“Tell me what happened to you?” “Can I just ride in silence?”—this offended hedgehog asks hopefully, having lost most of his quills out there, over the side, from the back of the car. “No. Think of the explanation as the fare,” I push a little. “Maybe… and what if you let me kiss you instead?”—the girl suddenly says, stunning me. Grisha quietly laughs from the front. “Well then, go on,” I agree unexpectedly for her. A pause. I can count it. One second, two, three… The girl takes a deep breath, closes her eyes gathering courage, funny folds her lips into a bow and reaches for me. What? She’s really going to kiss a stranger man? *** Before he died, my father made a deal with a very dangerous and influential man. The terms are simple: I marry Alikhan Gadzhiev, and he gives me money for an operation. A sick heart and a marriage contract at nineteen—does that mean it’s the end? One very stubborn gray-eyed major showed me it’s only the beginning. The beginning of our story… Contains profanity.