Page 129 of His to Own

“I wasn’t going to ask but I saw it and I was worried. I thought maybe it was your husband who did it.”

“No. Maxim would never lay a hand on me.” The moment I say it, I know it’s true. I never should have shown fear when he told me about his parents. I learned to trust him after he saved me from Aleksander. I can’t break that trust again.

“That’s good. Because your husband is scary. No offense. I was a little worried he was hurting you. Alexei seemed convinced he was.”

“Alexei…” I sigh. “I don’t want to talk about Alexei.”

“Why not? You two were thick as thieves. He always stood up for you when it came to me.”

“Because… Because Alexei isn’t as much of a friend as I thought he was. He… he judged me for…”

Polina waves her hand for me to continue.

“Are you going to use this all against me?” I ask her.

“Of course. Would you expect anything less from me?”

Her comment makes me crack a smile. Polina actually making me smile. Maybe miracles can come true. “Alexei judged me for sleeping with my husband.”

She frowns. “Why would he do that? Of course you’d sleep with your husband. He’s your husband. What else do you do with a husband?” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “I never saw the point of having a husband. A man will just get in the way of my studies and my future career. So unless he’s used for sex, what’s the point?”

“That’s… kind of sad.”

“That’s how I see it,” she says with a shrug. “Anyway. Continue.”

“Alexei was upset because he thought he would be my first. That we would date one day. I’m starting to think that was the only reason he was friends with me. To…”

“Get in your pants?” Polina asks flatly.

I slump against my seat. “Yes.”

“Mmm. That does suck. I know you two were good friends. I was always a little jealous. I’ve never had a good friend like that.”

“Why not?”

“I push people away. I’m focused on what I want in my life and I don’t have time for people getting in the way.”

“Am I in your way?”

Polina smiles. It’s so different from Alisa’s. Not fake. With Polina, I always know what I’m going to get whether I like it or not. “You’re my motivation to work harder. You’re a good writer, Elena. I’ve always hated you for it.”

“How do you know? I’ve never read any of my poetry out loud before.”

Her smile turns guilty. “I once stole a look at your poetry journal. You were in the bathroom during class once and I wanted to read it. So I read some of your poems and I hated that you were good. It made me work harder. What did you submit for Professor Burgov’s internship?”

“How do you know I submitted anything?”

“I know you. There was no way you weren’t going to do it.”

I lean forward as an excitement overtakes me. Actually talking about my writing… with Polina. That’s something new. “One of my favorite poems. It’s about my family.”

“The family you have issues with.”

“Yes.” I look at Polina for a moment. “I don’t really know anything about you other than you’re competitive and a writer like me. What do you want out of your life, Polina?”

“I want to be successful author one day. Which is why I need Professor Burgov’s internship. It could get me a jump start on my career. And I want…” She looks down at her hands.

“What?” I ask softly.