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“Up,” she says coldly.
It’s not a request. It’s a command. I scramble to my feet, and instinctively, my hands clutch around my arms as her withering gaze follows my motion.
“Come.”
Heart-rate spiking, I spare one final look at the door, hoping desperately that Konstantin might emerge. If he does, I’ll confess that I was listening. He’ll be mad, but he’ll understand.
But the door remains closed. Konstantin must still be talking with Gerasim.
“Don’t make me ask again,devushka,” Alla says as she continues to walk.
A man moves behind me gives me a hard shove forward, and I follow after her.
Alla leadsme to what seems to be a sun-filled library. As soon as I enter, the guard behind me closes the door with athudof finality, trapping me inside with her. He then stands with his arms folded in front of him and stares forward at nothing in particular.
There’s nowhere for me to go.
“Sit.” Alla gestures to one of the armchairs by the window as she takes a seat in the one opposite it.
Reluctantly, I obey. Although the chair is in direct sunlight, I feel impossibly cold. My stomach turns uncomfortably. Partly from hunger, but mostly from the fact that I’m trapped in this room with Alla and her guards.
To say that I’m scared is the understatement of the century.
“Something to drink,devushka?” she asks, her voice hard as iron. “Tea? Coffee?”
“No, thank you,” I look down answer shakily. “I’m not thirsty.”
“Liar.” A steaming cup of tea on a dish is shoved before me and I look up to see one of her guards towering over me. “It’s rude to reject a host’s offer.”
Realizing that all she’s offering me is the illusion of choice, I accept the tea with trembling hand and take a small sip before setting it down on the table nearby. It does nothing to warm me.
The man who handed me the tea takes a step back, but hovers nearby, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.
“Why were you outside my grandson’s office?” she asks. “No lies this time.”
“I …” I chew my lip. Can I even risk telling her the truth? She hates me enough already. What will she do if I tell her that I was spying on him from outside?
Her mouth purses into a line and she inclines her head, demanding that I answer.
I take a deep breath.
There’s no way out other than the truth.
“I was listening.” I confess.
“I’m aware.” She nods. “Why?”
Because I wanted to know just what it is that’s so important that he left our bed.
“Talk!” she barks when I take too long to find an answer.
“Because I was curious,” I stammer. “I wanted to know what he and Gerasim were talking about.”
“What do you think gives you the right to do that?” She scowls.
“I’m his wife,” I answer. “I have a right to know what he’s doing.”
“Do you?” she cocks her head to her side for a second.
