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When he stretches out over me naked, he’s tender. He frames my face and kisses my lips softly as he enters me. He pours care into the way he holds me, setting a lazy pace. He makes me come before he does, and even after, he kisses me still. Like Ilya said, he gives me what he can’t outside of bed.
He gives me compromise and affection.
22
Yan
Mina is sleeping soundly in my arms, her small shape fitting against the curve of my body as though she was made for me. Still, even after the tender lovemaking we just shared, I can’t help feeling agitated. The image of the man Mina embraced is burning a hole in my brain. They must’ve made their way to the station together before splitting up. He didn’t look at us because he was gawking at a couple hugging in public. He looked at me. He was sizing me up like a rival. The bad feeling I had about him was right.
Are they lovers? Is that why Mina went to the clinic? To see her boyfriend?
The thought of a boyfriend I might’ve overlooked is like an iron peg hammered into my chest. The image of them together has been driving me insane since I saw it on the video feed. Even while I was making love to Mina, I saw it in my mind. Thought about it. Obsessed over it.
There’s only one thing to do.
Find him.
Deal with him.
Mina is mine. I don’t give a fuck about their history. This is the present. This is how it is now. This is how it will be forever. If my bossy little woman lied to me about their rendezvous, it’s to protect him.
Too late. He sealed his fate the moment he touched what belongs to me.
Despite my anger, I smile when I think about earlier. I like that she keeps me on my toes. She’s right to put me in my place. I need it. Of course, I’m not going to let her know that. I’ll just enjoy it quietly, like I’m enjoying her relaxed body in her unconscious state. She’s much more pliant like this. With her in my arms, I can forget about the circumstances that landed her here.
I can forget I’m making her stay by holding a figurative gun to her head.
Careful not to wake her, I get up and make sure she’s covered. I close the bedroom door and walk into the dark lounge. The apartment is quiet. It’s just after three in the morning. I don’t switch on the lights. In the kitchen, I use the light from the freezer to pour a shot of vodka into a chilled glass and sit down at the table to boot up my laptop. I’ve watched it twenty times, but I play the security feed from the clinic again.
The black-and-white image comes to life, the resolution startlingly clear. The clinic must use high-quality equipment.
Mina enters the building. The feed skips to where she’s walking down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. She enters a room, which I’ve confirmed is her grandmother’s. After a while, she goes to an office downstairs. There are no cameras in the rooms or offices. The video jumps to her leaving the office and walking outside. The gardens aren’t under surveillance either. She disappears in a blind spot and remains out of view for ten minutes.
The next part is where my heartbeat spikes and fury claws inside my ribcage. A man is with her when she walks back to the entrance. He says something that makes her smile. That smile, it’s sad. That’s what hurts the worst. She didn’t want to say goodbye. She has feelings for him, feelings she doesn’t have for me. He hugs her, the motherfucker, and then she goes back inside while he gets into a vehicle in the parking lot.
I freeze the frame and enlarge the license plate, something I’ve been meaning to do after dealing with my idiot brother and showing Mina to whom she belongs.
I don’t watch the rest again. The rest doesn’t matter. Mina exited alone but must’ve met her friend in the street to travel to the station together. I’ve ordered the station camera feed as well. The recording only shows him entering the cafeteria a few minutes after Mina, taking a table behind her. Maybe they were planning on taking the same train to win more time together. Maybe I ruined their plan when I showed up. Whatever the case, their plans—past or future—will soon be of no consequence.
Mina’s companion signed in at the clinic gates as Izsak Varga fifteen minutes before she arrived. The search for Izsak Varga was fruitless, as Mr. Varga doesn’t exist.
After signing in, he headed straight for the gardens, which tells me they had agreed on the place and time of their meeting. Somehow, Mina must’ve communicated with him. Perhaps via a burner phone. She could’ve easily bought one and chucked it once she was done. Tracing the call is near impossible. I won’t find his number via that route. My best bet is the license plate.
