Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Leah
Poking my head through the kitchen door, I sucked in a shocked breath. The kitchen was all stainless steel cabinets and giant fridges. It was like something out of a restaurant and bigger than my whole apartment.
The two women inside stopped dead, both of their faces wearing mirroring expressions of disbelief to find me in their kitchen. I knew at least one of them. The older one I had seen before, we had spoken in the beginning, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember her name.
“Can we get you something, Mrs. Petrov?” The older of the two walked forward, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist. “Maybe something to eat? Your breakfast plates came back empty.”
I blushed. Of course, my plates had come back empty. I’d been too busy coming over Viktor’s hand to eat, and then after I’d been too busy crying so hard I threw up.
Her eyes scanned my face. “Or maybe something, you look a little peaky. Are you getting sick?”
“No.” I stumbled over my words. “No, I’m not sick, and I’m not hungry. I just need something to do.”
Both women’s mouths fell open. “Something to do? ”
Nodding, I forced myself to smile. “Yes. I’m bored out of my mind. I’ll do anything just as long as I’m not sitting around any longer. I hate being bored, and I’m a fast worker. A good worker.” I rambled on like this was a job interview.
“You want to work?”
It was like I was asking for the moon to be served to me at lunch. “Yes, dusting, cleaning, I don’t mind—”
She cut me off. “Mr. Petrov wouldn’t like that.”
And there it was. More proof that my husband ruled everyone with an iron fist, and not just me. I didn’t know what made everyone so fiercely loyal to him, but I would put money on it not being the same way he demanded respect out of me.
“Ok.” Defeated, I turned toward the door, and her flour-covered hands caught me by the wrist. Turning to her, I saw sympathy in her eyes.
“But I don’t think he would mind you sitting in here with us. It can be lonely in this big house all by yourself. Do you know how to make bread? That’s what we are making right now.” Shaking the flour from her hands, she went back to her countertop. “You can sit there.”
I scampered towards a high stool. It was an old wooden thing, probably the oldest thing in the entire kitchen, and it creaked under my weight.
I shifted my weight and grimaced. Was the thing about to break? That would just be my luck.
“You won’t break it. That thing is older than you are.” The head chef chuckled as she went back to kneading the dough in front of her. I watched her for a second. She seemed to be taking out a lot of pent-up aggression on it.
I could do with some of that.
“It used to belong to Corrinne.”
My eyebrows shot up. Who the hell was Corrinne?
Catching my look, she smiled. “Viktor’s mother. She used to come in here a lot.” She waved a hand around, and specks of flour went everywhere. “Before it was all done up, of course. When it was more of a family kitchen, Viktor used to sit exactly where you are sitting now and watch her bake.”
I sucked in a breath. I couldn’t even imagine a little Victor. To me, he was a larger-than-life domineering older man who had steamrolled my life without even trying.
Had he sat here with his legs swinging and watched people cook just like I was doing now?
“What happened to her?” I whispered. “Viktor doesn’t really talk about his parents.”
In fact, he didn’t really talk to me at all. I knew he had mentioned his father in the beginning, but I couldn’t remember ever hearing about his mother.
They both stopped and stared at me. And again their mouths fell open.
“Oh,” I quickly averted my eyes. “Did she die? I’m sorry.”
There was actual pain in the older woman’s eyes, and I knew that she had known Viktor’s mother and liked her. “I am sorry for your loss.”
“My name is Catherine, but you can call me Cathy. Everyone else does.” She flashed me a forced smile.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I began to say when she turned to me fully and sighed. “Corrinne didn’t die, at least we have no proof she did.”
Confused, I leaned forward. “Ok.”
“But she left when Viktor was eight, the day he turned eight, actually. She was there for his presents and party, and the next morning she was gone.”
I sucked in a breath. “She left him? Abandoned him?”
What kind of woman did that? What kind of mother? I couldn’t even imagine the kind of pain Viktor and his father had gone through.
“God, I’m sorry, that must have been so hard on Viktor and his father.”
Cathy’s eyes flashed. “It was Viktor’s father’s fault,” She spat. “Cold, heartless bastard.” Angrily, she slapped the dough down on the counter, and the whole kitchen shook with the force of it.
“What do you mean?”
“He treated her like dirt. That girl was the sweetest, hard-working woman I had ever met. She loved him, and I think in the beginning, he might have cared for her. But men like him—” she trailed off. “I shouldn’t talk bad about the family. They are good to me.”
“He changed?” It felt like I knew where this was going. And I didn’t like it one bit.
“Power does that to men,” she said absently. “Luckily for you,” she winked. “Viktor is nothing like his father.”
My lips thinned. Viktor was more like his father than she realized, but I wasn’t about to say that. “What was he like as a child? Viktor, I mean? You were with the family back then, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been with the family forever.
Viktor was a sweet kid, and he idolized his mother.
I remember him always being next to her.
