Malyshka’s eyes go wide like she’s trying not to let the tears fall. Demetri is already off the wall coming to sit next to her and rubbing his callous hand on her thigh to calm her down.
“I’m okay. I’m okay. I didn’t know I had a sister too. It was a huge campus; it was a huge city but what were the chances of meeting my twin sister? It was fate. Carissa thought so too. Her parents adopted her and when we did a little digging. I found out my mother gave her away during birth to protect her from my father’s wrath. My father said that was the only way of teaching my brother that women made him weak, that women would only lead to his death, that he had to give up his love for me because nothing was as useless as that.
“When we reached eighteen, my brother got the courage to do what our mother failed to do. He got us out of that hellhole. With no money, no connections but two plane tickets to here, he raised me, Alexia. My brother raised me and sent me to college to have a better life than he ever had. College was college. And it wouldn’t have been more fun especially and most especially when I met my sister, Carissa,”
“Your sister? You didn’t mention you had a sister.”
And I’m a hundred percent sure I listened to her story keenly.
Malyshka’s eyes go wide like she’s trying not to let the tears fall. Demetri is already off the wall coming to sit next to her and rubbing his callous hand on her thigh to calm her down.
“I’m okay, I’m okay. I didn’t know I had a sister too. It was a huge campus; it was a huge city but what were the chances of meeting my twin sister? It was fate, Carissa thought so too. Her parents. adopted her and when we did a little digging, I found out my mother gave her away during birth to protect her from my father’s wrath. My father hated me. If he had twin girls, not me or Carisa would survive. My brother didn’t know he had a sister too and I planned on telling him.
“No, Carissa and I planned op telling him but on the day, we were supposed to meet just outside our college, her…. her boyfriend sent his friends to take her. I would have looked for her, I loved my sister. I was going to tell my brother everything so that he would start looking for her but…but…”
“I kidnapped her”, Demetri adds in, like it pains
him to even admit it.
I’m near tears but I try to act like this story isn’t affecting me at all.
“Why? Why would you do that?” I ask.
Malyshka entwines her hand with Demetri before
she looks up to me, “He wanted to start a war with my brother.”
“Of course he did”, I scoff.
Demetri liked starting wars with everyone. Including my boss, Volkov.
“He took me to Russia that night. A month later,
he told me about Carissa’s death. But the
surprising thing of all? My brother thought I was dead. I was alive, Carissa was the one who was
dead but he didn’t know that. And I didn’t want
him to find out I was alive because I fell in love a second time with Dee. With Demetri. If my
brother found out I was alive and I was kidnapped by Demetri, he would go on a murder rampage and I wouldn’t want that. I love my brother but I also love this man with all my life.”
My throat bobs with emotions as I struggle to speak up.
“Hhow do I fit into the story? I don’t know you, I don’t know your brother and I don’t know Carissa, sorry for her death by the way.”
“Because…. Rhett Kingston and his friends killed my sister. Your ex took my sister away from me.”
The bomb she drops has me flinching back as I tighten my grip on my baby.
Rhett was Carissa’s boyfriend?
I knew he was a psycho, a rapist but killing an
innocent woman?
“II didn’t know. I had nothing to do
“I know you don’t. He was seeing you and Carissa at the same time and I don’t blame you but Rhett for everything.”
“Okay.”
“But I am still going to ask for two favors from you, Alexia.”
What the hell is going on today?
I don’t think I can keep up with everything.
My fear has elevated by a hundred, my hate for Rhett churns my skin and worry occupies every pore in my body.
“I love Demetri so much but I also love a man who has been my shoulder to cry on for years while I was growing up. I can only hope he
forgives me and wants to talk. As for my brother, he hasn’t let any woman near him since my ‘fake’ death apart from our nanny. You are the only one he seems to listen to so I beg you of this, help him recover. Thaw that cold heart of his and teach him love is not weak. Teach him that violence is not the only thing he can have in his life. That is all I beg of you.”
I might be crazy for asking her this.
My mind tries to wrap around her words and I feel a headache coming in.
“These men who are they?”
“I need your help getting to my first love, Maximo DiMarco. And I need you to help my brother, Christian Volkov move on with his life.
My name is Catelina Sofia Volkov, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Demetri has told me a lot about
you.”