Chapter three | Ekaterina
"What are you painting, Kat?" Kiara's voice catches my attention and I almost drop the brush.
"Sorry, sorry I didn't mean to startle you." My sister says as she walks inside my room, and I watch as the peaceful expression on her face turns into a snarl.
"Ew, Katrina, what the fuck do you do here? It looks worse every day." She says while dramatically motioning at my room, as I suppress the urge to roll my eyes.
"I'll clean it, okay." I say just so she can shut up, "oh shut up, you liar." She says and sighs as she walks towards the painting and I hold up a warning finger.
"Don't you dare touch it." I say before returning back to painting, I hear her gasp and I turn around, "wow, this is beautiful." She says causing a smile to spread on my face.
"You need to start selling those." She says and I roll my eyes, "don't be silly." I say smiling.
"Are you kidding? They're gorgeous, please don't tell me that you don't like them." She says furrowing her brows, I sigh and place the brush down again.
walking towards her, "look, I know okay, I know what you're about to say but no, no it's not enough yet." I tell her.
I've heard this talk hundreds of times in my life, 'they're beautiful, sell them!' 'You would make lots of money out of it' and lots more.
"You've been saying that for years, when is it gonna be enough? they're worth being put in an art gallery." She says and my eyes widen marginally,
"you know how competitive that is? Okay okay I know they're beautiful I won't deny it." I say to reassure her and it's true.
"I know they're beautiful, just not enough." I say genuinely and her face falls, "fine, but I just want you to understand, that in your mind, it'll never be enough."
Yes, it will.
She just doesn't understand the amount of other artists I'll be compared to, so yes I'll have to work harder on my work, so it can be worth it after all.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･
"Dad?" I ask cautiously when I arrive at the dining room, taking my usual seat, "sit, I need to talk to you." He says and I clear my throat.
"It's about Alexander." He says, his tone carrying an edge and his eyes holding mine, hope sparks in my stomach as I wait.
He'll break our marriage
I won't marry him
Nothi-
"Your wedding is in two weeks." I choke on my saliva and grab the glass of water in front of me, my eyes widen the further this information settles in my mind.
No, no no no fucking way, "dad, I just knew the guy I can't-" I start but he knocks his fist on the table so hard I flinch.
He points a finger at me and glares, "I swear to god if you fuck up this marriage, I'll ruin your goddamn life, Ekaterina, that's a promise." He says and I swallow hard as tears start to form in my eyes.
My mother's hand startle me as she rubs my shoulder, "it's okay." She whispers softly and I close my eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling.
I fucking hate this,
"You'll also have to go buy new clothes and many other things for your marriage this weekend, even starting today." He adds and my eyes snap open.
"What does that mean?" I ask confused as my brows furrow, "it means to get ready because Alexander is picking you up in an hour." He drops the bomb like that and continues eating completely unbothered.
I've been avoiding any interactions with this man at any cost but for some reason, I feel that today will be totally different.
In a bad way.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･
"Get in the car." He orders and I glare at him, or at least attempt to, he narrows his eyes before rolling them, "get in the car, Ekaterina." He says again.
I do get in the said car and take in the view, I'm not exaggerating when I say that this car is almost the same size as my painting studio.
Even though my family is rich, our father never made us live like we actually were, just dressed us well so we can catch people's attention and shit, other than that, absolutely nothing.
"You with me?" His sudden voice startles me and my eyes shift to his, I clear my throat as I speak "yes?" I say cautiously.
His expression softens for a split second before it returns back to the normal gruff face, "where do you want to go?" He asks and I sigh.
"any mall, I don't care," I say quietly and clutch my bag tighter as hundreds of thoughts start eating up my mind.
I feel his hard stare burning a hole in my face but I don't look at him again, instead, I focus on the road and let my mind drift to places that would make me forget about this even if it's for a second.
I lose track of time and I come to my senses again when I see him opening the door for me,
as I get out the cold air slaps me in the fucking face and I shiver.
Running my hands across my bare arms to feel any kind of friction, "Jesus Christ, how many degrees is it?" I mutter under my breath and Alexander looks down at me,
he holds my eyes for a second before taking off his jacket and placing it on my shoulder.
My eyes widen in surprise and I clutch the jacket tighter, immediately welcoming the warmth, "well, If you could just show this normal part of you not the monstrous one then maybe I could've liked you."
"You know what, give me the jacket." He says and my eyes widen again as I hold a finger up "sorry! Sorry! Okay calm your tits, I was joking!" I exclaim and he glares at me.
Leaning down as he whispers in my ears, his cologne hits my nostrils and my lips part from how intense the smell is, not to mention the smell of cigarette and whiskey that's coming off of him.
"You don't talk to me like that in front of my men, Ekaterina, I thought I already told you that last time, hmm?" He says, his voice low and I swallow hard.
Barely able to contain eye contact, I run a hand through my hair and sigh, I know I should watch my mouth, especially around him, I know that I can't talk to him like that, but sometimes I just can't fucking help it.
"Fine," I murmur, too stubborn to apologize, I didn't even disrespect him that much, yes you did, he doesn't utter another word as he puts a hand on my lower back and guides me inside the mall,
"Did your father inform you?" He asks as I step inside a store, scanning the surrounding area, "you mean the fact that I'll marry you in two weeks?" I ask and don't bother looking up at him.
He's probably glaring, "yes." He says so I nod, "we'll move to New York." He says and I snap my head in his direction.
"What the hell do you mean?" I ask confused, he crosses his arms over his chest, "we're traveling right after our wedding, the only reason we're still here is because your parents wanted the wedding to be here." He says.
Ah, you've got to be kidding me.