Chapter 87 Anya
I woke up to maids entering my room.
"Time to get ready, Miss Koslov. It is your wedding day."
"Already?" My voice was hoarse.
"Yes. Mr. Ivanov moved the ceremony up. It is happening this afternoon."
This afternoon. Not tomorrow. Today!
My heart sank.
Nikolai had not published the evidence yet. He had not exposed Ivanov.
We had run out of time.
Unless... unless he was still working on it. Unless he would publish it today before the ceremony.
I silently prayed and wished that was the case.
The maids dressed me. They did my hair and applied makeup.
I looked in the mirror. A bride stared back at me. She looked beautiful. She looked perfect. But inside, she felt completely dead.
"You look stunning," one of the maids said.
I didn't respond.
They led me downstairs to a small chapel on the grounds.
It was a beautiful scene. Flowers were everywhere, on the pews, along the aisle, tied to the chairs. Soft candlelight flickered all around. Gentle music played from somewhere in the back.
And at the altar, Ivanov waited. He was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit that looked expensive, the kind that money alone couldn't buy. He was smiling. He was always smiling.
It was really my wedding.
I walked down the aisle. Each step felt like walking to my execution.
The guests watched. They were important people, council members and business leaders. All of them had come here to witness my doom.
I reached the altar and stood next to Ivanov. He took my hand and squeezed it too tight. "You look beautiful like a lamb to slaughter," he whispered.
The priest began the ceremony with words I did not hear, words that meant nothing. I kept looking at the doors waiting and hoping and praying that Nikolai would burst in, that he would stop this, that he would save me.
But the doors stayed closed.
The priest asked, "Do you, Anya Koslov, take Alexei Ivanov to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
I opened my mouth but no words came out.
"Answer the question," Ivanov said, tightening his grip on my hand.
I looked at the doors one more time and they were still closed. Nikolai was not coming. The evidence had not worked. We had failed.
"I do." I whispered.
"And do you, Alexei Ivanov, take Anya Koslov to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asked.
"I do," Ivanov said loudly with a smile.
"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The priest said.
Ivanov pulled me close and kissed me hard.
The guests applauded and I died inside because I was Mrs. Ivanov now, legally his and completely his and forever his.
The ceremony ended. The guests moved to the reception hall. Ivanov kept his arm around me, parading me and showing me off.
"See? I told you I would win. I always win." He whispered in my ear.
"Where is Nikolai? What did you do to him?" I asked.
He laughed softly. "Nothing. He escaped last night and took the files from my safe. He is probably trying to publish them right now."
"Then why are you not worried?" I asked.
"Because the files he took were fake. I switched them last night and the real files are somewhere safe, somewhere he will never find them. He thinks he is smart." He laughed.
My heart stopped. "Fake?"
He nodded. "Yes. The files he stole were planted and they have evidence but not against me, against him."
I shook my head. "No,"
"Yes. So when he tries to expose me, he will only expose himself and prove his own guilt, not mine."
"You monster," I whispered.
He laughed again. "I am a genius and you are my wife. So smile and wave and act happy because if you do not, I will find Nikolai and I will kill him slowly. Do you understand?"
I nodded because I could not speak. He had planned everything, every step and every move. We had never had a chance.
The reception began. Music played. Food was being served. Wine flowed. I sat there next to my husband smiling and pretending while dying inside.
Then I saw him.
Niikolai.
He was walking into the hall wearing a servant's uniform with his head down and his hands wrapped in rags.
My heart stopped.
"Ah, perfect timing. I wanted him to see this, to see what he lost." Ivanov said.
"You brought him back here?"
"Of course. I want him to serve at our wedding, to watch us and suffer."
He waved to a guard and said, "Bring Markov over here."
The guard brought Nikolai to our table and Nikolai looked up. His eyes met mine and I saw the defeat and the hopelessness and the complete and utter despair in his face.
Ivanov said cheerfully, "Markov, so glad you could join us. I want you to serve my wife and me. Make sure our glasses are always full and our plates are always full and everything is perfect. Can you do that?"
Nikolai said nothing. He just stared.
Ivanov's voice changed, hard and cold. "I said, can you do that?"
Nikolai whispered, "Yes." Ivanov smiled again. "Good. Start with the wine."
Nikolai picked up a bottle and poured wine into Ivanov's glass and then into mine. His hands were shaking.
Ivanov said, "Thank you, Markov. You may go but stay close because I will need you again soon."
Nikolai walked away and went back to the other servants. I watched him go with tears burning in my eyes because this was it, this was our fate.
I was Ivanov's wife and Nikolai was his servant and there was no escape, no hope and no future, just endless suffering for both of us.
The party continued. Hours passed. Guests danced and laughed and celebrated.
I sat there watching Nikolai serve, watching him suffer, knowing that this was my fault. I had doomed us both.
As the night wore on, Ivanov leaned close to me and whispered, "Tonight we would consummate our marriage again but this time as husband and wife."
I closed my eyes because this was my life now as Mrs. Anya Ivanov. I was just a property, a possession, a prisoner. And there was nothing I could do about it.
Nothing at all.