“Would you like to tour my house, Aaliyah?” Volkov asked as soon as Samantha left, and Aaliyah looked at him before nodding in a daze.
She was still not over what happened last night and how possessive she got when he mentioned his wife.
Aaliyah was growing emotions towards him that she herself didn’t know she was capable of, and it scared her a little.
When she met him for the first time and realized she had started liking him, she was cool with her fantasies because deep down, she knew her feelings won’t be reciprocated, and no problem would arise, but what was she supposed to do now?
Aaliyah wanted to ask what he meant last night by saying all those words to her so casually. Did he really mean all that, or was it just a haze of her drunk imagination?
That was the main problem. She was so wasted last night that she doesn’t even have a recollection of what was real and what was a dream.
“For someone living alone with a cat, it’s a big house,” Aaliyah couldn’t help but mutter as she walked through the corridors, and Volkov smiled at her.
‘It was really big and lonely for a man and a cat, but maybe things would change soon with her presence in the house,’ Volkov thought before they entered his studio.
“You paint too?” Aaliyah asked, amazed at his skills, and Volkov hummed, his eyes looking at Aaliyah mischievously, waiting for her reaction when she would see his masterpiece.
As Aaliyah walked inside the studio, observing the paintings displayed on the wall, she smiled before turning to him.
“They are beautiful. You are really talented with your strokes. I liked what you did with that firestorm there. It depicts how angry and frustrated you were while drawing this,” Aaliyah said, and Volkov hummed as they walked out of the room towards his bedroom.
As Aaliyah saw the dark decor of the room, she was quite impressed by his taste. Everything was placed neatly where it should be. There wasn’t a single hint of any flower, even if it was a black one like the rest of the room or a stuffed toy, making it look more mature.
She was surprised to see how much it resembled her own room.
“I know it’s a bit plain and dark, but I like -”
“It’s beautiful. Simple and dark,” Aaliyah cut off Volkov’s words, and he paused in his explanation before nodding.
Seeing her looking inside the room with such a concentrated expression, he had thought that she might be thinking it was too peculiar, but she was actually impressed by it.
“Oh, you have paintings here too?” Aaliyah walked inside the room.
“These are the most recent ones. I was about to shift them to my studio,” Volkov said, gauging her reaction as she walked towards the window to have a clear view.
As Aaliyah removed the satin cloth from the first one, she was surprised to see how beautiful it looked.
It was a split image of a forest and a dancing hall. One side of the painting had a few men standing in the dark forest, and it looked like a girl was hiding behind the tree. The other half of the painting had a few couples dancing together, the main focus being on a particular couple that was smiling while hugging each other.
The man was wearing a full mask and a suit, while the girl was wearing a half mask and a blue colored gown that look exactly like she had, and it was amazing how –
How familiar it looked. Aaliyah looked at the image with more concentration before she looked at Volkov as if trying to connect the dots.
“The second one might have the answer you are looking for,” Volkov smirked, and not wanting to jump to the conclusions, Aaliyah nodded before removing the Satin cloth from the second painting, her lips trembling a little at what she saw.
It was an image of her smiling with a half mask on her face, but that wasn’t the thing that shocked her. It was the bracelet she was wearing that caught her attention.
It was the same bracelet she was wearing on the night of that masquerade party where she had lost it in haste to run out of the club because of the presence of some teachers.
It was one of her favorite bracelets that were custom designed by her brother for her. Thus, she would never mistake it for another bracelet. The A and G on the Bracelet were too prominent to ignore.
Was he also there that night? How could he know about this bracelet if not? Has she met him before? Aaliyah squinted her brows before looking at the two paintings one by one.
There are a few men in the forest, and the girl is hiding behind a tree. Could it be that this is the depiction of what had happened in that forest when she saw a few gangsters lighting a house and killing a man for spying?
The second part was definitely that masquerade party night.
“You might like to have it back,” Volkov said before taking out the bracelet from the drawer, strengthening all her theories.
“Who are you?” Aaliyah asked him, but she wasn’t actually looking for an answer.
‘Do you still like stalkers?’
‘This job isn’t exactly important to me,’
‘I like teasing you,’
‘Not everyone around you is worth your trust,’
‘You shouldn’t just believe everyone,’
‘I am a dangerous man,’
‘You are truly different,’
‘I can’t afford to lose you,’
‘I am here for you,’
‘It’s hard,’
Aaliyah started remembering all the words she had heard him mumble here and there that she always thought were just useless, but she had never thought there would be such important meaning behind them.
“Do you still love stalkers, Aaliyah?” Volkov cupped her cheeks, and Aaliyah, who was too shocked to speak anything, looked into his eyes, wanting to ask the question that was almost at the tip of her tongue, but rather than that, she chose to speak a different statement.
“I want to go home,” she said, completely off-topic, and knowing all too well that she might need some time to herself after hearing and seeing all this, Volkov nodded gently.
“Come, I will drop you,” Volkov said, and she nodded mindlessly, gazing at the beautiful yet dangerous painting one last time.
