CHAPTER ZERO
~Lily~ It's May 28th, 2025. I graduated last week on Wednesday and my birthday is three days away. Yup, I'm turning 18 in three days, this Saturday to be exact. A normal girl my age would be fucking excited about this, but I am honestly in inner turmoil right now. See, this family that I belong to has their plans set out for me ever since I was just 6 years old. Turning eighteen has been my worst nightmare for all my life that I thought I was well prepared for, but now, I'm freaking out. The Orlov family, the one family in this entire world that twists my stomach. The Orlavs are a Russian family that had connections to my aunt Mandy. They are freaking rich and I hear aunt Mandy used to work for them before she got fired for some reason. She is a social climber, which means she craves luxury and expensive stuff, although she's not that high, so you can imagine her frustration when she got fired by such a rich family. The Orlavs have just 2 sons, Nikolai and Mikaila. Nikolai being the oldest and the one I would be wedded to and Mikaila being the youngest, currently just at 23. Nikolai is quite old, our age gap is 10 years but I have no say in it apparently. I first met him when I was 6. He was 16 by then. My aunt is a cruel person, but she has taken care of me for a long time, so I'm not really in any position to say anything. My dad passed away when I was 3, and for a year, my mom took care of me alone before she was taken to a mental rehabilitation centre because she couldn't take it anymore. Shortly after that, she took her own life. I was then legally given to my aunt, Mandy Maxwell, at the age of 5. I have two cousins, Christina and Chloe, while Christina is a little rude, Chloe is my best friend, she's always there for me. My name is Lily Maxwell, and this is the story of how I got married at 18.
