Chapter Eighteen
Roman’s POV
It took a little persuasion for Alina to move into the mansion as Liza’s on-call physician.
She arrived with her trunk of clothes, and I ensured that her room was set up in the best possible way next to ours.
God knows that I needed Liza to get all the care and attention she needed, and Alina was the right person for the job.
With her around, I’m assured of Liza’s recovery, and I’m also assured of the child’s safety.
Alina’s care for Liza came naturally, and I liked that she found my dear Liza to be more than just a patient.
But it wasn’t just her who changed around Liza.
My brother’s changed too. I noticed the slight shift in their attitude.
The way they asked after her and urged me to stick with her no matter what.
The other day, both Viktor and Konstantin came over for a visit. They came to my study, and we talked for hours, trying to straighten out all that needed to be dealt with regarding Arkady’s case.
“How’s Liza?” Viktor asked, and it surprised me for a second. My lips pressed against themselves until they pouted out.
“She’s recovering well,” I answered. Konstantin’s eyes looked at me, his face unsmiling. “I had the nurse move in some days back.”
“Who, Alina?” Konstantin asked, and I nodded. “You think it’s safe?”
“Sure. I mean, why not? I want Liza to get the best treatment she can. I dread the thought of having an emergency, and we’d have to wait for her to get dressed, which would delay us. With Alina here, it’s stress-free.”
“Smart. Can we meet her?” He asked, and I nodded.
“Of course, but she’s asleep. You’ll have to wait for her to wake up before you can talk to her. But she’s holding up well, I think.”
“Take good care of her, Roman. A lot has been going on, and I want you to protect her at all costs,” Viktor uttered, his tone heavy with concern. “She’s one of us now.”
“You mean…”
“Yes, Roman. She’s a Bratva wife, and that means that we should put all hands on deck and figure out how to deal with Arkady as fast as we can, but we have to protect Liza from all of it. She shouldn’t get affected.”
“Oh…don’t worry about it.” Konstantin brought out his Cuban cigar from the side pocket of his blazer and lit it carefully with his lighter.
“ Everything is coming along well. I decided to take this case a little bit personally, and presently I’d say that the reports I’m getting are coming in handy.
So far, we’ve frozen the majority of Arkady’s accounts. ”
“Majority?” Viktor asked with a slightly befuddled gaze at Konstantin.
“Yes, majority.”
“So you mean there are other accounts that aren’t yet closed?” I asked.
“None that we know of. We don’t know how many accounts Arkady opened up. But I’m sure that all the accounts that’ve been released to us are closed down and locked forever.”
“What about Arkady himself? Any lead on him?” Viktor asked, and Konstantin took a huge drag on his cigar. The room sank into a still silence while he did, and then he puffed out the smoke before he looked at both of us.
“We have a lead on him. Soon enough, he’ll be inside our pit, and the crazy thing is, he wouldn’t even know. But until then, no matter what happens, keep Liza away from this, Roman. Let her recover well.”
I didn’t know what to think or do about their instructions.
Their shift in perspective towards Liza was massively concerning, although I liked the fact that they sought her safety the same way I did.
I also liked that they no longer saw her as a hostage, and all the positive care and attention they gave to Liza started during the wedding.
Now, they seemed to want to be overprotective of her, which I thought complicated everything.
Or perhaps, their shift in perspective towards Liza was a good thing after all.
She had more than enough backing and was able to receive all the support she needed with Alina now living in the mansion.
I felt there was more to be done. I love Liza, but I was still uncertain about how she saw me, or the entire Bratva.
The previous night, she cried, saying she didn’t know who to trust anymore.
It made me think for a while. If she didn’t trust me enough to open up, who then does she trust?
Who does she open up to? I needed to know.
I had to know how much she’d let me in; I had to know how much she was willing to be sincere with me.
So while she got better, I made a decision to test it all.
I sat on the chair beside her and ran my hands through her hair.
