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He pouts. “But I won’t get to see Daniel in those days. I want to go to school,” he complains.
Before he can throw a tantrum, I hurriedly soothe him.
“Maybe Daniel can come over to our house and play with you one of these days? I’ll try to get in contact with his family and see if that would be okay.”
He nods eagerly at that. “Okay, dad. “
Thankfully, the rest of the meal goes by without any other problems. After we’re done, Nate disappears to play in his room. I make both Katerina and I a cup of coffee and we head to the living room, taking a seat.
“Is it just me or does this feel strangely domesticated?” I ask after a couple of seconds.
“Honestly, I’m leaning more towards uncomfortable. But sure, domesticated works,” she says on a shrug. “I think it feels weird because it’s so normal.”
“You’ve never being good at normal,” I point out.
“Neither have you,” she shoots back.
“Anyway, it’s a brand new day. What’s your plan? I know you already have one.”
Instead of replying she takes a sip of her coffee, her expression thoughtful.
“Realistically speaking, the news is going to affect your family’s’ company much more than it’s going to affect my family’s business. My biggest problem now is how to reattain trust and respect I’ve worked so hard to get from the men who work for my family but I’m sure I’ll figure that out eventually.”
“How about your family? Shouldn’t they be your biggest problem?”
She sighs softly. “My dad will cool off in a couple of days and when he does, I’ll try to explain everything to him. As for my sister… I’m sure Rico would have told her by now. The fact that she hasn’t called me or reached out to me is extremely telling. I don’t know if I should call her or go and see her.”
“What would you say? How are you going to explain it to them?” I question. “Because I’m pretty sure you know ‘I didn’t have a choice’ isn’t going to cut it anymore. It’s not just me right now. It’s Nate, your family. It’s time to come clean, Katerina.”
Her expression doesn’t waver. It’s clear she was expecting it. Expecting me to ask. But I can tell she’s dreading it. A light tremor goes through her hand. She carefully sets the coffee mug on the table in front of us, before looking back at me steadily.
“I’m going to start by saying that I know that there’s no excuse for my actions. But when all of this happened, I was young and stupid. A 19 year old with no clue what she was doing. I was also in a place of hurt and again, I know that’s not an excuse but if I could take it all back I would.”
My breath leaves me a in a rush.
“I’m listening, princess.”
CHAPTER 17
Katerina
This is the second time I’m telling this story in the last few days. And I know without a doubt it won’t be the last time. Still, out of everyone else, the person who deserves to know the truth the most is him. Xander stares at me expectantly as I begin to speak.
“There were a lot of factors involved. But it all started after our break up. After I left D.C, I went back home to New York, needing some sense of normalcy, a distraction, anything to take my mind of you. Which is why when my father offered to send me to Moscow on a business trip, I took it. It was my first time going there on my own and the trip entailed trying to amend his relationship with a particularly nasty Boss who was intent on causing us some trouble. But he trusted me to handle it. The Boss was an old man called Sergey. Sergey Sokolov. And while he might have been an asshole, brash, dangerous, his son was so much worse,” I say quietly.
“His son?” Xander asks.
“Yes. His son’s name is Maxim Sokolov and to put it simply, he’s a psychopath. Anyway, when I first arrived in Moscow, I didn’t know all that. I knew Sergey was a little terrifying but I was prepared to handle him. I had a plan. What I didn’t plan for was his son. Almost as soon as I arrived, Maxim set his sights on me.”
There’s no other way to say this, so I resolve to say it as bluntly as possible. Like ripping a band aid off, except the pain this is going to leave behind will be so much worse, persistent, unflinching.
“Despite how scary he could be, he could also be pretty charming and he wasn’t exactly ugly. I was naïve, and lonely and sad, so I allowed myself to be charmed into his bed.”
Beside me, Xander stiffens. “You what?”
A tremble goes through my hands. I clasp them and place them on my lap.
“It was a mistake, Xander. I was feeling lonely, I was young, in a county on my own without any support. I had just broken up with you and it was hard. Maxim paid attention, he was kind of sweet. He acted as a buffer between his father and me and he helped me out. I was living in their home because of the negotiations. Maxim played the part of a good host that was concerned for my well-being. A part of me knew it was all an act but in the face of everything I was going through, I refused to see it. One night I got drunk. Drunk enough to sleep with him. It was only one time but unfortunately that was all it took. Two weeks later, I was having breakfast with their family when I suddenly felt nauseous. I rushed out of the room to puke. Maxim called a doctor immediately, who didn’t hesitate to proclaim I was pregnant.”
