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14
Sebastian
Marinka had started drivingme insane since the moment I claimed her as my prize. I had been avoiding her, especially after what had happened in the club, because she’d triggered these new emotions inside me. Stuff I didn’t want to deal with because I didn’t understand any of it. That was why I’d asked one of my contacts to send me everything he could about Shevchenko family. I asked him to dig deep, focusing mainly on Marinka. I wanted to know things about her—everything I could lay my hands on.
From what I’d received and read over the past week, I only confirmed what I’d been thinking. Martha was simply a terrible mother—no other way to describe her. She didn’t care about her two children and that was the main reason why Marinka had moved out when she was eighteen. Her brother then killed himself and Marinka blamed her parents. I didn’t know many details around that fact, but I suspected Martha had pushed Nicolas to the edge, to the point he couldn’t deal with her treatment, so he’d decided to end it all.
There were some medical records stating that he had been hospitalized for depression.
We both ate in silence. The steak was good and I was suddenly glad Marinka had eventually come around and started to put food in her mouth. I wanted her to become my partner like Russina was, but we still had a long way to go. I didn’t want to force her into submission, but this whole dinner wasn’t going as I planned.
As time wore on, the silence pulled me deeper into my thoughts and a memory from my early childhood flashed in my mind. One I’d kept buried for so long. Marinka’s presence brought forth a strange dynamic, and these kinds of thoughts poured forth so easily, I wasn’t used to it. Fuck, she was getting into my head again.
I rushedthrough the house to get my schoolbag after almost leaving without it. Hearing noises from my room, I peered inside and saw my father. Standing with his back to me, he was with Agnes. I was too afraid to walk in and be seen by either of them. He didn’t like when I interfered with his business. But to see him in my space was a rarity—he never sought me out there. So, what was he up to?
Dad could get very angry if he saw me, but I couldn’t go to school without my stuff. Cole, the driver, was waiting for me in the car and Agnes probably thought I was on the way to school already. Why was she here, too?
As I tried to figure out what to do, I focused on the pair. My father was embracing her, moving his hips against her body, while her legs were spread on my desk.
“Adrian, this is getting a bit absurd. We can’t keep doing this in here,” Agnes said while he was kissing her neck. I felt a little embarrassed staring at them.
“Shee …mališa, Sebastian went to school and Lila is at the doctor’s. She’s always at the doctor’s,” my father countered, moving his head to her breasts and breathing hard. I didn’t think this was good, what he was doing. Mum probably wouldn’t like it and Agnes was always so nice to me. My father had just called her ‘little one’ in Serbian, as though she was a child. Confused, I kept on staring.
Then, Agnes gasped. “Sebastian … dear Lord. What are you doing here, boy?” she shouted, catching me peering through the door.
My father turned around abruptly, finally spotting me. I knew I was in trouble then as his eyes narrowed and his lips parted.
Agnes got off the desk, moved past him, and kneeled in front of me. Her cheeks were rosy and pink. She glanced back at my father who was shaking his head and grinding his teeth.
“How long have you been standing there?” he barked, shifting his loose tie.
“I forgot my school bag, papa. I am sorry and didn’t know you were busy with Agnes,” I told him, looking down at my feet.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m the one who’s at fault. I should have given you the bag. Silly me,” Agnes said contritely, laughing as she handed me the backpack.
“Stop babying him. He saw us. I am going to deal with him later,” my father snapped, livid.
Oh boy. This was bad…
That memory crushedthrough me like a firestorm. From the moment I caught my father with my nanny in my room, everything changed. He grew bitter and cold. While he had showed a sliver of affection before, he stopped hugging me and that same evening, he punished me for the first time.
My mother was dying then—well, she didn’t know that at the time, but she would get her diagnosis soon enough.
My world collapsed.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. For a moment, I forgot where I was until shimmering blue eyes stared back at me. I cleared my throat, shifting on the chair. Marinka was making me uneasy, and acting like an asshole was my defense mechanism.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
This whole marriage agreement was a sham. It was obvious why she didn’t want to marry me.
I really didn’t want to be tied to her, either, but Russina’s death had complicated things for me. And I needed Marinka right now to pull through, to keep going. I didn’t want to lose everything I’d worked so hard for.
“I’m fine, are you done with your food?” I asked, trying to breathe evenly. In and out. The conversation about her brother had drifted off now that the moment was gone, and I didn’t want to press her. She was adamant she didn’t want to talk about him. Besides, she wasn’t ready to open up to me in general.
“Yes,” she replied warily.
The urge to take her to my bedroom and make her come hit me like a ton of bricks.
