I study Yaroslav’s expression. Nothing on his face indicates that he’s lying to me, but still, how can I trust him?
“I’m not going back, ever.” I keep my words careful and polite. But I make sure that my tone is firm.
“Youhaveto. Don’t you understand, we want what’s best for you,” Yaroslav says, almost pleading.
I shake my head, closing my eyes for a moment. “How can you say that to me?” I ask, my throat closing over the words. “How can you say you want the best for me after you watched our father torture me forfive years?”
It’s difficult to keep the accusation from my voice. It’s difficult to keep the emotions under control.
Yakov scoffs. “He didn’t torture you, Selene. Don’t be ridiculous. He kept you safe.”
My heart sinks. “That’s what you had to tell yourself to ease your own guilt. You were there. You saw exactly what he did. You saw the strike and the bruises. You heard the way he spoke to me. You saw me begging for a moment outside the house with my children. You heard me begging him not to shout at them, to let them be kids. You saw me break, day after day, wasting away, losing myself… don’t youdaretell me he didn’t torture me. Don’t you fucking dare.”
My anger surprises me as much as it surprises them.
Both of the twins glance at each other. I can see it on their faces. I can see the guilt they carry. I can see that they know exactly what I’m talking about.
“But that’s why we came here in secret. This isn’t about father. We want you to be safe. We want you back. We… we made a mistake in the past, but this time we want to make it right.” Yaroslav‘s voice is flooded with remorse. It breaks my heart because I want to believe them. I want to trust that they truly want what’s best for me. But I simply can’t. I know the extent of my father’s control over my brothers. I will not risk the lives of my children on their words.
I shake my head, taking a step back. “If you truly want what’s best for me, then you need to leave. Simon is their father. He is treating me with kindness and taking care of me in a way that my father never did. He is a good man, and I trust him. With my life and with the children’s.”And as soon as I get back to the beach house, I will tell him everything so that we can decide what it means together.
Yaroslav sighs heavily. Yakov clenches and unclenches his jaw.
“We only want to help,” Yakov says quietly.
“You can help by leaving. And you can help by not telling Father where we are.”
They both nod, and I feel a flicker of relief.
“Alright, little sister. We’ll go. But if we’re right, if he is using you… If you need help, you have to call us, okay?”
“Ok. I promise,” I say firmly. I’m eager to get back to Simon.
My brothers take a step back, fading more into the shadows.
I step out of the shadows and onto the beach, walking back to the water, splashing my feet, giving them time to leave, then heading back up to the beach house.
Simon is waiting for me on the deck.
And he looks furious.
The coldness in his eyes is like a shard of ice piercing my heart.
“Simon?” I mutter his name, nervous, unsure what he saw. “I need to talk to you,” I say carefully.
He laughs bitterly. “I imagine you need to talk to me only because you know you’ve been caught,” he snaps.
“Caught? No… I was just…”
“You were just sneaking back from a secret meeting you had with your brothers. Did you think the guards weren’t watching? Are you really that blind?”
“No, I figured they would be watching, but I didn’t want to call them for help because they would have killed…”
“They would have taken down the threat, yes. Instead, you walked right into the threat and didn’t hesitate to do so. What were you doing, Selene? Feeding them information? How many times has this happened since you moved in with me?”
“What?” I gasp in horror, realizing what he thinks happened. “No, Simon, you have it all wrong. I wanted to come right back here and tell you that I’d seen them. I didn’t even plan to hide this from you. I went to talk to them because I thought…”
“Youdidn’t think,though. That’s the problem. I’ve been going out of my way to keep you safe—to keep our children safe—from your family. But you walk straight to them! It can only mean one thing! Maybe two! Either you are working with them… or you are so naive and careless that you don’t give a shit about everything going on around you, or what happens to you or the twins!”
