Page 3 of The Pakhan's Arranged Bride

I hang up.

***

Now that I’m off the phone, I realize I’ve created a mess for myself. But at least I’ve put an end to her mess. For now, anyway. If she finds out I don’t have a fiancée, she’ll be right back onto her plans.

Shit.

Overall, I’d say that did not go well.

A reminder alarm buzzes on my phone, and I pick it up to see what I’ve forgotten about.A meeting with Nestor.

Okay, it’s not so bad. It’s a Zoom video meeting, I don’t have to go anywhere for it. And Nestor is pretty chill. Our business is going well. We’ve almost become friends over the past few months.

Grabbing my notebook and my preferred silver fountain pen, I sit down behind my laptop and open all the necessary programs to start the meeting.

My fingers drum against the edge of the book, waiting, thinking, stressed about my mother’s constant interference inmy life. It doesn’t matter what I do—she finds ways to cause problems.

I chuckle, thinking that if she were an enemy, I would have buried her in the desert years ago.

“Benedikt? Can you hear me?” Nestor’s voice carries through my laptop. A message pops up on the screen to switch on the video. I click accept.

His face fills my screen.

“Working from home today?” I say, noting that he’s in his home office. “Living the easy life there is San Francisco?”

He snorts. “Hey man, one day, when you have a newborn who doesn’t think night time is for sleeping, we can talk about the easy life.”

“Ha. No thanks,” I laugh, tapping my pen against the notebook.

“Shall we get to it?” Nestor says, looking down at the list of topics he’s noted on the paper in front of him.

“Go for it,” I sigh, already struggling to focus.

“On Thursday we have those goods coming in from our new contact in Mexico; we want a larger team in the receiving bay to accommodate any risks.”

“Done, I’ve already got Jadon to discuss that with Milo. They’ve got a second team standing by.”

“Good.” He nods, ticking it off the list. “Then—"

I wonder what my mother promised Ardalion? That guy hates me. We’ve been at each other’s throats for years. Why would he agree to let me marry his sister? I wouldn’t let him near my sister if my life depended on it. I’d never do that to her.

My mother must have offered him something too good to refuse. Something that wasn’t hers to give.

“Benedikt?”

“Mm?” I snap back into myself, realizing I haven’t been listening.

“Man, where is your head at? I just said your name three times,” Nestor complains, shaking his head.

“Sorry, fuck. I know. I’m having the worst week.”

“What’s going on?” Nestor asks, concern knitting his brows.

I laugh bitterly. “My mother is what’s going on. Can you believe it? She has arranged a wedding between Ardalion’s sister and me—all behind my back.”

“What the—" Nestor stammers in disbelief.

“I know, I can’t get my head around it. I just got off the phone with her now, and the way I put a stop to it was telling her I already have a fiancée.”