Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alexei
Pacing back and forth along the long, sterile corridor, I waited for someone to come out of Violet’s room and tell me what was going on. She hadn’t wanted me in there with her, and I had to respect that. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going out of my mind with worry.
For both of them, I realized I probably should have brought Amy here as well for a checkup. But she had said she was OK. She had even sat up. It was Violet who was badly injured from falling down the stairs.
The fall down the stairs—head in my hands, I fell into one of the chairs and groaned. I couldn’t believe Amy had purposely pushed Violet. Hell, I didn’t want to believe it, but she had been acting crazy recently.
And even I had to admit that if she saw Violet coming out of my room, it might have sparked some unfounded jealousy. We had just been talking, that’s all. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I rang her cell phone. No answer. The same with Mrs Cole’s phone and the house. No one was picking up.
A prickle of unease made me shiver. Why weren’t they answering? Even in the middle of the night, someone should be contactable.
I tried Mrs. Cole again, and down the corridor a phone blared to life. Turning my head, I stared in that direction but saw nothing. Whoever’s phone was ringing was around the corner. But it couldn’t be Mrs. Coles.
The line went dead, and the ringing stopped. Like a sleepwalker, I stumbled to my feet and headed in that direction, peering around the corner to the more public part of the emergency room.
“Micah?” Confused, I took a step towards him. There was a phone tossed onto a chair next to him. “What are you doing with Mrs. Cole’s phone?”
He lifted his bloodshot eyes. The look he gave me wasn’t friendly. I bristled. He was one of my trusted men. And not once in all the years we had known each other had he ever looked at me like that.
Not until Amy came into my life, anyway.
“Did Mrs. Cole have an accident?”
“Amy,” he said, and then quickly amended it. “Mrs. Petrovov.”
“Amy is fine, she said so herself.” It was then that I looked at him. Really looked. His shirt sleeves and the front of his shirt were covered in blood. There was even more of it on his hands.
I swallowed hard. “Whose blood is that Micah?” I asked in a trembling voice.
He stood slowly, his arms outstretched so I could see all of it. God there was so much blood.
“Your wife, Mr. Petrovov,” he said flatly.
I’d been around violence most of my life. Blood didn’t scare me or turn my stomach, but that amount of blood and knowing it came from Amy was enough to make me feel sick. There was just too much of it.
“But she was fine,” I cleared my throat harshly. “She was fine when I left her.”
Micah’s eyes narrowed. “She seemed fine. Alexei. She wasn’t fine. She haemorrhaged a few minutes later. Mrs. Cole and I only just got to her on time to save her life.” His eyes bored into mine. The accusations are clear in them.
“Her life?” I whispered. The baby. Oh shit. Wildly, I looked around. “Where is she?”
He pointed to one of the curtained cubicles. “Mrs. Cole is with her. She’s only allowed one person.”
I ignored him as I swept the curtain back. I didn’t care if she wasn’t allowed more than one visit. I was her husband, and my place was at her side. There was a small army of doctors and nurses around her, twice the number that had rushed into Violet’s room. My blood ran cold.
From the head of the bed, Mrs. Cole lifted her eyes to me.
“How is she?” I asked.
“You can’t be in here.” A nurse stepped in front of me.
“I’m her husband,” I said, like it made a difference. “Let me see my wife.”
“Mrs. Cole.” Amy’s voice was the tiniest of whispers.
My housekeeper, who had been part of my family since I was a child, stood up. Covered in blood just like Micah had been. She shuffled towards me. Looking twice her age and frail.
“Mrs. Petrovov doesn’t want to see you right now, Mr. Petrovov,” she said in an emotionless voice.
“I just want to see for myself, that she and—” My voice cracked with more emotion than I had even thought possible. “That they are both alright,” I finished lamely. My heart was beating so hard that I could barely hear my own words.
“If you care about her at all, you will let the doctors do their job.”
I frowned. What did she mean by if I cared? “Of course, I care, she’s my wife. She’s carrying my baby.”
Mrs. Cole winced back.
“Mr. Petrovov.” Another nurse came up behind me. “Violet is asking for you.”
I froze, trying to see the swarm of medical personnel around my wife like a shield. Mrs. Cole’s eyes remained glued to my face.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said finally. I would just check on Violet for a second and then come back. It wasn’t like they were going to let me see Amy anyway.
Mrs. Cole licked her thinned lips and blew out a breath through her nose. “You need to find a new housekeeper, Mr. Petrovov,” she said flatly.
“Wait. What?”
“My time with you has come to an end.”
“Mine as well,” Micah said from his place in the chair. “I’ll have my notice on your desk first thing.”
Mrs. Cole nodded in agreement.
