Lola closed her eyes as she exhaled, shoulders sagging as she relaxed the tension in them, she was alone in her dressing room, Kureha and the others had already moved to the altar, the ceremony was about to start in just a few minutes and her nerves and intrusive thoughts chose now to be a good time to strike her.
She was not having second thoughts, she was not, but even she couldn’t deny the sheer overwhelming feeling she felt when she thinks about how her life will change drastically the moment she walks out those doors and to the altar where she will be waiting for her wife.
Her wife.
She was going to have a wife, God, she was going to become someone’s wife, her, the people eating bombshell model who treated relationships like a checklist and drops significant others when fresh meat comes along.
Lola wasn’t stupid despite what people desperately tried to make others believe, sure, she admits that she can be pretty heartless but never once did she try to delude herself into thinking that she could ever be somebody’s stay at home wife nor that there was anyone worthy of even making her consider the possibility.
For the longest time, she was fine with that, made peace with it even, she was perfectly content being single, having a few flings here and there while living vicariously through her teammates, both of which had seemed to find love in the strangest of places but were thriving all the same now.
But then her old childhood friend and first crush came back into her life, under a new name and identity so far removed from the one she used to know and the feelings that came back with it wanted vengeance and blood, demanding that she face the things she had left unsaid and topics left untouched.
She ignored it of course, no fucking way was she going to open that can of worms, because that means being vulnerable and being forced to admit that somewhere along the way of her path to the top, she had messed up and lost sight of the one person who made her believe that love wasn’t some bullshit gimmick.
Then Reika invited her to that gala and the two of them had clicked like they haven’t been separated for years and changed into different people, the reunion had transformed into friendship, then after a few romps in the sheets, Lola had done something that she thought she would never do. She stayed. She started sleeping in beside Reika, waking up alongside her and joining her throughout the morning when she should’ve left during the middle of the night.
And if that wasn’t enough, after genuinely making love for the first time, the two of them ended up dating. One year later, she is now looking at herself wearing a wedding gown she had sewn herself, standing in a venue she had paid what most people would have to sell an arm and a leg for, just minutes away from being the wife of a wealthy socialite, minutes away from spending the rest of her life with the love of her life.
She’s happy, unbelievably happy, ecstatic even, her perfect life was finally complete, she had quite literally everything she could ask for and more.
So why the fuck was she terrified?
A knock on the door caused Lola to startle and cursed under her breath, heart pounding in her chest as a result from her emotions and the slight scare, she pushed back a few strands of hair hanging in front of her face and cleared her throat.
“Come in.”
To her surprise, it wasn’t Kureha or any one of her bridesmaidens coming to check on her or remind her to get going to the altar.
It was Ivan. The man who saved her from being swallowed by the city’s underbelly when she was just a dumbass kid and the closest person she has to a genuine father figure.
Lola blinked, stunned to see him in the flesh, she knows she shouldn’t be, she had personally sent him an invitation—taking special measures not to alert the wrong people of their involvement with each other—she knows that he would stop whatever fucked up criminal act he was doing just for her and that’s before finding out about her engagement.
“Ivan…you came…” She breathed, eyes taking all of him in like he would vanish if she looked away.
The old Russian man chuckled lowly and stepped further inside the room, shutting the door to give the two of them privacy, afterwards he held out his arms for a hug, one that Lola reciprocated without hesitation, slotting in his embrace perfectly like she had never grew up from that bloody teenager he found sitting on the curb.
“мой ангел, why do you look so surprised? Did you really think I wouldn’t come see you on your own wedding day? I’m hurt.” Ivan teased as he wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her close, he noted how tall she had become since the last time he saw her despite it being partially from her heels, he made a mental note to start visiting her more often, before he knows it, she’ll be his age.
Lola rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips as she huffed playfully, “Well, can you blame me, old man? You’re still running around with the killers and the criminals like you don’t have metal in your hip.”
The blonde woman yelped and laughed when he gave her a warning pinch on the arm, “Watch it, кукла, you’re lucky I’m trying to be on my best behavior today in front of your friends…and for your information, the metal is in my knees, not my hips but even that doesn’t stop me from showing these new cocky shitheads to respect their elders.”
