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“There’s a knock on the door, sir,” Paulo tells me, and I nod, heading up the stairwell.
I reach the front door, and Ruslan’s on the other side. He’s anxious to make his way into the house, so I open the door and know I have one hell of a story to tell my brother.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mona
No way in the bloody hell did I actually expect Nazyr to take the girls and me to Sweden so soon. I mean, I knew it was going to happen, but I thought he meant in a couple of weeks. I guess I just don’t get my hopes up too often anymore, but I’m glad he surprised me by putting this together so soon.
If I’m being completely honest with myself, we both needed this. We needed to get away from everything we knew and relax in an area that’s uncharted territory. We’ve been in Sweden for a full day so far, and it’s been nothing less than truly amazing. The hope was that we’d be able to be around the snow quite a bit, but come to find out, the only places with snow around this time of year are the mountaintops.
We were able to see the northern lights last night, which was one of the many things on my bucket list to do here. I really think the girls enjoyed seeing the mixture of green and purple lights in the sky. Not many people get to see something like this in the flesh. Most of them see it through photographs or videos, but I can proudly say I’ve witnessed this incredible sight with my own eyes.
The plan is to stay in the countryside for a few days, and then we’re eventually going to head over to the capital of Sweden for our last couple of days. I’ve seen photographs of Stockholm, and the one thing I’ve always noticed is how beautiful the city looks. I really wonder if the buildings are as vibrant as the photographs I’ve seen. Of course, the pictures I’ve seen are probably years old. Who knows if the same orange, yellows, and browns are still painted on the buildings’ exterior walls. Regardless, I’m going to be thrilled to be in Stockholm in general.
Right now, we’re in Bohuslän, which is located in the second largest county in all of Sweden. As the temperatures really start to warm up, the ice has dissipated, and it’s now a typical coastal community.
There’s a lot of smooth exposed rock where we are staying—Nazyr actually rented out an entire traditional red boathouse for us to stay in. Of course, we have security here with us just because you can never be too safe these days. Around the city are smaller islands and skerries off the coast. The locals have told us that their city is known to be a coastal paradise, which is why it ends up attracting so many tourists throughout the year. They also told us the seafood here is to die for, and right now, we’re testing out that theory.
There is a small café that looks a lot like a dive a couple of streets over, so after hearing good things yesterday about the place, we decided it would be a good idea to check it out. We’ve already been led back to a table by the hostess, and we’re walking out into a dock sort of area. The crazy thing is that the exterior of the restaurant looks like a traditional red boathouse.
The interior looks like we’re walking straight in some sort of ship. The floors look like they’re made up of old wood, and the roof is mostly skylights. There’s floor-to-ceiling glass along the area that faces the water.
Potted plants hang from the ceiling, made up of various colors. Some are green, while others are purple and blue. All in all, the space looks gorgeous, and I know the ambiance here is only going to further help me get out of this headspace I’ve been in. Between being with Duarte for years and everything I endured during that time, plus adding in the fact that I recently found out my uncle was the entire reason I ended up with Duarte in the first place… I’m a fucking wreck.
I might seem like I’m actually okay, but I’m not. I loved my uncle dearly and discovering his betrayal rocked me to my core. If my father was still alive, I know he would’ve found a way to bring my uncle back to life again just so he could kill him after Nazyr did. I hope my father is giving my uncle hell in the afterlife. I hope he’s going to keep making him pay for what he did to me.
God, sometimes all I can think about is what was done to me and how one choice would’ve changed years’ worth of pain and agony. I shut my eyes, and it’s like every moment of my life is happening all over again. The happiness. The loss. The betrayal. This is exactly what I’m trying to push back out of my mind. Some days it’s easier than others, and there are moments when my negative thoughts drift into my mind. Unfortunately, right now, it happens to be one of those moments.
Nazyr grabs my hand, and we follow the hostess as she escorts us to our table. The girls walk between us, and once we’re at our table, Nazyr sits next to Ira, and I sit next to Vanina. We’re given menus by the waiter standing nearby, and he tells us he’s going to bring out some water for all of us and that the girls’ drinks will be in sippy cups. The waiter walks away, and we look over the menus. They have a lot of traditional dishes, but they even have some standard dishes that you could find at other restaurants as well.
I already know I’m going to order some Swedish meatballs. I’ve never had them, but I’ve heard the best things about them. It looks like they’re served with mashed potatoes and a mixed vegetable medley.
I’m not sure what on the menu the girls will like, so I decide onKöttbullar, which is another meatball dish. In this dish, the meatballs are wrapped in herbs and spices and served with mashed potatoes and pickles. The other dish I’m deciding on for them is Pannkakor, which is Sweden’s version of a pancake. The girls have been picky in their food choices over the last few days, so I think getting two dishes from the complete opposite end of the spectrum is going to be good for them.
Nazyr’s looking over the menu and asks me what I’m going to get the girls, so I tell him. He thinks it’s a good idea for me to get them two separate dishes and tells me that if they want to pick off any of our plates, they can. We’re both getting some seafood dishes we’ve heard about, and by the time the waiter comes back, we’re all ready to order. Nazyr tells the waiter everything we want and adds a couple of apple juices for the girls since they’re not drinking too much of their water.
Over the course of the next hour and a half, we enjoy dinner with one another. We don’t leave until we each finish our plates, which can be a bit difficult when you have toddlers. But they managed to finish their food, and we promised them they could get a treat afterward, so we left the restaurant and walked down the well-lit street, looking for a bakery, an ice cream shop, or something of that sort.
Thankfully, we find one shop that is still open and walk inside. It’s a sweet shop, and there’s a variety of goodies behind a display case. From cupcakes to cookies to pastries, they seem to have it all; there’s even a self-serve ice cream station along the wall to the right. But that isn’t all. They have freshly made ice cream in a case behind the counter. One big flavor here in Sweden is lingonberry, so I know I want to try some of that.
“What goodies do you girls want? Hmm?” I ask my little ones, kneeling down in front of them.
Vanina looks at the display case and points at a chocolate cupcake. Okay, simple enough.
“What about you, baby?” I ask Ira.
Ira walks closer to the display case, and Nazyr chats in a friendly manner with the older woman behind the counter. I hear him telling her we’re here on holiday, and Ira is taking a long time trying to figure out what the heck she wants. After a couple more minutes of deliberation, Ira settles on a sugar cookie with sprinkles.
“Okay, I think they have decided what they want.” I laugh as I rise, and the older woman dotes over my two little girls.
“Perfect. What would that be?”
“A chocolate cupcake, sugar cookie with sprinkles, and I’d love to try some lingonberry ice cream, please. What would you like, honey?” I ask Nazyr, who smiles sweetly at me.
“I’ll have the same, please,” Nazyr tells the older woman, and she smiles at the two of us. Nazyr throws his arms around me and pulls me against him.
Over the course of the next few minutes, the woman gets our order prepared. While this might be so simple to some people… it means the world to me. I’m in a beautiful city with a man I’m one thousand percent in love with, and my little girls are right here by our side.