Her resignation, I would take, but his? He was in this for life, and he knew it.
“Alexei,” Violet’s wail sounded like a foghorn through the empty corridors. “I want Alexei.”
Sighing or shaking my head. “We will discuss this later,” I told them firmly. “When I’ve dealt with Violet.”
Neither one of my staff said anything in return. Mrs. Cole just yanked the curtains closed, blocking my view of what was going on inside that little cubicle.
Violet’s private room was so much bigger and so much quieter than the hustle and bustle of the busy emergency room.
Pushing my way inside, I found Violet sitting on the bed. Blankets folded neatly across her lap. Her mascara had run down her face, but she didn’t look like she was crying anymore.
“Alexei.” She reached out her hands for me. “You came. I thought you had left me.”
I took her hands without even thinking about it and let her lead me to the bed. “Of course, not Violet. I just had to check on Amy.”
“She’s here?” Trailing off, she looked away. “You care for her more than you care about me.”
“She’s my wife, and she is in a bad way.”
I didn’t get the chance to say anything else. Violet’s whisper cut through me. “She pushed me down the stairs and killed my baby, Alexei. She took away my precious child, and you still went to her.”
Ice filled my veins. Violet had lost her baby as well.
“I am sorry, Violet.” I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb. “I am sorry, but I am sure it was an accident.”
It had to be. I refused to believe that Amy would do such a thing, especially when she had lost our baby as well. It didn’t make an ounce of sense. Amy didn’t have a mean bone in her body. It must have been an accident.
“It wasn’t.” Tears flooded Violet’s eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you and cause problems, but earlier in her bedroom when I went to help her.” A single tear slipped down her face. “She tried to strangle me. That’s what you heard. She only stopped because you came in.”
I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. Not Amy. It just didn’t make any sense.
“I really tried to be her friend, Alexei, because she’s your wife, but she scares me. I don’t think she’s mentally stable. Is that the kind of woman you want bringing up your child?”
Pain lanced through me. All that blood had come from my wife. They hadn’t told me outright, but I knew deep down that there was no baby anymore.
“She’s no longer pregnant,” I whispered and let go of her hand, rolling my shoulders to try and relieve the tension.
“Oh.” Violet sounded like she didn’t know what to say. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
My head whipped around to stare at her in shock. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just that,” she wiped at her tears, “I love you, Alexei. I’ve always loved you.
” She sobbed. “And I know you love me as well. It’s always been you and me.
Now,” more dry sobs, “I loved my baby with everything in my heart, but maybe he died so I could be with you. We are meant to be together, you know that, and then neither one of us is tied to anyone else. We can be together.”
I stared at her in shock. “I’m married, Violet. I am married to Amy.”
“Even if she threw herself down the stairs after me?” Defiantly, Violet lifted her chin. “I watched her do it, Alexei. She pushed me and then threw herself down. She wanted to kill your baby. Amy might be your wife, but she doesn’t care about you. She doesn’t love you the way I do.”
I didn’t want to believe it.
Roughly, I tugged at my hair. “She wouldn’t do that.”
Violet remained silent.
“If that’s what you want to believe,” she said finally. “I can’t make you believe the truth. I am sorry about your baby, though, Alexei.” Reaching out, she caught my hand in hers. “I know you have always wanted to be a father.”
Slowly, I nodded.
If what Violet was saying was true, then Amy was everything I despised. My marriage would be over because I could never forgive her for purposely hurting my baby.
“I believe you.” For a second, I closed my eyes. “I have to go and talk to my grandfather.”
Violet lifted her face to me. A wide smile on it. “Why Alexei?”
“I need to talk to him about Amy. You’re right, I can’t stay married to her.” I thrust my hand into my pocket and something cold and round brushed against my fingers.
My grandmother’s ring. I had resized it to fit Amy finally and had meant to give it to her after the party, but then Violet had wanted to talk, and I’d forgotten totally.
I pulled it out, and Violet’s eyes widened. “Is that for me?”
I wanted to tell her no, that it was meant for Amy, but instead, I nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.” I handed it over to her.
The ring that was always meant to be my wife’s, and it didn’t fit her finger. I would have to get it resized again.
“Does this mean?” Violet’s voice was hopeful. “Does this mean we can finally be together, Alexei? That will be your wife?”
“Yeah,” I said with a very twist of my lips. “I just need to speak to my grandfather.”
I didn’t get to finish, yanking on my hand, she pulled me down on top of her and kissed me. My lips remained firmly shut. My back was rigid.
Why did kissing her suddenly feel so wrong?
Violet was right. I had always imagined Violet as my wife. So why was I thinking about Amy instead?