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“You think so?” I ask.
Larissa nods, smiling warmly. “I know so.”
I bite my lip. “Okay,” I whisper, tears on my own cheeks. “I’ll try my best.”
Larissa wraps her arms around me again, and we sit there for several minutes, letting the silence fill the room around us. After a few minutes, I pull away and wipe my tears with the back of my hand.
“Thank you,” I say, smiling shyly. “For everything.”
Larissa’s smile radiates understanding. “Try to get some sleep.”
I place the phone on the nightstand, and Larissa looks at it but leaves it there. “You should keep it hidden. Rurik would disapprove.”
Larissa gives me a solemn look before closing the door behind her. As soon as the door clicks shut, I lie down and close my eyes, shoving the phone far underneath the pillow.
But I can’t sleep.
I have to do something. Larissa and Mercy mean well, but only I can take control of the situation.
No matter what it takes.
51
NIKOLAI
I’mready to leave for a meeting when I hear her door shut upstairs. From the corner of my eye, I watch and wait for Eden to come down to breakfast, but instead, Dominika descends the stairs. I tighten my tie, hiding my disappointment with a tolerant scowl. Dominika’s orders have been to care for Eden and watch her like a hawk, so I assume she is doing her job.
“Where is she?” I ask. “Sulking in bed?”
Dominka straightens her back and tries to compose herself quickly. She quickly steps toward the hallway and makes sure she’s nowhere near me.
I finish with my tie and glare at her. “Dominika,” I demand. “I asked you a question.”
“Who?” Her voice falters.
“Eden,” I say.
Dominika stares out the window behind me, not daring to look me in the eyes. “She’s staying at your sister’s house.”
I step forward, looming over her. “You were supposed to be watching her!” I snarl.
Dominika doesn’t flinch. Before fleeing her homeland, she saw far more evil than even I could muster. She stares back at me, her face stoic and her voice even. “She is safe. She only needed a little space,” Dominika says softly. “None of this is her fault.”
I scoff. “Are you choosing sides?”
“I look out for everyone in the household, Nikolai Gennadyevich,” she replies. “I’m always looking out for you.”
Her serene response keeps my anger at bay.
“Next time, I’m to be told.” My voice is slightly more controlled. “I rely on your good judgment and discretion, but it is not your decision.”
She nods. “I will. But Larissa Gennadyevna might have told you herself if you had been around to speak with her.”
Of course, Larissa is involved, and now I will have to talk toher. I glare at Dominika’s insolence, and she carefully looks away. I could’ve sent her out the door after Father died, but she was the last one left.
The only one who knows my parents’ history and secrets.
I get in her face so that she has to meet my gaze. “Don’t do it again.”
