Chapter 11 #2
“I was going to plant the seeds you got me,” I blurt out. “My mom brought over my overalls since I didn’t want to get any of my clothes dirty. But she was just leaving. We’re going to meet up again next week. She told me that you told my dad that we could do that.”
“Fine,” Dimitri grits out. “I did agree to that. I understand why your mom is here. But what I don’t understand is why is Katya outside of her room.”
All eyes turn to Katya. I’m expecting her to tell Dimitri that I invited her out to garden and she wanted to go.
But instead she says, “It was all Sofiya’s idea.” She points her finger at me. “She convinced me to come out here when I didn’t want to. I didn’t want this. I don’t want this.”
My jaw drops. “I didn’t force her to leave her room. I just invited her to come out to the garden with me to plant the seeds you got me. That’s it.”
“It sounds like you convinced her to leave her room,” Dimitri says.
“I didn’t convince her. I just offered. There’s a difference.”
“I just want to go back into my room,” Katya says, sounding on the verge of tears. “I hope I’m not in trouble.”
Dimitri’s gaze softens and he wraps his arms around her. “You’re not in trouble. You’re not a prisoner in that room. You can leave if you want. But I was just shocked to see you out of your room. I didn’t think you wanted to leave.”
“I don’t. I want to go back.”
“I’ll walk you back.” He turns his eyes onto me and they go from soft to cold. “We’ll talk when I get back. I want your mom gone by then.” He murmurs softly to Katya as they head upstairs.
Mom blows out a long breath. “That was… I don’t even know what to think of what just happened.”
“Katya is scared to leave her room because of what happened to her in her childhood. Dimitri enables her. I offered to have her come help me garden. She was going to take me up on it, Mom. And then she saw you. I think you freaked her out. She hasn’t been around other people in… I don’t know how long.”
“I understand that. But I didn’t like the way Dimitri looked at you. Like he was blaming you for that. I was right here with you. You didn’t drag that girl here.”
“Dimitri is protective of her. He’s had to raise her since she was a kid. But I’ll be fine, Mom. I’m used to dealing with Dimitri at this point.” He’ll probably spank me again. Having me sit naked with strange men looking at me is the worst he can do to me.
And nothing can compare to the kidnapping I went through.
“You should go,” I tell her.
“No. I want to make sure you’re all right. I’m going to give Dimitri a piece of my mind.”
“He won’t appreciate it.”
“So? Do I look like I care? You were trying to do a nice thing for his sister. If he can’t see that, then that’s his problem.”
Dimitri comes back down the stairs at the moment and stops on the bottom step when he sees my mom. “I thought I told you to get rid of her.”
“I am not going to let you talk to my daughter in that way. Don’t snap at her like she’s a dog.”
“Mom,” I say gently.
Dimitri approaches Polina and towers over her. “My sister is a matter of business between me and my wife. Not me, my wife, and her mother. So, Polina, if you could leave, that would be great.”
“Sofiya invited the girl out to garden. She did nothing wrong.”
“Then why did my sister make it sound like Sofiya forced her?”
“I didn’t,” I cut in. “I never forced her. I asked her if she wanted to join me and to think about it. I said if she wanted to join me, meet me downstairs. She did. I didn’t drag her out of her room, Dimitri. You have to believe that.”
He sighs deeply. “What I do know is that I’ve known my sister a lot longer than I’ve known you, Sofiya. I know how fragile she is. She can’t make decisions for herself. By talking to her, you’ve forced her to do something she didn’t want to do. I have a problem with that.”
“And I have a problem with you keeping your sister kept away in a hidden room.”
“She wants to be there.”
“I know. But you should encourage her to get out. You shouldn’t enable her to stay inside.”
He crosses his arms and looks down at me with an intense expression that would make most people hesitate around Dimitri.
But I’m not most people. Not after what he’s done to me.
“Are you telling me what I should do with my sister? I told you, Sofiya, that Katya is not your concern. I explicitly told you that and you refused to listen. So, Polina, it was nice seeing you again, but you need to leave. Sofiya and I need to have a conversation.”
“You’re going to hurt my daughter, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to beat her if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“He won’t, Mom,” I tell her softly, giving her arm a squeeze. “I can promise you that. Dimitri and I need to talk. Go back home to Dad and thank you for the overalls.”
She looks between me and Dimitri before giving me a hug and leaving the house. I know how much it’s taking out of her not to rush me back home but we both know my home is with Dimitri now.
I hold the overalls close to my chest as if that somehow will save me from Dimitri’s wrath.
“You overstepped,” he states in a clipped tone.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to spend the day with my new sister. Is that such a bad thing?”
He hesitates. Dimitri rarely hesitates. “No, it’s not. But Katya wants to be left alone and you need to respect that. No more going to her. No more trying to get her to leave her room. It’s where she wants to be.”
I open my mouth to object but Dimitri holds up a hand. “No, Sofiya. No arguing with me about this. You know I need to discipline you for this, correct?”
“I know you will.” And there’s a part of me that needs it.
“Go to our room. Get on your knees. Wait for me.”
I want to snap at him. Scream at him. But I also want to please him, so I walk into our room and get on my knees and wait for him to give me my punishment.