were congratulating each other, the men patting each other's backs and the ladies sharing brief hugs with one another. They didn't care that the groom and bride wore dull and sour faces. It didn't matter because they first had a reputation to continuously uphold in society.

Nadia felt Anatoly squeezing her hand too tightly for comfort. But she beared the pain and discomfort without reacting or saying a word. They both walked down the aisle as the crowd continued to cheer and applaud them from both sides of the pew.

The cheers, the applause and the merry. Everything blurred for both Nadia and Anatoly. No amount of celebrations could drown out the real truth that was screaming in their minds, that they both were trapped inside a sham of a marriage that neither of them wanted.

Anatoly wanted to walk out of the chapel as soon as possible. The constant congratulations being thrown at him, the flower petals being showered upon him and his forced wife and all of the fake smiles, all were suffocating and he wanted to be alone.

He increased his walking pace, but then he paused and turned to look at his wife. He saw her trying to catch up with him by limping in a hurry.

Anatoly seethed, and his face dreaded with disgust. He not only hated her but her disability made him want to vomit and feel shameful. She was slowing him down with her limping. No matter how much she tried to walk faster, she was still dragging him down with her.

She was a fucking liability for him. One which he never signed up for.

Anatoly swallowed hard as he had to wait patiently for his new wife to catch up with him. He clenched his jaw, but carefully hid his raging anger behind his stoic and neutral expression once they were nearing the end of the aisle.

Outside the chapel, cameras flashed again at the two of them. Members of both families came to stand next to the couple to pose for a family photo, one worthy to be in the front cover of the newspaper. Nadia's uncle's family and her brother's family stood next to her right, while Anatoly's parents, Nikolai, Vladimir and a few relatives stood next to his left.

Maxim slowly patted his son's back from behind as he smiled, posing for the cameras, and mouthed into Anatoly's ear. “I'm proud of you, son, for not soiling our centuries old name and reputation. You're doing the right thing, by taking care of your responsibility like a true Kiseleva would.”

A fucking responsibility, my foot - Anatoly angrily thought to himself and grounded his jaw slightly. To him, Nadia wasn't a responsibility, but a shameful liability in the form of a noose tightly wrapped around his neck, a punishment that he'd have to bear and endure for a long time coming. Because for a Kiseleva, a marriage is sacred and ever lasting.

And all of it was because of his so-called new wife. He blamed her for seducing him and trapping him. And he would make her wish she hadn't messed with him.

The reception was grand and splendid. Every corner, every decor and every decorations were flawless and beautiful, screaming that not a single attention to detail had been overlooked. Polished and shiny silverwares, handwritten caligraphed name cards, fresh flowers, centerpieces and fine table linen graced each table.

Anatoly and Nadia were seated next to each other. Both of them wanted to be anywhere but at their own reception. Soon, Maxim stood up from his chair and lightly tapped his spoon against his wine glass, gathering the guests' attention.

“I want to make a toast to my dear son, my pride and joy and also my successor. I'd also like to make a toast to his wife and my daughter in-law. May their marriage be a long time fulfillment and never break. Cheers!”

Everyone cheered, glasses kinked together and the atmosphere grew wild.

As the celebrations dragged on, couples began to waltz towards the middle of the ballroom to dance. Nadia felt a lump stuck in her throat when someone she didn't even know, pulled her off from her seat and literally dragged her out to the middle of the ballroom. Anatoly was also pulled out but he blatantly refused to dance with Nadia. He couldn't stand the sight of her and her limping, let alone hold her hand and dance with her in front of everyone like a loving and happy husband, which he was not.

Instead, Anatoly chose to down himself in drinks. A waiter kept coming to his side, each time with a shot glass of refilled liquor. Every gulp of the golden liquid down his throat burned and made Anatoly feel more alive for the first time in three days since he'd been told he would get married to a girl with one and half legs.

Nadia's whole face burned with shame as she stood alone in the middle of the ballroom, filled with many guests. Her husband's rejection made her lower her head in embarrassment. But then someone took her hand and spun her around until she hit a wall, or rather a chest. Nadia briefly closed her eyes upon impact, then slowly opened her eyes and blinked in shock when she saw it was Nikolai who had taken her hand in his.

Nadia didn't want to dance with him. She didn't want to look at him nor did she want him to look at her either. Her whole body trembled from the shame and she avoided looking into his eyes. Choosing to push him away, especially in front of the guests would be rude of her so she quietly let Nikolai wrap his arm around her tiny waist.

His cologne hit her and Nadia's whole body collapsed. Tears filled her eyes but she could confidently shed them right now because the lighting around them had dimmed. Nadia's lips trembled and she wondered why Nikolai was even dancing with her. He shouldn't want to be close to her. He should obviously despise her and see her as a slut who ruined her cousin's marriage alliance, seduced his elder brother to bed and forced a marriage on him.

Everyone in her family believed she was to blame. So Nikolai would obviously believe the same thing as everyone else, that she was a vile girl who wanted her cousin's fiance at any cost.

“Why aren't you looking at me, Nadia?” Nikolai asked as he twirled her around.

Nadia didn't respond. She had her eyes lowered everywhere but not up at him. Her eyes brimmed with tears and they fell and wet her cheek. Nikolai's presence brought to her a certain calm, and at that moment she wanted to break down in front of him.

