“Yes. We do.” Lazar twisted to peer behind him, flicking his head at the figures. His stunning wife, Sorina, stepped forward, silent and demure. She used to model, prostitute, and work in adult movies before he pulled her from the trenches and made her rich and pampered. He treated her similar to a second-class citizen, and probably reminded her at every turn he could send her back into poverty’s cruel embrace. She smiled and did all the right things but was vacant and dead behind her eyes. I wanted to feel bad for her, but she made her own bed...
A man stepped up to Lazar’s other side. Sergiu. I had met their son only twice, many years ago, and he rendered a very less-than-stellar impression on me. He had been uptight and difficult, tattling on Caden and me if we did anything he found inappropriate. Which was everything.
A year older than Caden, he still looked like a teenager. He was an inch taller than me, with a slim frame and the same cruel eyes his father had. His longer brown hair waved back as perfectly as Lazar’s. His nose was more bubbled at the end, resembling his mother, Sorina. Some might think him good-looking enough, but I never did, especially because he was as interesting as a dry rag, and had an evil cruelty behind his stiff demeanor.
He might have grown in age and height, but his sour expression suggested he was still an uptight prick. The rumors about him made me dislike him more. The gossip was Sergiu wasn’t only rough in bed but outside of it too. He treated women like punching bags to alleviate the rage he kept behind the unemotional facade.
“Sergiu, it’s been a while.” Istvan shook the boy’s hand. Sergiu nodded, muttering something I couldn’t understand.
Damn! This was the longest night ever. My head twisted, searching for a tray of alcohol, landing on Caden’s face. He kept his expression pleasant and neutral, but I knew he was feeling the same way I was.
Kill me now. I let my eyes roll enough for him to see. His lips went white as he pinned them together, trying not to laugh.
“Brexley?” Istvan’s stern voice drew my attention back to him.
“Yes?”
“You remember Sergiu, I am sure.” Istvan tilted his head to the man in question, the intensity in his eyes making me feel like I missed something. Something very vital.
“Y-yes.” I pulled my focus off Istvan to Sergiu, dampness coating the back of my neck. “It’s nice to see you again.”
He kept silent, bowing his head at my comment, though his eyes raked over me. Unlike his father, his stare was full of judgment.
And I came up short.
“There will be some time to get to know each other before the day.”
Huh?
“Day?” I swallowed, a dot of sweat trickling down my back.
Caden jerked beside me, his form going rigid, his eyes locked on Istvan. “Father?”
The general ignored him, getting between Sergiu and me.
“Yes. Alexandru and I thought what better way to strengthen and solidify the new bond between our countries. The union between Brexley and Sergiu will stabilize and increase our reign in the Eastern Bloc.”
I was a mountain on the outside, immobile, stoic, and silent, but a volcano inside, lavalike emotions scorching me alive. I couldn’t move or breathe.
“What?” Caden’s head whipped between them, anger rising his shoulders. “Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me?”
“No need for that tone,” Istvan snapped. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“N-nothing to do with me?” His voice pitched, sputtering over his words, his eyes going wild as they went to me and then back to his father. “Yes—she does—no—you can’t do this.”
“Caden is very protective of Brexley.” Rebeka laughed, brushing off her son’s reaction. “She’s like a sister to him. You can understand; I mean, they practically grew up together.”
Sister?
In one statement, she turned everything I felt for Caden and what I believed he felt for me into something wrong, dirty, making it sound that we were actually related. Making a relationship between us impossible.
“You are not selling her off like cattle.” Caden stepped up to his dad, his fists tight at his side. “You can’t do this. I won’t allow it.”
“I can. Did. And you will.” Speaking so only Caden and I could hear, Istvan pushed into his son’s frame. “Now stop embarrassing me in front of our guests.”
How did I not see this coming? They had been grooming me for marriage since I became their ward. Now they would sell me