Page 20 of Sinner's Binding
“What happened? Is she okay?” I asked.
He came to stand before me. At that moment, the elevator opened, and a crowd exited. He turned to smile at them and nod, acting as if everything was fine. It took them several moments toget off and move away from us. After they did, Sam turned back to me.
“What the hell was that?” he asked.
“What? Did something new happen to her?”
“She’s fine. I left her resting. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to check on her. I heard she had an accident. I wanted to make sure she would recover. To see if she needed anything.”
“Bullshit. You’re just one of her patients. You’re not her friend or her boyfriend,” he snapped.
“You don’t have to be either to give a damn about someone. You should be in there with her, not out here barking shit at me,” I told him.
“You stay away from her. And when she’s back to work, don’t come to her office,” Sam ordered.
I chuckled, but it wasn’t in mirth. It was dark and low. “Sam, you don’t know me, so I’ll extend you a one-time courtesy. You don’t tell me what I can or can’t do regarding her. If Anastasia doesn’t want me around, it’s her place to tell me that. I don’t see your ring on her finger.”
“It will be soon. I have the backing of her family. They won’t allow you to mess this up for her. She needs a man like me. A guy who is stable, has her family’s blessing, and knows what it is she needs. Once she’s engaged to me, I’ll make sure she adheres to the proper behavior. That includes having no male friends or male acquaintances not approved by me.”
“So you’re saying you’ll lie to her until after you get engaged, maybe even married, then reveal you’re as old-fashioned and backward-thinking as her family?” I asked to be sure I understood him correctly.
“It’s only old-fashioned to someone like you, who doesn’t know the sanctity of traditions. It’s why she’ll never be happywith a man like you. Stasia only thinks she has to be a modern, independent woman. It’s what society brainwashes modern women into believing. They think they can have it all—career, family, and a say in everything. But it’s exactly those things that cause so many to be unfulfilled and unhappy in the long run. Women are meant to follow. Men are meant to lead. Once she marries me and stops this foolish business of hers, she’ll see. Her true place and happiness reside in her home with her husband and children,” Sam stated smugly.
“What if I tell her what you just said?” I asked.
He smirked. “You can try, but I’ll claim you’re lying. That you want to have her for a plaything and will do anything, say anything to make it happen. Who will she believe? You, a virtual stranger, or me, the man she’s been seeing and who her family will support as not a liar.”
I stared at him, then turned my back on Sam and went to the stairwell door. It sat next to the elevators. I heard his taunting laugh as I pushed the door open.
“Goodbye, Reign,” he called out.
As I sped down the stairs, I let my mind begin to work on how to accomplish my objective: expose Sam for who he truly was. And I had the thing to do it. I removed my phone from my pocket and hit the stop button. I don’t know what made me do it, but when he faced the people coming off the elevator, something told me to record him. I hurriedly opened the recording app on my phone and pressed record.
Let’s see who Anastasia believed. But I’d hold back until I knew she was on the mend, though not too long. Any hesitation I had about pursuing her because she was dating someone was gone. No way would I let him have her, even if I never did.
Anastasia: Chapter 6
I came home from the hospital midmorning yesterday. Dad and Mom picked me up. The remainder of Thursday, I’d had the rest of my family drop in to see me in small groups. They only stayed half an hour to an hour before excusing themselves. It was fine by me. Hovering would’ve made me nervous. However, among all my visitors, including my staff who came after work, Reign was the one who stuck with me.
I’d been shocked that he’d been concerned enough to find me and then to see me at the hospital. I was irritated when Sam showed up and put an end to further discussion. I wanted to dig more into the reason for Reign’s visit. It was sweet of Sam to see me and bring flowers, but for some reason, it wasn’t as noteworthy as Reign’s visit.
Right after Reign had excused himself, Sam had said he needed to check on something at the nurses’ station. If I’d been able to get out of bed easily, I would’ve trailed behind to see what. My gut told me Sam was about to find Reign. I needed to hear what was said.
Sam was gone for a good ten minutes. When he returned, he appeared somewhat smug, but when asked what he had gone to find, he claimed he only wanted to ask a nurse directly when I would be free to go home. When I pressed him to say what he was told, he said the one he spoke to claimed not to know. My gut tightened. I knew he was lying.
I spent that night, after everyone left, going over Reign, Sam, and what I knew to be a lie. What would Sam have to say to Reign that required him to lie to me? When Mom and Dad got me home the next morning, I urged them to go home. Mom wanted to stay, so Dad kissed her, gave me a peck on the cheek, and then left.
I was sitting up on the couch. The thought of lying in bed made me cranky. Mom refreshed our iced tea and then sat in the chair across from the couch.
“Tell me what’s bothering you. And before you say nothing, I’m your mother. I know when something is bothering one of my children. You can always talk to me, Stasia,” she assured me.
“Mom,” was all I said, but my tone must’ve said what I wasn’t.
“I know that your dad and the rest of the family don’t see things the way you do. You’re my independent, strong-willed child. After I met your dad, I chose to become a traditional wife. I knew the fact that he chose me, a non-Indian, would cause grief in his family. But the truth was, we loved each other.
“I still love him, but I’m not blind to his tendencies, or those of my other children. They were always destined to follow the path of least resistance. You were not. And I try not to cause waves, but I don’t want you to give in and do as they want. You need to make yourself happy, not the family. That brings me to Sam. I know you’ve been seeing him. Tell me, do you feel he understands you? Will he stick with you no matter what you decide? Don’t continue to see him or go further just to please your dad and the others.”
