Episode 5

Malik

That ogre! He hurt my face, such a detestable man. The worst part is that he didn't leave me a way out.

Jordan is a sweet and kind boy, full of life and energy. Losing his parents, even more so under these circumstances, will destroy him. I know because it was like that for me. I grew up full of trauma and insecurity, which made me get attached so easily to David, and give myself so blindly to him. I needed so much to feel loved and protected again, and David was so kind and attentive, I ended up closing my eyes to everything else.

I was born in Somalia. I lived there until I was twelve, when my father was killed. My country has been living in a civil war since the 90s.

My father was a Philosophy professor who dreamed of changing the world. He was killed by rebel forces, inside our house, right in the middle of the living room, in front of my sister and me.

We stayed there in the living room hugging my father's body for hours until my mother got home from work. That day, everything changed for us. My mother sent us here to the United States to stay with a distant cousin. She decided to stay there and fight for the country and try to fulfill my father's dream of ending the war.

At the time, I suffered a lot. I thought I had been abandoned and lived with that feeling for years. After a long time and a lot of therapy, today I understand my mother a little more.

Seeing my father being killed in front of me was the saddest thing I've ever experienced. I can't let Jordan go through that, not if I can help it.

And on second thought, it won't be so bad. If he keeps his promise that it will all be for show, I won't have to go to bed with him. I think it might work. I can do this for Jordan.

But just as much as he wants them to think this marriage is real, I want it too. I don't want my sister and cousins looking at me with pity, feeling sorry for me. I can pretend that I've hooked a handsome mobster, and then make up an excuse when the divorce comes through. Nobody needs to know that I'm still single and lonely.

The room I was in was beautiful, very spacious and airy. I don't remember ever lying on such a soft bed. Despite the tiredness, fear and anticipation, I had a reasonably good night's sleep.

I woke up and saw that they had returned my cell phone that they took yesterday. I looked at the time and got ready to go down and talk to the tattooed giant ogre.

I went down a very large staircase, took a good look around and saw how beautiful this mansion is, and all very well decorated in a clean and modern style.

I found a dining room with so many chairs it looked more like a cafeteria. There was plenty of food on the table, but only 2 people were seated, which I found ridiculous. The idiot ogre, who I now know is called Dimitri, was at the head of the table, and next to him was his shadow, a guy in his 40s who always had a blank expression on his face.

As soon as he saw me, Dimitri gave a sly smile and started teasing me.

"Good morning, professor. I trust you have an answer for me."

"Good morning, Mr. Romanov, but I have some conditions."

"Look at that, Ivan. He thinks he can demand something."

"They are not demands, they are conditions. It is different."

"Out of curiosity, what would your conditions be?"

"Well, like you, I don't want my family to know that this is an arranged marriage. I want you to come to my house and meet my family. Since the wedding is going to be rushed, we should at least go there and tell them. And I also want to keep teaching, I can't just abandon my class."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"Well, going to your house is not the kind of thing I would like to do, but it will make everything seem even more real and true, so I'm in. As for working, that won't be a problem either. It will only irritate my enemies even more. I'll just warn you that you will have a driver and bodyguards with you at all times."

"All right, then I'm in."

Dimitri got up, came over to where I was and held out his hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

I don't know to what extent this agreement will change my life, but I see no other option but to accept.

"Yes, we have a deal."

"Well, professor, now that we have a deal, I'm going to assign one of the security guards to accompany you. I've already saved my number on your cell phone. I don't want to know what you're doing, so if I call, you answer. I'll stop by to see you later today."

It was Sunday so my sister must have gone to my in-laws' house with my brother-in-law and the kids, they shouldn't be home when I get there, which will give me some time to calm down and make up some story about how I met my future husband before I talk to her.

Before I left, Dimitri introduced me to Tiago, my security guard. I liked him right away, he has such a beautiful smile and seems sincere. I went home accompanied by Tiago, he stayed in the car, and I suspect he's going to sleep there. I stayed there for a while staring at the ceiling trying to process everything that was happening in my life at that moment.

That's when I heard the sound of the door opening and the children laughing and playing.

Well, I'm going to talk to them, I hope Latifah doesn't kill me!

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