46
The truth hidden in the DNA
I always thought that nothing could silence my own voices, because I was not someone who wanted to harm others. Speaking my mind was part of me, my life, my being. Until now…
Offending others was among my commandments. The problem arose when the offense was against myself.
Having slept with Romeo, when on another occasion I would be giving my life to hunt down that daughter of China, Wang, only evidenced what I already knew—that I was starting to make room for my husband under my skin, and that was a boundary I had not been willing to cross.
I was losing my focus over a box of memories and a few flings. I wasn’t concentrating on what was important and was neglecting my goals.
Maybe Romeo hadn’t been behind the Mentium incident, but I couldn’t rule out Massimo and now, the Chinese.
Who was screwing me over, besides my husband?
”The thing about practice making perfect is as true as a temple. Every time I’m with you is better than the last, I don’t regret our exclusivity pact at all,” my husband celebrated, hugging me against his chest.
Soft lips molded to my neck to rub his beard and cause me to shrink. He liked that reaction in me, that uncontrollable impulse that made me tense up. His scent was embedded in my skin and every touch inevitably shook my emotions.
I had to distract myself with whatever was at hand. I couldn’t give him power over me. I was not willing to give up my personal territory for him to colonize.
”I love how you smell.”
”It’s called sweat, and if you like it, you should get that checked out...” He laughed against the space between my neck and shoulder.
”I like everything about you, even that.”
”Then you’re sicker than I thought. I’d see a psychologist if I were you.”
He turned me around, and there was that resolved smile that turned my insides to lava.
”Do I have to get checked for liking my wife?”
”Your wife is a sociopathic murderer with delusions of grandeur who only intends to take revenge on you and your entire family.”
”Keep saying those things and I’ll fuck you again...” I exhaled. Truth be told, his attitude towards my virtues also turned me on immensely.
I looked away so I wouldn”t devour his mouth and end up as Romeo predicted.
At the end of the counter, I spotted a large envelope that I didn”t remember being there when we arrived.
”What’s that?” I questioned, pushing it aside.
”They call it an envelope; it’s used to put papers of certain kinds in and send them, though now, with new technologies and the deforestation of the planet, they’re used less and less,” he joked.
”Ha, ha, ha!” I replied sarcastically. ”I know what an envelope is. What I want to know is what’s inside that one.” I walked to the end of the counter and read the letterhead. I was outraged as soon as I saw the sender. It was from the clinic we had visited with Adri. ”When were you planning to tell me that the results had arrived?” He shrugged.
”You were so overwhelmed, I thought it was better to relax you.”
”Is that why you fucked me against the counter, to delay this?” I waved the envelope between my hands.
”Don’t be ridiculous. Ana María gave it to me as soon as we entered the kitchen, you didn’t even hear her say that a courier had left it for us. I haven’t hidden information, I just postponed opening it because I believed it wasn’t what you needed, given the circumstances.”
”Of course, it was much better to have me against the wall, ‘given the circumstances,’” I retorted sarcastically.
”Well, I didn’t see you complaining... And this isn’t a wall, it’s a counter.”
I disdainfully took a knife from the drawer and sliced through the flap sealing the envelope.
I was angry and very fired up. Not because of the envelope itself, but rather due to my emotional imbalance, which even made me overlook that conversation that had occurred right in front of me.
I skimmed the documents. Romeo gave me my space, he didn’t even come close, he waited until I was done and watched me with a serious expression as I looked up. I had just read the confirmation I was waiting for.
I was the one who gathered the papers in my hands, closed
the distance with firm steps, and slapped them against his chest.
”Congratulations.”
”Is it mine?!” he exclaimed.
”No! You”re off the hook! That”s why I congratulated you.” He offered me a displeased grimace.
”What do you mean I”m off the hook?” I went for a bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet and drank directly from it.
”When one door closes, a bottle opens.” I raised the glass container and took another long sip. This time, it was Romeo who started to look through the papers. ”Adriano is a Korolev, so I will take care of him. You don”t need to have any contact with him again.” He looked at me incredulously.
”But what are you talking about? I don”t want to be free of my son.”
”He”s not your son, he”s my brother”s, my nephew and, therefore, a Korolev,” I confirmed, taking another drink. I needed a good dose of vodka to digest it.
”Just because his sperm got there first doesn”t make your brother his father. I”ve been living with the kid for six months and he considers me his dad. These results change nothing.”
”Of course, they change everything. Adriano is ours and must be raised in the bosom of my family.”
”I am his family, and so are my sister, my father, and, of course, now you! Don”t be ridiculous! We”re married! We”ll raise him together! He”s suffered enough already to be told that I”m not who he thought I was,” he grumbled, stressed.
”He”s a child, he”ll get over it, just like everyone does when they”re told Santa Claus is their parents. We need to tell him that Yuri was his father.”
”Wait, wait.” He stopped me by grabbing the bottle. ”Have you gone mad? You can”t just drop that bomb on him. I didn”t mind the tests so you could feel better, but from there to say that we have to... that... For now, I don”t see it necessary, let”s wait until he”s older and can understand how his conception happened...”
”Do you want to wait until he”s eighteen and let him live a lie? No! I refuse. He needs to know he is my brother”s son and that I am his aunt.”
My husband rubbed his face, desperate.
”But if just recently you didn”t even want to see him!”
”Because I thought he was yours.” As soon as I said it, I knew I had hurt him. ”And, well, because I”m not much of a babysitter, but that”s beside the point. My mother knows a lot about raising kids and she”s his grandmother, he”ll be better off in Saint Petersburg with her.”
”No way!” he roared. ”Adriano is not going anywhere with Jelena. I don”t care if she”s raised a regiment. Adri stays here, end of story.” We both stared at each other defiantly. ”And this,” he waved the papers, ”changes nothing, you”d better get used to the idea.”
He threw the papers forcefully onto the counter and looked at me spitefully.
”Are you done? Is the tantrum over? Do you want to act like an adult instead of a damn kid who”s had his bike stolen?”
”A bike? Adriano is a person, a child emotionally fragile from all he”s suffered. I accept that you”re part of the villainesses without borders club, but for God”s sake, don”t make me believe that there isn”t a heart beating under all that stone.” I crossed my arms and didn”t respond. Because precisely I didn”t want it to beat. ”I”m going out for a walk, I need to clear my head, and you would do well to think about everything you”ve said in the meantime.”
”I”m not a child who needs to be punished in the thinking corner to know what”s right or wrong.”
”Your problem is that you”re too used to doing what”s wrong,” he reproached me.
”Sorry, I forgot you were part of the brotherhood of barefoot bastards. But what are you talking about?! What do you care?! If he”s not yours! You”re about to drop the ball!”
”A burden?!” He came up to me and grabbed my face forcefully. ”Look, Koroleva, Adriano may not be my son here,” he said, crushing the papers in anger, ”but he has earned a place under all this ink.” He pressed his heart. ”And that, whether you like it or not, you won’t be able to change. I”ve given that boy my last names, legally he is my son and unless you decide to wage a legal war against me for his custody, that’s how it will remain, you better get used to the idea.”
Angry, he turned around and left.