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My brothers were under strict instructions to stay away from the house until told otherwise, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Danil never likes being told what to do. He’s the typical youngest sibling, and it doesn’t help that he had me as a parental figure during adolescence.
“I didn’t realize you were here.” I cross the freshly mown grass.
He’s sitting cross-legged beneath a cherry blossom tree at the edge of the lawn, his eyes gazing up at the house, his expression telling me he’s lost in thought.
“I told you not to come until I said so,” I remind him, but then I halt in my tracks, gazing up at the blossoming flowers.
“It’s today, isn’t it?” I glance at Danil.
He lifts his eyes to mine and nods once.
My eyes flutter closed for a moment as a wave of grief hits me so hard my legs threaten to give out.
“I miss them.” His voice brings me back, reminding me that I have to be the strong one here.
I take a seat beside my brother, bringing my knees up and resting my forearms on them as we look to the house.
My eyes wander to the window of Bianca’s studio, wondering if she’s looking down at us right now.
Part of me hopes she is.
“Do you miss them?” Danil asks.
“Every day.” I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Me too.”
I ball my hands into fists, sinking the nails into the palm of my hands.
Sometimes, I hate the fact that my brothers were old enough to remember my parents, to remember the night that they were ripped away from us.
Would it have been kinder if they were children with hardly any memories to cling to?
Danil was fifteen when our parents were murdered, and I know he remembers it like it was yesterday.
I sure as hell do.
“Mom loved this house.” Danil sighs. “I remember her saying that she couldn’t wait for all of us to marry and fill the place with grandkids for her to spoil.”
I huff a laugh, though there’s nothing light about the sound.
What would she think if she were here now? To learn that I have a wife purely out of business obligations, not love?
I know it’s not what she would have wanted for her son, but it became my responsibility the moment I took over as head of the family.
“I know you told us all to stay away,” Danil mutters. “But this is the only place I feel close to them.”
“It’s okay.” I ignore the guilt of not realizing what day it was. “Let’s go and have a drink to honor their memory.”
“The way dad would’ve wanted us to.”
“Exactly.” I sigh, my eyes wandering to Bianca’s window as I think of my family.
8
BIANCA
The clock on my bedside table informs me that it’s 1am, and I’m wide awake. I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, my mind racing as I stare at the ceiling.
