Once Upon A Lie

Fifteen:

Fifteen

The year after Alina had found out about the engagement had been the same year that Tatiana Lantsov had been found on the side of the road, her car overturned, because her breaks had been cut. There had been a deer in the middle of the road as she'd been going home. She had tried to stop, to swerve, and the impact from the crash had made the car turn. She hadn't died, not exactly. But she was in a coma in the hospital and had shown no signs of waking up. Alina had heard rumors that Nikolai's mother had been having an affair. She remembered when Nikolai had told them what had happened. In a flash, Alina had seen her grim future. At eighteen, she'd marry Aleksander. She would become a young trophy wife. She'd get bored and some man would smile at her at a charity event.

And then, once Aleksander found out, because they always did-----Alina would meet the same, grim fate as Tatiana. Aleksander would probably take her off life support and marry his mistress. Some upstart 22-year-old that was an assistant at the company or something that he was also secretly fucking. That is, if Zoya Nazyalensky didn't lose his interest. They would be miserable. Their world could provide everything they wanted---except happiness. After her dinner with the Morozovas, Alina lay in bed, trying not to think about the things Aleksander had done in between her legs that night.

It was not an easy feat.

The rain hadn't let up since that afternoon. She could hear it pitter-pattering against her window. But there was something else that she heard. Alina had a balcony, and a trellis up against the side. There was a banging against the wall as if something----maybe wind----were making the trellis move.

Curious, and still in her baby blue pajamas, she got up from her bed and went outside in the dark to take a look at what it was. She jumped, letting out a shriek when she saw that it was Aleksander climbing up. "Aleks!" she said. "What are you doing?"

He was soaking wet, and still wearing the suit and tie that he'd worn for the dinner with Wylan. "Let me up."

Alina put her hands on her hips. "Why should I?"

"I broke up with Zoya."

She blinked. "You...you..."

Aleksander grinned. "Let me up."

Alina walked over, and helped pull him up over the railing of the balcony. He was soaking wet. "You're going to catch a cold."

He shook his head, his wet hair getting her wet in the process too. Alina let out a little shriek and he laughed, wrapping her in his arms. "Come on," he said, "let's get you inside. Can't have the both of us getting sick."

The two of them went back inside her room. "You're soaking," she told him, "get out of those clothes."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Lina?" He grinned roguishly at her and Alina felt a little weak in the knees. It hadn't even been less than a few hours ago that he had been reluctant to even do anything about Zoya. Now, he was there in front her, acting as if everything were all alright.

And yet she couldn't help but blush like the school girl that she was. "I am trying to keep you from catching a cold. I've still got some of your stuff from when you stayed that one time because you were sick and your parents were out of town. Get undressed, and I'll get it for you."

Alina went to her dresser, and rummaged through, until she found the old Radiohead t-shirt and sweatpants. She tossed them to him only to catch a glimpse of him completely naked. And somehow, despite being completely soaked to the bone, he wasn't even shivering. Only standing there with that wicked grin of his. "Aleks!" she gasped. "Put your clothes on."

Aleksander chuckled, catching the clothes that she tossed at him. "You did tell me to get undressed. I was simply following your instructions."

She caught sight of something on his shoulder then that she hadn't seen before. "What's on your arm?"

Aleksander paled. "Nothing."

Alina was pointedly looking at his face as he shrugged on the sweatpants she'd given him.

"No, there's clearly something on your shoulder...Aleks, did you get a tattoo?"

Aleksander sighed, and ran hand through his wet hair. "Yes. I did. Nikolai dared me to last summer. We were both drunk."

Alina frowned. "Aleks, I swear if you got some girls name tattooed---"

He turned so that she could see it. His whole body was tense. Alina took his arm in her hand and traced over the ink. "A sun?" she furrowed her brows together. "Why?"

"You," he said, and he turned around to face her, "you. Because you're my sun. Life begins and ends with you, Alina."

Alina took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding against her chest. She looked at the tattoo again on his muscled shoulder. Alina traced over it lightly with her fingers. She locked eyes with him. "Did you really break up with Zoya?"

Aleksander nodded. "I still don't think that we should go public. I don't want that kind of pressure put on you. But...I want you, Lina. I don't want anyone else."

Alina smiled sheepishly at him. She kissed his shoulder, over the tattoo, and Aleksander closed his eyes and he shivered. "Lina," he growled, his eyes dark.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand. "you don't need to walk home in the rain. You can stay here."

"You're going to let me sleep in your bed?" Aleksander said.

"That's all," she said firmly, "just sleep."

"Alright," Aleksander told her, "can I hold you at least?"

"Sure."

Aleksander crawled into her bed first. Alina crawled in after, and Aleksander wrapped his arms around her.

"You still smell like irises," he said, "I like that smell."

He kissed her neck, and Alina shivered.

"Does this mean there's going to be no awkward date Saturday?" Alina whispered.

Aleksander pulled her dark hair back, and he kissed her neck. "Yeah. This means that there's going to be no awkward date on Saturday. You'll have to tell Nikolai."

"He's going to be so disappointed."

He let out a growl again. "If he knows what's good for him, he'll get over it."

Alina laughed. "I'll be sure to tell him that too."

They lay there for a moment, enjoying being wrapped up in each other's embrace, as they listened to the sound of the rain outside.

"Aleks," Alina said, "would it really be so bad if everybody knew before we were married? What could the harm be?"

Aleksander stroked her arm gently. "When my mother first was engaged to my father, they were doing a huge business deal. His competitors didn't like that he had gotten one over them. This no name kid that grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. And they certainly didn't like that Baghra, a general's daughter, was with him. One weekend, she went on a trip with friends. She went swimming in the True Sea----and she...."

"She what?"

"She got caught by what they thought were pirates. Turns out it was men from a rival company. It was a week before they found her again."

Alina shivered.

"If were not married, I can't protect you the way that I want to," Aleksander explained, "once we are...there's nothing that could stop me. One more year, Princess. And then the world will know."