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If I were to lay my head on his chest, I knew I would feel his heart beating rapidly, echoing the frantic rhythm of my own.
“No, Sofiya. I’m here for you.”
I couldn’t help but exhale a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
I crossed my arms defiantly, refusing to fall into his trap. “You’re going to kidnap me again or maybe throw me in another lake?”
He smiled softly. “We need to cure your PTSD, baby, and I’ve got just the remedy.”
“The only thing that would help is if you disappeared from my life entirely.”
My chest weighed down as the words left my lips, but it was too late now.
So I stood my ground, barely an inch between us.
He winced, but his eyes softened as tears formed in mine.
“I tried, dorogaya,” he muttered. His touch was gentle as he brushed a finger across my cheek, then grasped my chin. “But clearly, I failed miserably.”
I wished he would stop talking and quash the hope in my heart that things could work out between us. But I knew anyway that too many obstacles stood in our way, making it impossible for me to move on easily.
“Where is Helena?”
Alexsei sometimes tells me about my mom, how she’s doing and where she’s living now. He even gave me her phone number, but I haven’t had the courage to call her, even though I miss her like crazy.
He let go of my chin and turned to face the window.
“In Moscow. I let her teach in a primary school, but she can’t leave the country anymore, or else…” He trailed off.
“Or else what?”
“You already know.”
Or else she’s dead.
I sighed. “I see.”
“I kept my last promise to you, Sofiya,” he continued, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I promised to protect her. So, don’t worry about her.”
“Why did you ask Alexsei to babysit me?”
A fleeting hint of amusement danced at the corner of his lips before he wiped it away with the back of his hand.
My brows furrowed. “I don’t need him or you to live my life.”
If only that was true.
I turned out to be a much bigger liar than I had ever realized.
“I know, but I do,” he replied, stepping closer to me.
I shook my head, my lips quivering.
The room felt unusually cold.
“I need you, Sofiya,” he whispered.
“Stop…”
