Page 129 of Whispers in the Dark
I cautiously move, ignoring the agony tearing through my side, so that there’s a small space beside me. Just enough for her.
Come here and let me hold you.
She looks down at the space, but doesn’t move. “You need to see the doctor.”
I need you in my arms more.
Her gaze shifts to the door, and I see the fight in her eyes as she tries to decide what to do. But eventually, she lifts her leg, gently and delicately sliding her body against mine. Her head rests against my shoulder, my arms embracing her against me. “Is this okay?”
I use two fingers to tilt her chin up toward me, pressing my lips to hers as my answer.
We lie here in silence for a moment or two before I hear her take a steady breath, resting her hand directly over my heart. “My mother and father were soul mates. I think they were so in love with each other, they would have always found their way to one another. But in my grandfather’s eyes, my father was never good enough. So, he had her married off to the highest bidder, Igor Vasiliev. My father spent years trying to get her back, but the Russians were too powerful. Too dangerous. So, one day, he stopped trying, and it nearly broke his heart.” She pauses, the pad of her index finger sliding back and forth.
“Years later, while my father was on a business trip in Paris, he ran into my mother at the same hotel where she was staying while visiting family. I mean, what were the odds? Of all the cities in the world, Paris was the one that brought them back together. My father said when he saw her, it felt like no time had passed between them. And that his heart… It beat for thefirst time in years.” The tiniest hint of a smile captures her lips. “They agreed to meet in Paris whenever they could. Eventually, she became pregnant with me and led Igor to believe that I was his, so that nothing would happen to her or me. But after I was born, she couldn’t keep me away from my father. She risked her life by taking me and bringing me to him. Telling him to keep me safe and that one day they might be together again. But that day never came because when Igor found out I wasn’t his, he had her killed.”
I slide my hand along her arm, and she looks up at me with fresh tears coating her lashes.
“Igor never learned who my father was or where she took me, but my father wouldn’t risk my safety, so he raised me on the Alarie Estate, knowing Igor would never find me there. However, my mother had a will that Igor and I were unaware of, which left me a piece of land that had been passed down in my family for generations. The stipulations of obtaining that land included waiting until I was of age and married. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe she thought my husband would keep me safe in case my brothers ever found out.” She pauses, tapping her finger. “I honestly had no idea about the will or that my father had been in charge of the Alaskan port. Not until Kazimir told me. But I guess it would explain why he made frequent business trips there over the years.”
She goes silent, lost inside her head. Probably processing everything she said aloud for, I’m guessing, the first time.
I clear my throat, and her eyes find mine.
What about your father?
She turns in closer to me. “Around the same time that your father passed, I started to notice that my father seemed…different. At first, I thought it was just stress. But I soon realized it was…more than that. It started small. One time, he put ice cream in the cabinet. Another time, he couldn’t find his car ina parking garage in the city. The littlest things would set him off, putting him in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Or he would walk into a room, forgetting what he was doing. So, I asked, no, I begged him to go to the doctors, and he finally did.” She hesitates before saying, “He was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. The doctors told me that someone in his condition, on average, has about four to ten years of life left, but that there was no real way of knowing. That’s when my world crashed.”
My heart splinters for her.
I can’t believe she’s been going through all of this.
Alone.
“His retirement was merely a cover-up to keep his condition from becoming known. He made me promise not to tell anyone, because he feared being seen as weak, even though that’s the last thing he is. So, I kept his secret. I never told a soul until right now.”
She swipes a finger under her eyes.
And that’s when the missing puzzle piece clicks into place.
The day you found out was the day on the cliff.
It’s not a question, but a statement.
Because I know.
I feel it in the depth of my heart.
That was the day the two of us were at our lowest. When the universe took a chance by bringing us together. Connecting our lives in a way that would never be the same again.
She nods as more tears pool in her eyes.
“Over the years, the costs were piling up. Between my school and his medical bills, I couldn’t keep up. I started working at Darkest Desires because the pay was better than anywhere else in the area. And a few weeks before Christmas, I was leaving my shift when Kazimir found me. I… I somehow had hoped they would never learn that I was related to them, but they did. So, he came on his own and cornered me in the alley. I guess theyfound out about the will and took it upon themselves to ensure they got the land. To be honest, I thought he was going to kill me that night. But instead, he left me with a warning. Get married and sign over the land, which they would pay me for, ensuring I would be able to afford all of my father’s medical expenses, or they were going to kill my father. Of course, I agreed. I mean, it’s not like I had a choice. I was even a little hopeful that they might follow through on their end by paying me out, but that was naïve of me.”
She sighs. “And then you happened. I felt horrible about lying to you, not telling you the real reason why I needed to get married, but I… I had to do whatever I could to ensure my father’s safety, and I’m sorry,” she breathes.
I know, and you don’t need to apologize.I brush her hair behind her ear, rubbing my thumb across her cheek as I tilt to the side and press my lips to her forehead.
“Everything was all set. I was on track to inherit that land, but when you told me what they had been trying to do and that they were looking into obtaining the Alaskan port, I realized why they wanted it so desperately, and I couldn’t go through with it. I told Kazimir that, but I thought I would have time to go get my dad and bring him to your house, where I would explain everything to you, but I underestimated them and was too late.”