She seemed to be in a good mood. She lay on the bed as though she was tired of being awake.
I knew she didn’t want to sleep either, so she was typically bored.
And while I watched the way she turned to look at me, her eyes penetrating my gaze, she smiled and bit her bottom lip.
“What’s on your mind?” She asked.
“You,” I answered.
“What about me?” I looked at her for a while in silence.
“Get ready. We’ll be going somewhere, soon.” The flesh on her forehead creased, and I could tell she was confused.
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“A gala. I want you to accompany me to a charity gala. This will take place in two nights from today. But I have to warn you, it’s a high society event, and there’ll be paparazzi flooding the place. Pictures will be taken of us, and we’ll be seen as a power couple.”
“Okay…but what does all this have to do with me?” She asked, tucking the parts of her hair behind her ears right after she bit gently on her lips.
“It’s a strategy, Liza.”
“For what?” She still looked confused, and to be honest, I didn’t blame her for not understanding. She’s been through a lot, so I knew I had to explain the details for her to gain clarity into my plan.
“It’s a strategy to test Arkady and his allies. Take it this way,” I arranged myself properly on the chair. My hands were placed atop the table.
“If the world should see us together, it’s going to be hard for Arkady to strike again. His allies would be defenseless against us.”
“So you think they’re going to strike again?
” I shook my head. It was a no-brainer for them to strike again.
They did it before, and they would be willing to do it again.
But this…this was different. It’s not our way of surrender, it’s our way of getting answers.
So I looked at her, trying to get the right words together in order to reply simply.
It was moments like this that I craved a drink.
“All you need to know for now is that lots of people will be in attendance, dignitaries of all sorts. Both the good and the bad, the innocent and the guilty. But also, you should know that in the gala, whoever your father promised to sell you off to will be in attendance, and when he arrives, he’s going to look for what was promised to him. ”
Liza reclined on the chair and seemed to think about it for a while.
Her attention wasn’t stable. It moved from me to the lamp, and then darted away to the walls, right before her head raised high to the ceiling, and then finally, her eyes settled on me.
She didn’t have to tell me that it seemed like a herculean task for her.
But I understood it all. This was going to be her first public appearance since the wedding.
That was enough trauma on its own, and it was definitely running through her mind.
I didn’t want to talk too much about ensuring her safety, though, because it was already settled.
Of course, it was a harmless gala, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be prepared.
I’d set out a high security system to watch over her and protect her at all costs.
Nonetheless, Liza looked at me, and she seemed to chew on the inside of her cheek.
Her hands folded across her chest, and I sat down there, hopeful for whatever it was that she had to say.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll both go to the gala. I’m not a novice to the system and how it works, and this is something that I think I’m naturally good at.” Her response filled me with so much pride.
“That’s great. The gala is just two nights away, so I think we have plenty of time to prepare.
” She smiled, revealing her perfect teeth.
Lots of things came to mind. One of them was Alina, who preached daily about Liza maintaining her stress level.
I wondered if this would be too much stress for her.
And though I wanted her to accompany me, I didn’t want to complicate things with her current health condition.
This was a clandestine issue; I would bring Alina along.
She’d stay in the car, and if something happened, say Liza goes into a panic, she’d be around to give her instant aid.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I asked. She smiled and laughed.
“I would’ve refused if I weren’t. So yes, I’m okay with this. It’s something I know that I can handle.”
And that was all I needed to hear. Liza didn’t only open up to me, she proved herself worthy to support me, and she was also worthy of my support.
I could never describe the way I felt, but I knew that if we were going anywhere together, my vow for her safety and that of the baby still stood.
I could see it all now. The glamour and attention.
I hope she pictured it too because indeed, Liza was no novice to things like this.
Like me, she knew how to bask in the presence of attention.
Of course, I trusted that she’d stick with me and bring along her charm.
In return, I’d give her my undivided attention.
And I’d take a bullet for her if I had to, though I was certain that everything would work out just fine.