I moved closer to the bed. “Grandma, ask Dmitri. We agreed this would end after a while.” I looked at him. “Tell her.”
“You heard her,” Dmitri said.
Grandma nodded, folding her hands over the blanket. “It doesn’t matter.” Her voice softened. “Maybe I didn’t make you feel comfortable enough in this house. I’m old, but I tried because I saw you as my granddaughter.” She paused and looked away. “I was wrong.”
My chest tightened. This was exactly what I was afraid of.
“Don’t say that.” I sat beside her on the edge of the bed. “I’mnot leaving because of anything you did. You know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
My eyes found Dmitri again. His silence was beginning to feel deliberate. He stood there watching while Grandma built a case against me, and he contributed absolutely nothing.
“Can you say something?” I asked. “I wasn’t the one who came up with this marriage. Tell her it was an agreement.”
Dmitri sighed and took a few steps closer. “I’m confused. What exactly did Inna tell you?”
“What else?” Grandma asked. “You threw the ring away. If you didn’t want to be married, you could have said so from the beginning. I wouldn’t have wasted my hopes on the two of you.” She shook her head. “Rodion is better. I’ve decided to move to California and live with him instead.”
My stomach dropped. This conversation was somehow getting worse.
“So she didn’t tell you it was a fake marriage?” Dmitri asked.
“I told her that,” I said immediately. “Grandma, I told you, didn’t I?”
“Why are you two here, to rub it in my face?” Grandma asked.
“Darling,” Dmitri’s voice smoothed. “You didn’t tell her we wanted to make it official?”
The room went still.
Grandma and I both turned to look at him at the same moment. His hand moved into his pocket. I tracked the movement. He pulled out a small box, and my heart skipped a beat.
What was he doing?
“At least next time,” his voice carried that voice he used when he found a situation entertaining, “explain things properly to this old lady. We ended a fake marriage.” He stared into my eyes. “Because we are starting a real one.”
I stopped breathing.
What was he actually doing right now?
I opened my mouth, and nothing came out.
Grandma sat up straighter, and I noticed the immediate change on her face. “Really? You could have said that earlier. Why did you wait for me to get angry?” She reached over and took my hand. “I knew Dmitri couldn’t let you go. You are lovable.”
Dmitri was fixing me into this again. What was I supposed to do exactly? I couldn’t correct him in front of a woman who wasn’t feeling well yet.
Grandma touched my cheek as if she were glad to have me. “I’m just old. Don’t mind me wanting such a lovely lady as my granddaughter.” She smiled at me with so much warmth that my throat tightened.
I said nothing. I couldn’t trust what would come out.
Grandma exhaled and settled back against her pillow. Her eyes moved between us, satisfaction written plainly across her face. “Now I can sleep well.” She pulled the blanket higher. “Goodnight, you two.”
I nodded and got to my feet. On my way past Dmitri, I gave him a look. The kind that promised this conversation was far from over. Then I led the way out of the room.
Upstairs, I paced across the sitting area while waiting for Dmitri to come in. The moment the door closed behind him, I pushed a hand through my hair and turned to face him.
“What was that?” I asked. “I told you we were going to tell her we were ending things. You had the chance to confirm it. Instead, you trapped me like that?”
Dmitri stepped further into the room, completely unbothered by my frustration. “Was I wrong?” he asked. “You said we needed to end the marriage because it was fake.”
