Chapter 80
Ariel
I dialed Dmitri’s phone for the umpteenth time, but I was given the usual annoying response that he wasn’t reachable. I clutched tightly in frustration to my cell phone and palmed my forehead.
“Where could he be?”
It was past 9 pm and he wasn’t here. For someone who left the house early this morning without greeting me goodbye, he surely should have called me to fill me up on details.
The worry laced with anger that was growing in my stomach slowly dissipated when Liora who was earlier attending to her homework tugged at my shorts.
“Isn’t Daddy coming back home tonight?” She asked innocently.
She had gathered more weight as she enjoyed gobbling everything the cook prepared, but I still managed to hoist her into my arms.
“He will return, baby. Just give him some time. I guess he’s very busy with work,” I slowly placed her head on my shoulder and patted her head gently.
“It’s just that I miss him and we haven’t been together as a family. It’s either you’re not around or he’s at work,” She whined further while I sighed, inundated with guilt.
She was right.
Dmitri and I had to do better. Knowing the nature of his work, I knew that I had to step in. How selfish had I been to think of short trips to Paris when I had a child to take care of?
“We are so sorry and I promise that we’ll make it up to you soon,”
Her hair scratched my shoulder as she nodded in understanding. I didn’t plan to renege on my words, but I hoped that Dmitri would come back home soon so that we could talk about making time for Liora.
A few minutes later, her light snores and the steady rise and fall of her chest informed me that she had fallen asleep so I took her to her room and tucked her into bed.
After planting a tender kiss on her forehead, I returned to the living room and got a bottle of red wine from the cellar. I’d just settled on the couch when Fedor strolled in from the hallway.
He looked surprised to see me but it didn’t take him so much time to mask it.
“Good evening, ma’am,” He greeted flatly.
“Hi, Fedor, please sit with me or I’ll be bored to death,” I encouraged him and went to the cellar to get another wine glass.
He shifted his weight to the other foot and raked through his hair. “I don’t think I should be doing that…” He pointed to the bottle. “Drinking wine, I mean,”
“That’s fine. Don’t drink, but you must know that I’m very worried about Dmitri. He left in the morning and I’ve not been able to reach him. Have you heard from him?” I asked.
He shook his head as if he was unsure of what next to say and that increased my paranoia.
“Talk to me, Fedor,” I pressed on.
His forehead became creased with lines of apprehension which got me wondering what he could be hiding. “I don’t know so much, ma’am, but whatever is going on has something to do with the rumor about our Capo buying and selling substandard drugs. His position is also under threat,”
“That can’t be possible. Dmitri is an honest man,”
“Only a few of us know that. The market doesn’t care about his honesty, they want quality coke and cracks and the rest, and we suspect that the problem is from the supplier.” He paused and rested on the chair. “If only he had listened to Margaret and allowed her to fix things. It’s too late though,”
Though a streak of jealousy reared its head, I ignored it and focused on the matter at hand. “Why is it too late?”
“She’s dead,” He blurted.
My hand covered my lips which had slackened and I jerked in shock. “How could she be dead? She saved me from my captor and I didn’t even have the chance to properly appreciate her,”
Fedor slowly got to his feet. “I think I should go now. I’ll be in my quarters in case you need me for anything,”
I couldn’t hold onto him anymore so I permitted him to leave then he bowed and excused himself.
Once again, I was engulfed with loneliness which motivated me to reach for my phone in a bid to reach Dmitri. Before I could dial his number again, the gate creaked open and a car drove in, the sound of its wheels scrambling to an abrupt halt.
Without hesitating, I dashed to the window and instantly my worries were assuaged. Dmitri got out of the driver’s seat in scary shape. His usual confident poise was missing and his broad shoulders that I’d always admired sagged loosely.
His strides into the living room seemed hazy and doubtful instead of commanding and relaxed. Our eyes met and he flashed a tired smile at me.
I wrapped my arms around him and peered up at his face. “Welcome home,”
He nodded, his lips pressed tightly as he unraveled himself from my embrace. “I want to be alone right now,” He requested calmly and steered away from me.
My heart sank at his subtle manner of rejecting me, but I ignored it. Like Fedor said, he was going through a rough patch and the last thing he needed was my nagging.
~~~
I watched him as he sat silently by the pool, clad in a simple pair of grey pants that caused a rush of dopamine to surge through me.
He shouldn’t be sitting alone and drowning in his problems. We were married and we had to go through it together.
Feeling a bit emboldened by my decision, I put on a robe over my nightwear and marched to the pool. He was so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t sense my presence.
So I took off my robe and tiptoed to him. He spared me a glance when he felt my presence, but said nothing as the smoke he had just puffed out spread out in front of him.
I had a special dislike for smoke and I detested the act of it, but this man before me made it look so sexy and appealing with his arms taut and his muscles flexing involuntarily.
He nudged me to sit and I decided to honor my intrusive thoughts. I lowered myself onto the space behind him and hugged him.
He heaved a deep sigh and caressed my hands. “You should be resting, Ariel. Why are you still awake?”
“I called you all day and you didn’t answer or return the missed calls. Then you came back home and decided to have some time to yourself which I wasn’t comfortable with, so I came over here to know the reason for your sudden pensive mood. That’s why I’m still awake,” The words rushed out of my mouth.
His lips parted as if he wanted to speak but he snapped them shut and drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting and not returning your calls, but I won’t apologize for my mood because I still want to be alone. I need to think,”
I recoiled away from him, his withdrawal hitting me hard in the face. “We are married, Dmitri, so I should be informed about the happenings in your life. You want me to be nonchalant, but that’s quite impossible because I care about you too much to allow you to wallow in your miseries,”
He flinched and jerked up to his feet. “Bullshit, Ariel, stop it! I don’t need you to care about me. Can’t you listen to me without trying to raise an argument?” He barked.
Hot tears pooled in my eyes and I took a step back. “I’m very sorry for overstepping my boundaries. The next time you stay out late, I won’t call and even if I hear that you are hurt, I’ll overlook and sleep peacefully so that I won’t have to disobey your instructions,” I dished out in annoyance and stormed off without waiting for him to reply.