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“Great!” her voice brightens. “I found your grandmother’s chicken soup recipe. I would love for you to try it out.”
“Chicken soup?” I blurt. I don’t know why, but it makes my heart clench.
“Yes, her chicken soup was to die for when I was a little. I promise, it’ll make you forget everything else,” she says. Forgetting would be wonderful right now.
“My grandmother… what was she like?” I stammer.
“You remind me of her,” she says.
“I do?” I blurt, but she’s still talking.
“You are so much like her. I’m not just talking about physical appearance,” she says. “Come over and I’ll tell you more, okay?”
“I’d like that,” I mumble. I don’t know what to make of all this, but it’s making me so damn emotional. I feel like there’s a hole in my heart where a mother should have been. Or a family. A normal one.
“So when are you coming?” she asks. I nervously bite my lips, wondering what to say to that.
“I can’t promise it’ll be immediately,” I tell her. “Sometime this week, I guess?”
“Won’t you come today, darling? It would be so good to see you. And if my instincts are right, you could use some company too,” she says. She’s not wrong. The prospect of being left alone with my warring emotions for even one more hour feels intolerable.
“I’ll try my best, Mom,” I say, wondering how I’m going to live up to the promise.
“Alright, my love,” she replies. “There’ll be Nona’s chicken soup on the boil by the time you get here.”
I release a sigh as my mouth curls to a smile. If only I had the kind of life where accepting an invitation from my mother wasn’t such a goddamn mission.
“Alright, I’ll see you soon,” I tell her. I end the call and walk to my bed. I sit on it as I contemplate if I promised her too much. I don’t even know how to leave the premises, to begin with. There is no doubt that Lev’s men will stop me if they see me.
Then a thought strikes me. It’s like a lightning bolt, suddenly giving me a faint glimmer of hope. When I left the house the last time and walked into the woods, they didn’t know where I had gone. Lev had been convinced that I’d left the property.
Does that mean I slipped past the security cameras?
That has to be the only sensible explanation. If that wasn’t the case, they would have found me much sooner. But instead, Lev had sent out a freaking SWAT team to comb the whole area. This estate is too damn huge to be entirely encircled by high walls and security teams. The forest is probably dense enough to deter groups of intruders anyway. But as one person, there might be a chance I can go unnoticed. If I’m willing to leave through the forest and fight my way through some undergrowth, I bet I can find a way to get out there.
Driven by excitement, I quickly rush to the closet. I change into black leggings and pull a black hoodie over my blue t-shirt. My instincts are telling me to dress in something dark, even though it makes me feel like I’m about to do something terrible. There is a brief moment when I think about what Lev is going to do if he finds out, but I quickly brush it aside.
Goddamnit, Aurora!
He won’t even talk to you so why do you care?
You’re not his prisoner!
And yet, somehow, I know I am, which enrages me even more.
As I complete my outfit, a glance in the mirror leaves me feeling like I’m going on a deadly mission jumping from one rooftop to another, like some old-school ninja. But I don’t allow myself to dwell on it. I’m doing this. Lev didn’t think twice to distance himself from me, so why should I care?
I open the door to my room, releasing a pent-up breath when I find the hallway empty. I fill my lungs again, and then quickly leave my room and slip through the hallway. The eerie silence of the house has my nerves pulled taut.
Shoving my worries to the back of my mind, I keep moving, ducking to a window to see if the coast is clear outside. I swallow a groan when I see two guards near the entrance, with more patrolling through the grounds.
Not that I planned on using the front door, but the security presence leaves no doubt that the rest of the property will also be guarded. I tiptoe backward, wondering where to go from here. My last exit had been under the cover of darkness, through Lev’s room. I obviously can’t go in there right now.
What now, dammit?
I rub my forehead, racing through my options. I’m about to clamber up a window with one foot on the frame when something moves behind me.
“Miz Ivanova?” a voice snaps into my thoughts. I jump in fright and spin around, staring in shock at the person in front of me.