“Of course, well, just be mindful okay, Ivan? I’d hate to have to find your remains after I get back from my honeymoon because some short tempered trigger happy nutjob decides to act on impulse.” Lola pulled away from the hug, sending him a knowing look.
“No promises but I’ll try just for you, now, don’t you think you should be getting on the altar? I heard from Moonlight that the wedding starts in just a few minutes, are you okay? You’re not hurt or sick, are you?” Ivan questioned, peering into her veil to get a better look at her face.
Lola opened her mouth, then closed it before nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine, just…thinking.”
Ivan raised an eyebrow before nodding himself. “Right, just thinking.”
Lola sighed, she knows that Ivan didn’t believe her, that excuse was weak even for her. “It’s nothing bad, I swear, I’m not getting cold feet, I’m just…reflecting, it’s finally hit me that I’m going to be going from ‘Ms’ to ‘Mrs’ in just a few minutes and it’s…mind boggling to say the least, you of all people know how I used to view relationships, what my opinion about love and marriage and the like, now here I am, about to become the one thing I never thought I’d be. It’s weird…it’s…what if I mess up? What if I’m such a shitty wife to Reika? Or god fucking forbid, what if I hurt her because I’m too fucked up-“
“Natalia.” Just that one word was enough to clamp Lola’s mouth shut, flinching like an abused child at the sound of her birth name.
Ivan sighed as he looked at the girl he had semi-raised in front of him, his gruff and stern face softening, of course, it had made complete sense, this was her first real relationship after all, she was not used to being loved without any strings attached and it’s not registering in her mind.
“My dear, I will never tell you that your feelings are invalid but I highly doubt that you could ever cause harm to Reika, not when I’ve seen you worship that woman like she is your goddess, and don’t you ever say that you are ‘fucked up’, you have your baggage, yes, but need I remind you that your future wife has murdered five men for their fortune—I can definitely respect the hustle—but sweetie, you must talk with her about this, a marriage remains strong with good communication and I know for a fact that if Reika truly loves you and wants to make this work like she so claims then you two can work through the hurt and pain you’ve both been through and finally learn what true love feels like, it’s not perfect, absolutely nothing like those fairy tales and ghost stories but it’s real and it’s yours, nobody can take that away from you and if they try? Well, guess they’ll experience what true horror feels like.”
Lola didn’t know when her eyes got misty in the middle of Ivan’s reassuring words but she felt lighter, more confident after hearing them and when he went to wipe a teardrop that threatened to fall from her eyes, she threw her arms around him once more and brought him into a more fierce hug.
“Thank you, папа, I really needed that, you’re right, whatever happens next, I have Reika by my side, we’ll get through it together.”
Ivan held her and rubbed her back, a rare soft smile on his scarred face just solely for his daughter. “Of course, мой ангел.”
After a minute, the two of them parted and Lola took in a deep breath before looking Ivan straight in the eyes.
“I’m ready.”
The older man nodded and held out his arm for her to take, she looped her arm around his and the two of them pulled the doors open to make their way to the altar room, fully prepared to face whatever comes next, ending one chapter and getting ready to enter a new one.
Gender: Male
Nationality: Russian
Place of Birth: Moscow, Russia
Model: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23M "Flogger-B"
Role: Fighter
Avram Gvozdić
Gender: Male
Nationality: Serbian
Place of Birth: Majdanpek, Serbia
Model: Zastava 750
Role: Scientist, weapon designer
Two key characters in Avelina Sokolova's story. Ivan is Joseph's friend, having known the MiG-25 since they were both quite young. He acted as an "uncle" to Ava and was very close to the family. He was the only person outside of Joseph and Sophie to know of the young girl's existence. Ava saw him as an uncle and saw him as family, which greatly helped in earning her trust after her parents "mysteriously" died while she was young. He is much more of a realist than Gvozdić and far better at dealing with people. He's very cunning, cruel and manipulative, though fantastic at gaining people's trust with his outwardly pleasant and calming demeanour.
Avram is a scientist who later developed an interest in designing weapons and is a subordinate to Ivan Volkov. He is quite a skittish individual and usually likes to be left alone. Although his true motivations have never been clear, it's safe to assume he finds great enjoyment in figuring out how things work, including living organisms. He doesn't see Ava as a living being, rather, a science experiment he can pull apart and put back together, over and over again.