Since when has he been following me? Was it from the forest incident or that masquerade party? Has he been following him for any kind of purpose? Was luring her and making her fall for his tactics one of his tricks? Could it be that he is an enemy, and all of this was fake all along? What are the possibilities that he is a dangerous man who wants to use her?
Why did he keep quiet for so long? Was it fun seeing her like this? What about this teaching job? Is it fake too? She had always felt some dangerous vibes from him. Could it be that he is a gangster too? Many questions roamed in Aaliyah’s head, and she looked around as they stopped at her house.
“How do you know where I live?” Aaliyah asked before shaking her head.
Of course, he would know where her house was. Didn’t he practically say he was stalking her?
“Don’t bother answering,” Aaliyah said before exiting, making Volkov sigh as he didn’t know whether he made the right choice by dropping the truth bomb on her.
After Aaliyah left, Volkov went straight to his home feeling annoyed and frustrated.
As he was about to lie down on his bed, he saw an incoming call and couldn’t help but sigh.
“What did you find out?” Volkov’s tone immediately changed from friendly to unapproachable and cold, making the person on the other end shiver.
He had asked someone to find information about who was the man who attacked them in the coastal rings and how the others knew about his presence.
“It was the one from the Axe gang. The man went to them, and they used him as a cover to attack us. The terminator gang had nothing to do with this. They didn’t know the man joined their gang to attack us,” Kevin read line by line, and Volkov hummed.
“So Benjamin is trying to collaborate with a gang who doesn’t even know their own members? It’s obvious he joined the gang after the word about our collaboration went out. Only trusted men were to be brought. Isn’t this why our men were out of the coastal ring? Everything was made clear, and they were still so lenient. Sounds funny,” Volkov scoffed, knowing Benjamin was listening to his words.
“They were indeed lenient, but this doesn’t have anything to do with the collaboration. They have good potential and -”
“Sounds like empty words to me. Why don’t you just agree that you did a shitty job? Is it because I am hiding now? Are you not able to run the gang without me?” Volkov cut off Benjamin mid-sentence, and Kevin gasped while Benjamin clenched his fist.
“Stay within your limits, Volkov. What do you know about -”
“If you have forgotten, I am still a teacher. Talk to you later,” Volkov ended the call, without waiting for his answer, leaning on the window sill with a haggard look.
If only they could understand what was going on inside his head.
How can they expect him to act normal with all this sh*t after what happened with their mother? The last time something like this happened, their mother – Volkov clenched his fist, looking at his garden casually.
~~~
“Where were you the whole night, Aaliyah?” Katherine whispered when she saw Aaliyah dining at the table, making sure their mother didn’t hear her.
“I was with Momo. Why? Did something happen?” Aaliyah hushed back and Katherine bit a piece of the sandwich before nodding her head.
“Mason and his group have dropped from their recent films. All the dirty gossip about them, including how many girls they forced themselves on for the sake of getting them a role, was released in the news last night. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about it, but you weren’t home,” Katherine said, and Aaliyah hummed.
“I had a friend who helped a little. He is in IT,” Aaliyah mentioned casually before standing.
“Are you all set for your departure tomorrow?” Katherine asked loudly this time, and Laura, who was preparing some cookies, turned to her daughter.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry, sweetheart. How could I forget that the day after tomorrow is the first round, and you are leaving tomorrow,” Laura gushed, and Aaliyah sighed.
“It’s not a big deal, mom. You are just busy with all the surgeries lining up. I know you are barely getting enough time to eat,” Aaliyah sighed, and Laura hugged her daughter.
“I know, but it’s still my fault for not knowing it. Who is going with you? Are we allowed to come? If that’s the case, then Katherine can go with you. Her modeling assignment is not due for a week,” Laura looked at Katherine, who nodded in agreement.
“Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln will be leaving with me and the other two students. This round will decide who among us three will be staying for the olympiad preparations,” Aaliyah said, and Katherine pressed her lips into a thin line.
“Please tell me it’s not their mini honeymoon in the name of your Olympiad round,” Katherine said, and Laura raised her brows, all of them laughing at her words.
“That could be the case. I wish more people could come, but the tickets were bought by the school, and it only included mine with theirs,” Aaliyah sighed before stuffing her mouth, and Laura hummed.
“What time are you leaving? I will come to drop you off. That’s the least I can do,” Laura said, and Aaliyah looked at her phone with a bored look, her hands pausing when she read an anonymous message from someone.
“I am always watching you, baby girl. I wouldn’t be having too much fun if I were you,” The message said, and knowing only one person used to call her that, a shiver ran down her spine.
She doesn’t know how he got her location and what he wants from her anymore. She had made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him after her brother had to come down and save her, but this guy just doesn’t get the hints, does he?
Gritting her teeth, she yelped in shock, dropping her phone when she saw Laura standing right behind her.
“How many times have I told you to not look at your phone while eating?” Laura sighed before picking up her phone, and Aaliyah sighed, thankful that the screen went black, or her mom would’ve worried uselessly.