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Still, I genuinely wonder if she would have been better off if I hadn’t intervened. I sincerely doubt it. Her father made her schooling a condition, rather than a right. I’m going to fix that. I’ll make sure she has the opportunity to go back to school.
She’ll need a new computer, too. I think about asking Edward to buy her one, but then I realize that it will mean more to her if she can pick it out herself. That’s a gift I can give her that’s worth more than money. I can give her the freedom to choose which model she wants. I’ll spare no expense to make her happy. She deserves that much.
Of course, all this will have to wait a few days. I’m off to Texas to deal with one of my businesses that is having a hard time staying afloat. This is part of what Dimitri struggles with. He focuses too much time on his illegitimate businesses, choosing to focus more on crime than his real sources of money.
My father taught me the value of a hard-earned dollar. He set up real estate offices all around the city, teaching me the importance of diversifying my portfolio. That isn’t to say there isn’t a certain level of crime happening behind the scenes, but he made sure his legitimate endeavors kept him afloat.
“Everything we have can be taken away if the wrong federal agent decides to stick his nose in our business,” my father told me when I was old enough to understand. “So we stay true to the Bratva, but we invest in legitimate business as well. We make sure there are things that can’t be taken away from us.”
I took my father’s advice and made our real estate conglomerate national. It was something he could only dream of. Only I had the vision and resources to make it happen. Unfortunately, being the head of such a successful business also means my attention is often focused on my business.
If I was able, I’d take this time off to be with Kat and help her adjust to this new reality. I’m sure it can’t be easy for her, and I feel responsible for that. But I have employees I’m responsible for and the Bratva businesses I have to keep running. It’s a lot of work, but a job I once accepted happily.
I couldn’t have anticipated that she would come into the picture. If I had, I would have done a lot of things differently. Top of the list, I would have found her and gone about this relationship the right way. It might have killed me, but I would have done the respectful thing and asked Dimitri’s permission for her hand.
I didn’t like using my influence to bring her back with me. It made the whole thing feel dirty. But if I learned anything from my father, it’s that you can make any business legitimate. I will show her my intentions and try all of this again the right way.
Until then, I have to do everything in my power to make sure she’s happy. I have to show her that life away from her parents is a good thing. She needs to see that I’m a bona fide gentleman who only has her best interest at heart.
When I get back from my trip, I’ll take her to pick out a computer. I’ll get her registered for classes. I’ll show her that I just want to take care of her the best that I can, and I hope that’s enough.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Kat
The day that Ivan rejected me, I received a knock on my door. When I opened it, dozens of clothing racks were brought in for me by the maids. There were more clothes than I’d ever seen in my life, with dozens of pairs of shoes. They’d even thought to bring me underwear.
The maids took their time unloading each item carefully, then left me alone to explore the new bounty. I was floored. I’d taken time to walk through the closet, assessing each and every piece of clothing. There were beautiful dresses and expensive-looking jeans. I knew Ivan must have spent a fortune on me, and I felt humbled.
Then I saw an entire drawer full of shorts. I picked them up and hugged them, surprised by the joy that filled me at seeing them. I was never allowed to wear shorts at home, not even as pajamas. Ivan has unknowingly given me a freedom I’d never experienced before, and I couldn’t help but be grateful to him. He had absolutely no idea what he’d done for me.
That was three days ago, though, and I haven’t seen him since. He hasn’t come to my room again, and I haven’t seen him in the penthouse at all. Now that I have an entire new wardrobe at my disposal, I’ve had more opportunity to explore.
It’s more massive than I’d initially thought. There are several rooms, though none of them are as beautiful as mine. They’re still grand, and they all have incredible views of the city. It truly takes my breath away. I never dreamed of being in a place that allows me such access to the outside world.
The kitchen is absolutely massive, though I know Ivan doesn’t use it. He has a full-time cook during the week, and she leaves easy items for him to throw together during the weekend. All of his needs are taken care of.
It’s so different from how I grew up. We had money, but Papa didn’t want us to be spoiled. We had a maid, but my brother and I were expected to clean up after ourselves and do our own chores. When we were old enough to use the kitchen, we were expected to cook at least once a week.
Papa told me he wanted me to be a proper wife, and proper wives know how to care for a home. Ivan doesn’t need me to care for his home, though. He has an entire staff full of people to do that for him. I still don’t entirely understand what I’m doing here.
There’s only one room that’s off-limits to me, which is Ivan’s home office. One of his maids caught me outside of it yesterday and told me that no one is allowed in there when he’s gone. She was very cagey about exactly where he is, though, which adds to my growing apprehension about what kind of business he and my father do.
I’ve heard of the Sidorov Syndicate, of course. It was part of the training Mama gave me when she made me learn all the members of the organization. I just hadn’t realized then that it was a criminal organization. I’d stupidly thought the Bratva was just a group of Russian immigrants who stayed together for the culture.
I know Sidorov Syndicate is a huge real estate conglomerate. They own dozens of buildings around the city. Now I wonder if the legitimate business is a front for something else. What exactly do Ivan and my father get up to in their day-to-day tasks? Part of me knows it’s best if I don’t ask.
I go back to my room and sit on the bed, turning on the TV and getting lost in some reality show. I also wasn’t allowed to watch television much at home. Papa believed TV was the rot of our society. I was allowed an hour a week, and only educational programs, specifically those about Mother Russia.
It’s weird having so much free time here. I don’t know what to do with myself. I was supposed to be on my “honeymoon” right now, though it wasn’t going to be much of a honeymoon. The plan was for us to take a weekend trip into Manhattan and stay at a nice hotel. This apartment is probably much nicer than the hotel would have been.
Still, at least I would have a sense of time and self. I’d have a schedule to follow. Ivan has left me here aimless, and I need to know what will happen now. Will every day be like this? Will I be expected to wait at home for him all day and do nothing? I’ll literally lose my mind.
Plus, my parents are still completely icing me out. They want nothing to do with me, and that’s made more apparent by my brother, Stepyan. He’s the only one who will talk to me, though by talk, I mean he keeps calling me to call me a whore. I’ve had to block his number because he called me twenty times in my first two days here.
Stepyan and I used to be close as children, but once we were teenagers, it was clear to me he had all the freedom. He didn’t have to agree to get married to go to school. He didn’t have to travel around with a bodyguard and only interact with members of the same sex.
Stepyan had dozens of girlfriends in high school. I didn’t resent him at the time, but as I got older, I realized what a double standard it was. He was a boy, the heir, so he got all the freedom and none of the same requirements. He was allowed to have a life, while I was caged up and unable to enjoy all the world had to offer.
