Page 12 of One of Them

I chuckled at the thought as I sat there, but the weight remained on my shoulders, pressing down in the right spots.

***

“I’m getting married,” Ilya greeted me with a bombshell the moment he entered. Straight to the point was very much his style, but this? This was not.

“You’re what?” I stood up from the couch, facing him.

“I said I’m getting married,” he repeated slowly, as if I needed it spelled out.

“I heard you. It’s just not registering.”

“Let’s hope it does, because it’s happening.”

I walked toward his desk, looking at him like he’d grown a second head overnight. Which, frankly, seemed more likely than this.

“Hold on. I’m so lost. Where did you even find somebody?”

“Thanks,” Ilya snickered, clearly offended by my bluntness. I didn’t mean for my words to come across as an attack. I’d never seen him with a woman, let alone someone worth marrying.

“Did you kidnap her? Please tell me there isn’t a girl tied up in your bedroom. I’m not dealing with that.”

“It’s an arranged marriage,” he announced, the words slipping from his mouth so naturally.

Now, the first option seemed like the better choice.

“What?” I snapped, my hands landing on the edge of the desk.

“Why are you shouting?” Ilya asked, far too calmly.

I gestured at his head. “Because you’ve lost your marbles.”

“Possibly. But it’s set.”

“Did she agree?”

“Yes,” he assured me. “Her brothers aren’t happy, but it’s agreed.” When words escaped me, Ilya added, “I need to get married and think about the future.”

The future?

My face must’ve shown what I was feeling because Ilya read me like a book.

“It’s no big deal, Taya,” he brushed off my concerns.

“When is this all happening?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the sudden shift.

“The announcement will go out in a month.”

“Not beating around the bush,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

Ilya simply nodded. “You might say that.”

“What’s going on? You know you can tell me,” I pressed, voicing the question we’d all been avoiding. “Does this have something to do with Malek rising to power?”

Ilya’s face remained unreadable as he dismissed my words as if they hadn’t been spoken.

“Can I count on you?” he asked instead.

“Of course. Getting married,” I puffed out the words with a dry laugh. “Who would’ve thought?”

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