Katrina took the first step towards their grandmother, leading her cousin sister. She moved towards her grandmother and treated her before going over to kiss her cheek. "How have you been, grandmother?"
"Very well, child." Sofiya's cold ice took her in briefly before they moved over to the girl behind her.
Katrina moved out of the way, and Natya stepped in her place. "Grandmother, I have missed you."
"I miss you too, dear, which is why I always visit."
Katrina winced and hoped that her father had made sure to hide it from her grandmother. As much as they wanted to visit and get out of this para with high walls and tons of security guards, they could not.
They took over to the two seater sofa that was on the right hand side of their grandmother. She sat in the single chair like it was her throne.
"Your father has some announcement to make."
Katrina nodded. "He mentioned something about it during lunch."
Sofiya nodded and leaned into the chair, relaxing slightly. "The announcement is going to bring a lot of things into light and it is also going to bring your life into an entirely new perspective."
Katrina blinked in surprise. "My—" she corrected herself and refrained the sentence in her mind quickly, " are you talking about one of us?"
Sofiya replied with a nod, "I am talking about you, specifically, Katrina."
Apprehension filled her chest and she forced herself to take a deep breath. "How?"
Her grandmother continued to scrutinize her with her sharp eyes. Her continued silence only made her realise the gravity of the situation that she had not yet comprehended.
There was a reason why her grandmother had come here before her father made the announcement. It may be something in the lines of making sure that she did not act out in front of her father and knew what he was talking about.
The question was, why did she not already know about it if it was of such great importance?
Was it something in correlation to what Annika had talked about?
"Is everything well?" Natya cut in the scrutinizing session. Her voice displayed the concern and the anxiety she felt too.
"Yes," answered their grandmother, "everything is well."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "it is not uncommon in the bratva to have arranged marriages. Sometimes, they happen even before the child is born."
"What if both of the same gender?" Natya questioned and Katrina looked at her grandmother for the answer. Yes, what if that was the case?
"Then it continues until we land in the position of marriage. It may take a generation, over another, but the proposal is fulfilled." Sofiya answered, keeping her eyes on her before moving them to Katrina. "As I said, sometimes it takes one generation just like it has with this one."