Once Upon A Lie

Forty-one:

Forty-one:

They left the church in a daze. Neither one of them was willing to speak. They'd gotten married. They'd been forced into it by The Apparat for preserving Alina's honor, or some such nonsense.

"What are we going to do? Alina asked. "If our parents find out, they'll make us stay married. If we don't tell them, they're going to try and force me to marry Nikolai. And if we don't tell them..."

Aleksander sighed. "I don't know."

"But we've got to think of something."

"What if we keep it a secret?" Aleksander suggested. "We're two kids under the age of eighteen. Technically, what The Apparat did wasn't even legal. So, we'll pretend as if it didn't happen. Then, when we're both eighteen, we can get it annulled if you really want to."

"Aleks...."

"I don't see that we have any other choice, Alina."

She thought it over, and he was right she realized. The only choice they had was to keep it a secret. "What about Mal?"

Aleksander clenched his jaw together. "I told you we would do this however you wanted. Casual, serious. It's up to you."

"Yes, but that was before we wound up in a secret wedding by force. I know you, Aleksander. Are you really going to be comfortable letting me date while we're.... married, or whatever?"

He pulled over to the side of the road they were on. "If you want me to be honest about it, I want to tell our parents. I want to move into an apartment with you, and fuck you every day until you have my child and we're tied together forever. But, we've played this by my rule book for far too long. I am, helplessly, yours. Any way that you want me."

Alina's heart raced. Letting Aleksander tell their parents, and live in his little fantasy would be so easy. It would solve so many problems. But it would also be doing exactly what her parents wanted. And that was the last thing she wanted to do right then.

"I'm not ready for that," she said, "I don't even know who I am yet. I've never even had a life without you."

He winced. "Do you want a life without me?"

Alina sighed. "No, no. That's not what I mean. I mean...we're intertwined, you and me. I need to know who I am on my own."

"What do you want to do about living?" Aleksander asked. "You know what will happen if I take you back home."

She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "I know you won't like this, but can you take me to Genya's?"

He narrowed his gaze. "Where Mal is?"

"Where Genya is," Alina said.

He sighed. "Fine. You know where she lives?"

"Yeah. The Geldrenner."

He frowned. "The hotel? Why are they living there?"

"Ah. Their mom is in between husbands at the moment. The hotel lets her make believe that they're still as rich as her last husband was."

"Huh," Aleksander said, "right then. I'll take you to The Geldrenner."

"Thank you, Aleks."

"Anything for you, Alina."