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“Oh?” Now it’s getting interesting.
“Yeah. I want to invite him to an exhibition at my gallery. I just need you to find out if the children go with him or if they stay back at his estate to even know if it would be a feasible idea or not.”
My sister might be mad at me, but she’ll still support me in wanting to help Mona get her daughters back. If that isn’t genuine love, I don’t know what is.
Chapter Twelve
Mona
Since the dinner at Ruslan and Amelia’s place, I’ve felt much more at ease. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that I’m in a safe place. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I had wondered, but I’m glad I stayed. I’m glad because every day, I’m being shown how I’m not in any danger whatsoever.
I couldn’t trust Nazyr at first, but I wasn’t given a choice on whether or not I should go with him. Duarte made it clear that Nazyr was to take me. I wasn’t given the option to stay, and if I had, I know I would’ve been dead by now. Looking back at it, I can see the signs Duarte was getting bored with me. I just didn’t know that was what was happening at the time. I didn’t realize at the time that he was growing bored of me, but if I think long and hard about it, he had been treating me differently ever since I had my miscarriage.
He blamed me for it happening in the first place when he was the one who actually caused it. I often wonder if I hadn’t miscarried, if Duarte would’ve kept me on the estate with him, or if he would’ve traded me in for a newer model after I gave birth. I guess I’ll never really know what he would’ve done. The good thing is that I’m with Nazyr now, and I won’t ever have to fear being abused ever again. I’ve only ever experienced the opposite with Nazyr. He’s been kind to me. He’s been polite. He’s been considerate… he’s just been a decent man. After living life the way I did, I forgot they existed, to be honest.
“You look like you’re up in la la land.” Amelia snickers, and while I don’t know her as well as I know Emily, I do like her. She’s a lot like her cousin, but Amelia seems more outspoken to me. Emily is the quiet one, which was interesting to find out. When you put the two women together, you can see who the social butterfly is, and it’s really Amelia. Emily is a chatterbox, but not quite in the same way.
“I’m just thinking about a few things that have been on my mind for a while,” I comment.
“Anything good?” Amelia prods, and I don’t want to dampen down the mood.
“Not really. I’m just thinking about how similar yet different the Chechen Republic is compared to Russia,” I state, making it seem like all I’m doing is thinking about the country, when in reality, what I’m truly thinking about is how different my life is compared to what it was before. I’m also thinking about how I couldn’t do the simplest things before, but now I can.
Nazyr let me go to the grocery store the other day, which blew my damn mind. I ended up confiding in him that I wasn’t allowed to leave Duarte’s estate at all and that, a lot of the time, I was locked up in my bedroom, to which I didn’t even have the power to lock the door. He seemed aggravated that Duarte treated me in such a way, but I know Nazyr has anger toward the other ways Duarte treated me, especially the rapes and the way he’d beat me. Every once in a while, I catch Nazyr staring at me from across the room, and I know he’s staring at my scars. Scars that will be on my face for the rest of my days.
Now I’m out in the streets of Grozny with Amelia, Emily, and Eset for a girl’s day, with the exception of our security team. From my understanding, each one of them has someone from their team go with them wherever they go, kind of like a walking shadow, just to be there in the event they might need help. I think it’s a good practice that the Umarova family believes safety comes above everything else. I’m really hoping that if something did pop up, the security team would be able to make sure we were all safe.
Duarte always had a security team at his estate, but I think they were mainly concerned about his safety and keeping me inside. I don’t really know if they gave a shit about anyone else. At least, I never thought they did.
The ladies and I, with our security in tow behind us, are walking to a café to get a bite to eat. I usually go with Nazyr to get a coffee at a local café, usually a couple of times a week. But today is my first time going out to one without him. It feels so weird to be going out with a group of women. I haven’t done this since I was in college, and I don’t even think the women I went out with were very good friends to begin with.
We walk inside the café and take a seat at a table with four chairs around the corner, which gives us a little bit of privacy. A waitress comes up to us and smiles brightly. Her hair is dyed red, and she looks at the four of us, then stares at me for a few seconds longer.
Eset sees what the woman is doing and jumps right in. “I know she’s beautiful and all, but a picture will last longer.” Every one of Eset’s words comes out cold as ice. She’s aggravated, and I know why. It’s because the woman staring at me was only doing it because of my scars. It has nothing to do with my beauty, as Eset calls it.
The woman stops immediately, furrowing her brows together and sighing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I just—”
“Bullshit. You did mean to stare, and it was rude as hell. Maybe you can find another waitress that can understand basic manners.” Eset is one strong woman. She doesn’t bite her tongue, and I like that she’s so firm in her beliefs and what she stands up for. It’s such a drastic difference from how I’ve lived my life for so long, but it’s a bit of fresh air.
“Yes, Ms. Umarova,” the woman states, but Eset doesn’t stop there.
“It’s Ramirez now, darling. Mrs. Ramirez, but please don’t forget the family I come from.” Eset stares deep into her eyes, and the woman nods before walking off. I’m not sure if Eset was trying to come off as threatening, but she did. She totally did. Though, I think she was doing it to be protective of me.
“You didn’t have to do that, Eset, but thank you.” I’m the first one to slice through the tense silence. Amelia and Emily are just staring at Eset, and Eset looks right at me.
“It’s adorable that you think I didn’t need to. You’re with us now, Mona. You’re with the Umarovas, and no one will ever look at you in that way again. Rest assured, I put that to bed here and now. There needs to be a level of respect around you, and now they know you’re important to us.”
I’m important to them?
Wow!
I don’t even know what to say to Eset, but I don’t really get the opportunity because a woman walks over and looks directly at Eset and then stares me in the eyes. “I heard about what my waitress did. I am so sorry for any sort of rudeness that came from her. What can I get you ladies to drink? I’ll be handling you all today, and please let me extend my sincerest apologies to you, miss.” She keeps her eyes on me, and I nod, thanking her for doing so.
Amelia and Emily order some hot decaf teas since they’re pregnant and can’t have too much caffeine right now, while Eset and I opt for caffeinated drinks. I feel like I could drink a gallon of coffee today because I’m that tired.
The woman walks away, and Amelia looks right at Eset. “I can’t believe that first woman. She has to know who we are, so why did she think she could get away with it?”
Eset shrugs. “I have no idea, but I do think it’s crazy.”
