Chapter Ten
7 YEARS AND 2 MONTHS EARLIER, MOSCOW
My eighteenth birthday.
I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. My parents are throwing a huge party tonight, one that will be attended by everybody who’s anybody in Moscow. My mom has been in the planning mode for months, wanting it to be the event of the summer. The celebration will take place in a huge ballroom at the newest luxury hotel, and the worst part is that I’ve overheard my parents arguing over whether or not to announce my engagement to Alexei there.
“—haven’t even dated yet,” Mama was saying in a shrill tone when I walked past the library a few days ago. “What if they don’t like each other? What if he refuses at the last moment? He hasn’t so much as spoken to her in years!”
“Because she was a f*****g child,” Papa
