Lucas comes into the cave accompanied by four other men. The five of them carry rifles and are wearing bulletproof vests. Lucas’s eyes meet mine, I try to convey to him all my hatred and disdain with just one glare. Shame crosses his face for the briefest moment and then he goes hide behind some barrels along with the other men. This is an ambush, Dimitri doesn’t stand a chance. Tatiana puts a gag in my mouth so I can’t warn Dimitri of what is going on.
“I won’t allow you to ruin another one of my plans,” she whispers to my ear. She then takes out a dagger and presses it against my neck. She is pressing so hard the metal hurts my skin.
We hear the sound of footsteps. A few seconds later Dimitri crosses the arch that accesses the cave. Vincent and the hidden men point at him with their guns, although Dimit
We go back inside the cave. The first person we see is Kirill.“What are you doing here?” Dimitri asks.“Did you thought I was going to let you have all the fun? No way! Once you started to act weird I decided to follow you,” Kirill explains.Dimitri shakes his head with disapproval, and then he gives his cousin a hug.“Thank you, Kirill, you saved my life,” he says gratefully.“Anytime, cousin.” Kirril says as he winks at Dimitri.“Can you cut it out with sentimentalities?! This isn’t over!” Nikolay shouts.
When I open my eyes I find myself in a white room. It takes me a few seconds to realize I am in a hospital. Beside my bed, seated on a couch, Dimitri sleeps while his mother knits with a worried expression on her face. I clear my throat to let them know I am awoken. The sound causes Anastasia to look up. She jumps up from her seat to reach me, the movement wakes Dimitri who does the same.“Victoria, how do you feel?” Anastasia asks, her concern for my well being is disconcerting.“I am fine… what happened?” I ask with a weak voice.“Don’t you remember? You got in the way of a bullet that was meant for me!” Dimitri replies arching his eyebrows. “You were lucky the bullet hit your arm. Now your biggest concern is going to
Today is my 20th birthday and I couldn't be more excited, a big milestone for any person’s life. I feel like an adult, even though everyone around me still insists on treating me like a little girl. It doesn't matter, the older I get the more my family is going to have to realize that I am an independent woman and that I deserve freedom. Maybe they need a little push to realize it, which is why I am going to talk to my father tonight to ask him for something I’ve been longing for for a long time: a semester abroad. It has always been my dream to spend a semester in Europe learning about art, my favorite thing in the world, and to enjoy the local cuisine and culture. I’ve never been out of San Francisco in my life, except for a short trip to Mexic
I feel sick to my stomach. I take a deep breath as I look at myself in the mirror wearing the silky white dress my mother had made for this day: my wedding day. I still can’t believe this is happening. Today I will marry a man I’ve never seen in my life, I’ll be his wife till death do us part. No chance to escape or divorce, my family’s lives depend on me staying with him for the rest of my life.The make-up artist my mother hired is retouching my lips one last time
The party portion of the day starts. No matter the differences between Latinos and Russians, they both enjoy a good party. The music starts, drinks are distributed among guests, people chat and dance cheerfully. Everyone around us is having a good time.Dimitri hasn’t said a word to me since we said I do. I haven’t tried to speak with him either. I just look at him out of the corner of my eye expecting for him to acknowledge my presence in any way. Whatever he is thinking about, it consumes his whole attention. We take a s
We then go out of my parent’s house, I find that five black SUVs are waiting for us outside. Each SUV has a driver that awaits by the vehicle for the passengers to go in. Irina, Dimitri’s mother, and Nikolay hop on one of the SUVs. Other guests from the party, who I assume are Dimitri’s relatives because they all look alike, hop on the other three SUVs, leaving the last one for Dimitri and me.“Thank you, Oleg,&rdq
I squeeze my little black purse anxiously while I follow my husband upstairs to the main bedroom. Once I am in, I look around nervously without actually seeing something in particular, I’m so anxious I’m unable to pay attention to the room or what is in it, I’m even having trouble breathing. Bolt enters right behind us.“Out!” Dimitri yells and I startle.The dog obeys instantly again, leaving us alone in the room. My mouth feels dry and my palms are sweating.“Victoria, do you understand that as my wife you have certain… duties?” Dimitri asks without looking at me.I nod, my eyes fixed to the floor. I’m terrified of what is coming. It’s no
As soon as we get into the house I put my back against the nearest wall and as far as possible from Dimitri, he is not even paying attention to me, his eyes are fixed to the living room.“Hello, glad you could make it,” he says to someone I can’t see.I turn my face to the living room. Standing in the middle next to the coffee table is a robust tall woman with brown hair, rosy cheeks, and small round eyes, the woman is looking at us with a earnest expression on her face.“It is my pleasure, Mr. Ivanov,” the woman says with a deep voice.“Victoria, this is Ms. Margaret, she has come to take care of you,” Dimitri says.