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I widen my stance, glaring at him. I love this man, I really do, but he’s so apathetic sometimes, it drives me insane. Well, he’s apathetic most of the time. The moments he’s not are few and far between.
Why couldn’t I love someone normal?
Oh, right. Because I’m nowhere near normal myself.
“I’ll spend time with her.” I turn and leave before he can say anything.
I go to the kitchen, heat the soup and the ham casserole Ogla made for dinner, put them and an apple on a tray, and go outside.
Fedor and another guard greet me at the entrance of the guest house, but they don’t dare to stop me. They all look at me different since Adrian was let go by Sergei. Even Kolya, who seemed to hate me before they left Russia, thanked me as soon as they got back.
It’s like I gained their respect or something.
Yan was always on my side, but everyone else was blindly loyal to Adrian. I guess they must realize how foolish his decision was and that they could’ve really lost him.
Icould’ve really lost him.
That thought makes me want to cry again, but I suck in a deep breath, refusing to go down that path.
I find Winter in her room, sitting on her bed with her knees hugged to her chest. She lifts her head upon seeing me and hope shines bright in her blue eyes.
“Am I free to go now?”
I sit on the chair beside the bed and place the tray on the nightstand. “I’m afraid not.”
“But you promised.”
“And I will keep that promise, but not now, Winter. Your resemblance to me puts you in immediate danger. There are people who want to hurt me and wouldn’t hesitate to accomplish that through you.”
She hugs her knees tighter, her knuckles whitening. “I…I can’t spend all of my days cooped up in here. I feel like I’m going insane.”
“You can stay with me and Jeremy. We’re not really that fun, but we’re better than nothing.”
She tilts her head to the side, looking at me with undivided interest. “Why are you doing all of this?”
“This?”
“Helping me.”
“Because I know how it feels like to be alone, and how your head can torture itself and you.”
“Thank you,” she whispers. “You shouldn’t care about someone like me.”
“What type of nonsense is that? Everyone deserves to be cared for.” I uncover the food. “Come on, eat.”
She reaches out a hesitant hand, then grasps the bowl of soup, not bothering with the spoon as she drinks straight from it, finishing it in a few seconds. But she takes her time with the ham casserole, eating slowly.
“Can I ask you something?” she asks between bites.
“Sure.”
“Do you still want to escape your husband?”
“No,” I say and mean it.
“Why not?”
“I never wanted to leave him in the first place. I was just…at a point where I was lost, and I thought leaving him was the right choice. It took a lot to recognize that wasn’t true and to finally see where my actual priorities lie.”
