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Maybe it won’t get clean air into my lungs, maybe I’ll never forget what she did, but I’ll never let her leave either.
Tonight, I’m going to talk to her one last time about it. I’m going to ask her and I will listen as Kolya and Yan have been urging me to.
I find her in the kitchen rummaging in the fridge, wearing one of her fluffy nightgowns with a robe that has layers upon layers of faux fur. She wore that once, then threw it in the back of the closet because it was too eccentric for her tastes.
Narrowing my eyes, I watch her movements. They’re too fast, lacking her usual finesse and elegance.
“What are you doing?”
She turns around, yelping, and I’m staring at a replica of my wife. Someone who has the exact same looks and build. Even the eyes are almost identical.
Almost.
Because those eyes? They don’t have the deep sadness in Lia’s. The permanent sheen of gray.
“Who are you?” I ask.
She gulps, the packet of frozen meat dangling from her hand. “W-what do you mean who am I? I’m Lia.”
I reach her in two steps and she runs around the counter. I pull out my gun and point it at her. “You’re not Lia. Who are you?”
She freezes, eyes wide as she puts her hands in the air, letting the frozen meat fall to the floor. “Please don’t shoot! She said nothing about being shot at. I’m so sorry,please, I only want money. I don’t want to die.”
“This is the final time I ask this question. Who the fuck are you?”
“My name is Winter. I met your wife at the shelter, and she asked me to take her place because she wanted to escape or something. I meant no disrespect, I swear.”
Fuck.
I stare at the woman again, hoping I’m wrong, but when I don’t find Lia in there, my chest constricts with something so similar to…fear.
This is not Lia. So, where’s my wife?
“Kolya,” I call.
He comes inside in a second, frowning when he takes in the scene. He probably thinks she’s Lia. This Winter may be able to fool the world, but not me. She doesn’t have the permanently haunted expression Lia has. She might smell like her, but she doesn’t have that natural soft body scent that no one but my Lenochka has.
“Find Lia’s location through her dental tracker and send it to my phone,” I order. “This one is an imposter.”
“What should we do with her?” Kolya narrows his eyes on her and she takes a step back.
“Keep her locked up until I figure out what to do with her.”
“No! I did nothing wrong.” She steps back further and turns to run, but trips over her long robe and shrieks as she falls, her head hitting the counter. Blood splashes on the tile as her body slips down with a thud, her lips open and her eyes blinking slowly.
Kolya reaches for her, but I stop him. “Track Lia. Let Ogla take care of the imposter.”
Then I’m out the door, Kolya following behind me.
The red mist that I only see when Lia is involved covers my vision and all I can think about is that she left.
She fucking ran.
I never thought she’d leave Jeremy behind, but she went ahead and did it. She had enough of pretending and escaped.
Probably to be with her lover.
She not only cheated on me, but she also went to him. They’re probably both laughing at my expense, thinking they’ve gotten away with it.
