The inherited vow

Chapter 5 : Alina

I was lying across my bed, staring at the ceiling while my phone rested beside me.

My room was one of the few places in the house that actually felt like mine.

Everything was neat and carefully arranged, from the books stacked on my shelves to the framed photographs sitting on my bedside table. Soft curtains covered the tall windows, letting in just enough afternoon sunlight to brighten the room without making it feel too warm. My favorite paintings hung on the walls, and a small collection of sketches filled one corner of my desk.

It was comfortable. Familiar.

Safe.

At least, it was supposed to be.

My phone buzzed beside me.

TEXT: So, have you healed from last week's toilet scene?

Bella.

I rolled my eyes before replying.

TEXT: There was nothing to heal from.

Her reply came almost immediately.

TEXT: Girl, you were practically boiling. I could see steam coming out of your ears when you were relating the story to me.

I stared at the screen.

TEXT: No, I was n—

I stopped typing.

“Alina, we need to talk.”

My mother's voice came from the doorway.

I slowly looked up from my phone.

Mama stood there, one hand resting against the doorframe. Her expression was serious, but there was something else in her eyes that I couldn't quite place.

I put my phone down.

“About?” I asked.

She stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

“Honey, after the disagreement you had with me and your father, you've been distant.”

I let out a quiet scoff.

“Maybe if you guys were more understanding, I wouldn't be.”

My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I didn't take it back.

Mama sighed and walked toward my bed.

“Honey, your father is doing this for us.”

I sat up straighter.

“For us?”

“Yes.”

I stared at her.

“By marrying me off to someone I don't know or love?”

My voice cracked slightly at the end.

Mama's expression softened.

“Alina—”

“No.” I shook my head. “I want to understand.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Because everyone keeps telling me it's for my own good, but nobody has actually asked me what I want.”

Silence filled the room.

I looked down at my hands.

“Am I a sacrifice to you guys?”

Mama reached for my hand, but I pulled it away.

“It's far from what you think.”

I frowned.

My mother paused, her fingers twisting together in her lap.

“Look, I think it's time I tell you something. You're old enough now.”

I stared at her.

“Tell me what?”

She looked at me for a moment before asking, “Do you remember your Uncle Antonov?”

“Yessss,” I said slowly.

I hadn't heard that name in years.

“What about him?”

“Your father and Antonov were very close. He was your father's right-hand man. Your father trusted him enough to leave him in charge of everything whenever he had to travel for business.”

She paused.

“He trusted him with his life.”

Something in the way she said those words made me sit a little straighter.

“What happened?”

My mother looked down at her hands.

“Antonov betrayed him.”

I blinked.

“He took a large amount of your father's money and disappeared. But that wasn't the worst part.”

She took a breath.

“He gave information about your father's business to people who wanted him destroyed.”

My stomach tightened.

“People who wanted to hurt Papa?”

She nodded.

“It nearly ruined him.”

For a moment, she stared toward the window.

I could tell she was remembering something she wished she could forget.

“But what does Uncle Antonov have to do with the Arsenyevs?”

Her eyes returned to me.

“Your father had a business agreement with the Arsenyevs.”

I waited.

“And it involved a lot of money.”

“How much?”

“Enough.”

Her answer was quiet.

I frowned.

“That's not an answer.”

“It was enough to put both families in a difficult position.”

I didn't understand.

My mother sighed.

“Alina, your father and I have spent years trying to keep you and your sisters away from the family business. We wanted you to have normal lives.”

I almost laughed.

“Normal?”

She ignored my comment.

“But when two families like ours make an agreement, there are consequences when one side can't hold up their end.”

My stomach sank.

“So Papa couldn't pay them?”

“He couldn't.”

“And Mr. Arsenyev wanted his money back.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn't he just take it?”

My mother hesitated.

That hesitation scared me more than her answer could have.

“Because he offered your father another way out.”

I stared at her.

“What way?”

She looked directly into my eyes.

“One of his sons would marry one of your father's daughters.”

For a second, I couldn't process what she'd said.

Then everything suddenly clicked.

My throat tightened.

“So…”

I swallowed.

“That was the deal?”

My mother nodded.

I stared at the floor.

“And that's how I got into the picture.”

She didn't answer.

I already knew.

My voice came out quieter.

“Because Semyon chose me?”

My mother's expression softened.

“Yes.”

I looked away.

A strange emptiness settled in my chest.

“So if he hadn't chosen me…”

I couldn't finish the sentence.

My mother reached for my hand.

“I'm not telling you this because I want to.”

“Then why are you telling me?”

“Because you're old enough to understand the responsibility your family carries.”

I pulled my hand away.

“Responsibility?”

My voice rose.

“I'm supposed to marry a man because my father owes his family money?”

“Alina—”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“But Papa has money now.”

My voice softened.

“He can pay them now, can't he?”

My mother didn't answer immediately.

That was enough to make my heart beat faster.

“He tried.”

I stared at her.

“And?”

She looked away.

“Semyon refused.”

My eyes widened.

“He refused?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

My voice cracked.

My mother shook her head.

“I don't know.”

I stared at her, trying to make sense of it.

If he could take the money, why didn't he?

Why insist on marrying me?

I suddenly felt like there was a piece of this story everyone knew except me.

My mother reached for my hand again.

“But you should know one thing.”

I looked at her.

“Your father and I will always love you.”

Her voice trembled.

“We will love you until the day we die.”

I looked down at our hands.

Those words should have comforted me.

Instead, they made my chest ache.

Because somehow, knowing they loved me didn't make the situation hurt any less.My mother kissed my forehead and left my room.

The door clicked shut behind her.

I didn't move.

For several seconds, I simply sat there, staring at the spot where she'd been standing.

Everything I thought I knew about my marriage had just changed.

My father hadn't simply decided that I was going to marry Semyon.

There had been a reason.

A debt.

A betrayal.

A deal made between two families.

And somehow, I had become part of that deal.

I slowly lay back against my pillows, staring at the ceiling.

Did it change anything?

Yes.

Did I hate Semyon more?

Absolutely.

Would I make him regret choosing me?

Without a doubt.

I clenched my jaw.

He could have taken the money.

He could have walked away.

But he hadn't.

He had chosen me.

I didn't know why, and somehow, that bothered me more than anything else.

My mind started racing.

Maybe I could make his life miserable.

Maybe I could make him regret ever hearing my name.

I turned onto my side, already imagining all the ways I could make my future husband's life unbearable.

Then it hit me.

A thought so sudden that I practically sat up.

A smile slowly spread across my face.

If my parents wanted me to behave like the perfect daughter, maybe it was time they remembered I wasn't nearly as obedient as they thought.

I reached for my phone.

There was only one person I wanted with me.

I opened Bella's chat.

TEXT: Come over tonight. I need you.

I stared at the message for a second before sending it.

I didn't wait for her reply.

Whatever I was about to do, I already knew I couldn't do it alone.