Scowling, I snip, "Fine, thank you." He turns back and continues walking, and I curl the hair behind my ear again that's since fallen from its perch, then clutch the box with both hands again.
He turns a corner, leading into the west wing of the home as he continues talking. "You know, you're a lucky woman. The bossshould've cut off your hand for what you did. Instead, you're his personal assistant now?"
I tuck my chin down and think about what he's saying. So I lifted a ring off Roman's finger. That’s not worthy of death or dismemberment, not in any world except perhaps ancient Babylon or something.
"Yeah, well Mr. Kuzin is an ogre," I grumble, ignoring how my cheek still tingles.
"You've got him wrong," Yegor says, stopping at a broad set of double doors. They're carved with intricate designs like all the other doors in this massive home and rise easily ten feet in their arched frame. "Roman is a man of integrity. There's a reason the staff loves him."
It's true that everyone in this place is brainwashed. Sorin and Sara talk about him like he's a god or something—Roman eats only whole foods. Roman works out daily. Roman doesn't party like other men… never dates… never eats sugar. You'd think they were worshipers in a temple or something, not his paid cleaning staff.
But they're wrong. They haven’t seen the side of him I've seen. They've only seen the kind man because they've not made the same mistake I made of being stupid enough to trust an evil woman and cross him.
"I think your perception of him is skewed," I manage just as the doors swing open and Yegor steps aside so I can walk in.
Before I'm even inside, I'm bathed in light that floods the entire room. I step into the warmth of the sun and feel the glow kiss my skin as I marvel at the windows that rise almost to the ceiling, overlooking a garden flooded with lilac bushes in full bloom. It'sbreathtaking, and I only wish I could smell the flowers inside the room as well.
"This can't be my room," I say, turning to look up at him.
"It is. Roman said the guest suite, so here you are." His hand sweeps across the open room where my eyes now land on a settee and then a television.
He wasn't kidding when he said this was a suite. I don't see a bed in this room, but there's an open doorway through which I see a bed, and another door beyond that, maybe a bathroom. Why would Roman take me from servants' quarters and put me into a room nicer than the one I had at home? What's his game?
"Do you know what's going on?" I ask Yegor, though my eye catches on the fresh roses adorning the desk. They're a beautiful shade of peach, and they sit next to a candle that remains unlit. A computer occupies the desk too. It looks brand-new, or at least not the ancient one Papa kept in the sitting room for me and the girls to use.
When I finally look back up at Yegor, he has a glower and pursed lips. "I told you, you have him wrong." It doesn't seem Yegor is in the mood to be pleasant with me, but then I've not seen a pleasant side of him since I met him and he manhandled me into that car anyway. He has a stick up his ass because I showed his boss how vulnerable he is.
Roman, however, I have seen a pleasant side. He just shows it to other people, not me. And probably because I showed him up. Maybe his ego got a good smack and he doesn't like me. So, why all of this, then?
"What do you mean?" I'm still clutching my box of memories which seems so out of place in this luxury now, and Yegor answers me as he drops my bag on the floor at my feet.
"Roman Kuzin is the sort of man who lives with purpose, Ms. Radin. Whether you want to believe it or not, the people who work for him respect and value him because he is a good man." His eyes are narrowed on me the way Vera does when she's annoyed.
"What would you know?" I ask, turning my back to drop my box on the small table and chairs situated next to a towering bookcase filled with colorful books.
"I've worked for him for years, and I know who he is. Pretty much everyone in this place has been given a better life because of him. We're all grateful. You should learn to be." I hear movement and turn to see him walking back toward the door. He stops there and says, "I'll check on you later and I'll make sure you get breakfast every morning. Because Roman is such a horrible person, he's ordered me to ensure you have a healthy breakfast."
Then Yegor shuts the doors with a little more force than necessary, and I'm alone. My chest deflates as his words sink in, and I feel slightly ashamed of myself for acting like a spoiled brat instead of showing gratitude as I should.
He may be a hulking beast of a man, but Yegor is right about one thing. This room is definitely a kindness on Roman's part toward me. The staff bedroom was livable and I'd have adjusted eventually, but it was nothing compared to the room I have at home. And this is on a whole other level.
I float from the sitting room into the bedroom where the windows and the view are just as eye catching. From here I see a fountain and birds flitting around outside, and there's a fireplace along one wall that will be incredible on colder days. Beyond that is a bathroom with a walk-in shower and an old clawfoot tub, everything draped in white tile and decorated with gold inlays.
I lean against the doorjamb and start to feel the sting of regret. I know I don't see the side of Roman that his staff sees because no one on earth would be able to respect a man as much as they do if he treated them the way he treats me. He's shown them a different side of himself than I've seen, though that's probably my fault as well. I've done nothing but be harsh and snippy with him out of my own frustration.
The shower looks inviting, and since I haven't had a private moment to myself in a few days, I decide to take Roman's advice to relax and rest a little. I strip off my black dress and white apron and turn on the water until steam fills the bathroom. And the instant I step under the spray, it begins to melt away all my anxious energy.
When Papa's will was read, I felt hurt by it, maybe a little angry. It felt like he was reaching up from death to control me just a bit longer. The idea that I should be married before I can rule his empire infuriated me, but I'm beginning to think he knew what he was doing. Not that giving Vera temporary custody over how I live my life and use his money was a kindness—that part, I feel, was her doing.
But knowing just how poorly I've been acting the past few weeks while working for Roman has become a wakeup call. Papa probably saw my angry, rebellious streak and knew I would need time to understand how life really works. Vera probablyintended to push every button I have until I stayed locked in that mindset too.
I'm not even sure I want to run a gun-smuggling ring. And why would I want to force myself to marry someone simply to have something I don't want? What I really want is to have a real family and something worth coming home to.
I turn in the water and let it wash over my face and down my chest. The bite of the heat reminds me how life can sting, but how beautiful it is to be in a safe place away from Vera's talons. I know she'll never stop what she's doing until I've been fully unseated and she owns my family fortune. It makes me wonder if she ever loved my father or if she always intended to wait for him to die just to take his money.
And now because he left it all to me, she still can't touch it. It's no wonder she sent me to that fight club to steal from Roman. And Yegor is right. I'm lucky he didn't just kill me. He is a powerful man, and he could've erased me from existence where no one would come looking. Yet I'm here in his home, in a suite of my own, having a hot shower in a private bathroom.
Roman is a puzzle, that's for sure. I understood why he forced me into servitude for ten years, though I felt it a little extreme considering I had that letter and he got his ring back. But to elevate me to his personal assistant level, and now to give me a private suite in his home almost as nice as his own? It doesn't make sense.