” She smiled at the memories. “He loved her that much, and they used to come in here and bake cookies together. When she left, he was crushed. He waited for her to come back for so long. Sometimes, I still think he’s waiting because I see the pained look in his eyes. ”
I made a scoffing sound in the back of my throat before I could help it, and her eyebrows shot up.
“Don’t be fooled by the man he is now, Leah. He’s still that boy who is scared of being alone. Deep down.” She added with a grin.
“Yeah, real deep down,” I muttered under my breath with a roll of my eyes.
“He always vowed he wouldn’t get married, and believe me, there have been many women who tried to become mistress of this house over the years. Viktor was a handsome young man.”
He was still handsome now, even if he wasn’t so young. In fact, I couldn’t picture him ever being better-looking.
“I can imagine,” I muttered.
“But he never wanted any of them. No one was good enough, and honestly, we all kind of gave up hope that he would find a good woman to share his life with. Corrinne leaving damaged him in ways he would never admit. It’s one of the reasons he kept us all on.
He doesn’t like to say goodbye to the people he cares about.
He keeps those who are loyal to him close.
And then you came along.” She speared me into place with her eyes.
“Me? ”
“Yes, you, Leah, the moment he told us he was getting married, we knew you were special, and you are. Everyone here can see how much he idolizes you.”
I laughed. “Believe me, he doesn’t idolize me. I’m not even sure he likes me.”
Cathy paused, but just for a second. “Oh, he does. He might not realize that he does yet, but I’ve seen that fear in his eyes again. He’s afraid to lose you.”
I wanted to tell her she was wrong. My relationship with Viktor was a business arrangement and nothing more. He married me because he needed a wife, and not because he liked me in any way.
Hell, we hadn’t even had a date before I was his wife. Viktor didn’t like me, and there was no way he would ever love me, but I couldn’t tell Cathy that. She saw Viktor as the broken boy he used to be and not the cold, dangerous man he was now, and I didn’t want to be the one who broke that view.
It did explain a lot, though.
“He doesn’t like people leaving him,” I murmured, and her eyes widened.
“Please don’t mention I told you of his past. He won’t like that.”
“I won’t say a word, and thank you for telling me. I feel like I understand him a lot better.”
And I did. And it was all useful information. Viktor might be cold and sometimes hateful, but he had a reason. The powerful, completely in control Viktor had abandonment issues.
It wasn’t an excuse, but it was a reason.
“Can you teach me how to make the cookies?”
Cathy’s eyes widened in shock. “Why would you need to learn?“
“Christmas is coming up, and I have no clue what to buy him.” And I have no way of going shopping and no money to pay for a gift anyway, I added silently. “I thought if I cooked him his mom’s cookies, he would like it.” Self-consciously, I ran a hand through my hair. “It’s probably a silly idea. ”
Silently, Cathy stared at me. I fidgeted uncomfortably. “He would probably hate it.”
“It’s a wonderful idea, Leah. I’m not sure how good a cook you are, though?”
“I can zap something in the microwave without burning it like seven times out of ten,” I joked and was rewarded with a laugh from both of the women.
“Well, it’s a good job, and I’m a great teacher. But it might take us a while to master it. Are you sure you want to spend all of your free time in here with us?”
I shrugged. “I have nothing else to do. But only if you have the time. I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble for teaching me.”
She waved a hand between us. “Don’t you worry about that. If you want to learn, I will teach you. No wonder he chose you as his wife, Leah. I can completely see why.”
I stared at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“You’re so much like her, like Corrinne,” she added silently. “The fire and drive, but still sweet and loving. You give your all to the people you care about, just like she did, just like Viktor does.”
“You think I’m like Corrinne?” My voice was clipped.
“A little yes. But if you come back tomorrow, we will get started. And hopefully you won’t burn the house down.”
“Oh, I’ll be here tomorrow, don’t you worry.” I slid from the stool and headed toward the door. “Thank you for talking to me today.”
Silently, I went back to my room to try to digest what I had just found out. Viktor’s abandonment issues were one thing, but it was Cathy’s last words that echoed around in my head.
She thought Viktor had been drawn to me because I reminded him of his mother, and maybe I did, but there was one major difference between us.
I would never abandon the people I loved.
Not ever.
Trudging up the stairs, I headed back to my room and froze. The door was ajar when I remembered closing it, and it couldn’t have been to clean it because one of the staff had done that this morning .
Holding my breath, I let my eyes wander around the room, which was my prison, and nothing looked different. Nothing except the flash of red on my dressing table. Warily I walked towards it, and my fingers shook as I touched the petals of the red rose.
Velvety, warm, and placed right in front of the picture of a beautiful older woman, I could now guess was Viktor’s mother.
Picking up the silver frame, I studied her image. She was beautiful, but she didn’t really look like me. She was more refined and more elegant than I could ever hope to be.
Plus, she had left her child. I would never do that.
I placed the heavy frame down on the wood. I couldn’t stand to look at her face and turned my attention back to the single red rose.
Had it been placed there as some sort of shrine to her or for me to find?
And if Viktor had left it for me, what did it mean?