Since after the incident, nobody had spoken to her in a nice and courteous tone. Her uncle was always silent and avoided speaking to her. Her aunt still held a firm grudge and blamed her for ruining her daughter's alliance. Ivanova's indifference toward her wasn't anything new to Nadia either. Even the maids back at her uncle's house all looked at her with judgemental eyes and would secretly gossip about her, calling her an ungrateful wretch and husband stealer.

“You know you can always talk to me, Nadia. I am here for whatever you need.” Nikolai told her calmly. His words resonated something deep within Nadia, and she slowly raised her eyes up to meet his.

She said nothing. Simply stared into his gray eyes and got lost somewhere. She'd expected to see anything but care and concern in his eyes for her.

But why? Her mind yelled at her.

Why did he care so much about her? Why wasn't he upset like the rest of them? Why didn't he think that she might have planned everything to trap his own brother in a marriage? - All of these questions screamed loudly in Nadia's head but she couldn't open her mouth to ask Nikolai any of her questions.

Nikolai was patient and careful with his steps. He knew Nadia was terrible at dancing and didn't want to step on her nor strain her prosthesis further with a complicated dance. Nadia read all of his movements and efforts in making her feel comfortable. Her heart made the right choice when she'd fallen for a man like him.

But then the golden band around her finger gleamed and nearly blinded her when it came under the direct gaze of the dimly lit lights from the chandeliers above them. Nadia was now forced to look at the thing stuck in her finger which only represented her ruined life and her destroyed dreams, not the life of a future marital bliss. It looked like the ring was mocking her and it slapped her face with the reality that the man she was dancing with could never belong to her.

Her bitter reality came running down like a bucket of ice cold water slowly being poured on her head.

The music and the loud clappings suddenly made Nadia feel more self conscious about her surroundings, and she quickly took a step back, away from Nikolai. She gulped and looked away instantly. Her eyes were glassy and red. Her chest burned knowing she couldn't have what her heart desired, and she needed to let go of what wasn't going to be possible.

Nadia silently returned back to her seat and turned to look at Anatoly slightly. Anatoly had his next tequila shot but then forced a tight smile when a guest or two came over to congratulate him and Nadia.

Nadia didn't know anything about him. He was a stranger to her a few days ago, then he slept with her thinking she was her cousin, and now he was her husband. She could sense his rage from the small distance between them and her body trembled a little.

Anatoly nodded and tightened his jaw as he continued to force a smile whenever the guests came to congratulate them. If only they knew what he was feeling deep inside. He felt shackled down to a fucking stupid promise that he'd been forced to make. Not that he intended to keep it in the first place.

The night slowly fell. Little by little, the guests had started to leave the venue and walk toward their cars outside. Nadia wanted to speak to her uncle and aunt before they left, but they completely ignored her as she approached them. Her chest felt heavy with grief seeing their indifferent behavior toward her.

Nathaniel came up to her and loosened his tie. Nadia didn't want to talk to him. She hated him because he didn't allow her put an end to her misery by taking her own life. Instead he forced her to become a bride. A bride to the man who ruined everything for her.

“I'm not pretty good with farewells. But...”

“Please just go away from here.” Nadia cut him off without even turning to look at him.

Nathaniel looked at his sister and sighed nonchalantly. “You'll thank me later. Soon you'll come to me and lick my shoes, telling me I was right in deciding for you.”

Nadia gritted and turned to look at him. Her eyes, red and puffy and her dried-up faulty mascara hanging just a little above her eyelashes.

“I'll thank you? Thank you for what exactly?! That thanks to you, my life is now ruined!?” Nadia now had fresh tears seeping out of her eyes. “Why didn't you just let me die? At least I would have been at peace in the afterlife. I wouldn't be here, tied to a marriage that... I don't even know if I'll ever be able to come out from.”

“Fucking deal with it, Nadia.” Nathaniel growled lowly, directly in her face so that no one could hear them. “You've always said you weren't a little girl anymore, right. Then act like an adult and suck it up, because this is your new life right now. A mafia Don's wife and a Donna.”

Nadia hiccuped, completely out of words to counter her brother.

Nathaniel scoffed. “That's what I thought. You're still a little girl and you aren't capable of making smart decisions. Now stop sucking up like a little girl and do everything to make your husband happy. Got that!” Then he walked away.

It wasn't until all of the guests had left that Anatoly started to head outside. Nadia gulped and quietly followed right behind him. A car was waiting for them outside with the backseat doors opened by the driver for the two of them.

But then Anatoly walked past the car and Nadia looked up at him, wondering where he was going.

“Where are you going, brother?“ Nikolai appeared from a corner, smoking a cigarette.

“That is none of your concern.” Anatoly's deep voice made Nadia take a step back and seize her breath for a moment. She hadn't felt this terrified of a man before, and she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with him?

“But what about Nadia? She's your wife...”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Anatoly's voice thundered in the night. “Do I look like I fucking care about that crippled being my wife!? Because of her, I have been humiliated by having a fucking disabled as my Donna! She fucking disgusts me! I hate the fucking sight of her and it fucking sickens me to always see her limping all of the time! I FUCKING HATE HER!”