Chapter 22
Y ulianna
The water beat down on my back and eased my sore muscles, but my mind was still in that suite with Eddie. His warm skin, gentle touch, and love had wrapped around me like an embrace. It was the most alive I’d ever felt while simultaneously dying inside.
Closing my eyes, I envisioned Eddie’s hands running the soap over my body.
I’d never cried as hard as I did when I stepped out of the hotel room. We’d held one another for as long as possible, and even though Eddie didn’t bring it up again, I knew he would kill Christov or run with me if I wanted. It was tempting, but if it cost Eddie his life, then what did it matter? I would be dead either way. As long as he was still breathing, we had a chance to make it back to one another.
So, like Cinderella fleeing to her carriage before the stroke of twelve, I’d raced down to Frida and Lev on autopilot. Nothing registered as my mind swirled, and my heart broke a little more with each minute that passed. Not the drive or questions that I didn’t answer. Not reaching the woods or the long walk through the confusing passageways. Frida hugged me as I stepped through the door into my room. Once she was gone, I stood there staring at my cage and feeling like I’d been sucked into an abyss of darkness.
Eddie’s touch still lingered and I hadn’t wanted to lose the sensation, but the chill in my bones had finally pushed me to step into a hot shower.
A soft knock at the bathroom door jerked me out of my reverie. Blinking, I realized that I was staring at the tiled wall.
How long have I been in here?
I was tempted not to answer, but hiding wasn’t an option either.
“Yes?”
“Yuli, it’s me,” Frida said. “Your father has been up to your room twice looking for you.”
I wanted to yell that he could go to hell for all I cared.
“It’s nine-thirty. Are you sure you’re alright?”
My hands were wrinkled when I reached out to turn off the taps, showing just how long I’d been under the water.
“I’m fine. Thanks, Frida.”
Grabbing my towel, I wrapped it around my body and stepped into my bedroom to find Frida sitting on my bed.
“I pulled clothes out for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, glancing at the comfy jeans and sweater. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get my head right before seeing him. It’s a struggle.”
Frida stood up and pulled me into a hug. I would’ve cried if I had any tears left.
“Feel what you feel, Yuli. You were blindsided yesterday. There is no manual to tell you how to react,” Frida said, walking me back to the bed and we sat down, linking our fingers.
“I feel so weak and helpless. I want to punch back and make him pay. Make Christov pay, but Frida…I don’t know how.”
“Just be you, and you’ll figure it out. You’ve always been a strong, vibrant woman. I look up to you. I wish I had half the gumption you have in one finger. You feel beaten down right now, but you’ll rise again. I have faith.”
“I love you, Frida. Thank you for always being my friend.”
“I love you too, Yuli. Now, come on, let’s get you dressed so you can face that lying ass that calls himself your father.”
She was right. It was time to dig deeper than ever before. From this moment on, it was war. My father might have started it, but I was going to finish it.
My father hated to wait for anything or anyone, so I’d taken my time getting ready, purposely going slower than usual. What better way to start my revolt? Reaching the bottom floor, I wandered into the sitting room and grabbed the first bottle of alcohol I saw, which happened to be Father’s precious and most expensive vodka. He only drank it on special occasions, and it was known that no one else was to touch it. Well…too fucking bad because today, I was drawing a line in the sand.
It swung from my fingers as I marched the rest of the way to his office. There was no knocking. I didn’t care if he was in there with ten dignitaries or dancing naked on his desk. I was entering on my terms. The door slammed as it hit the wall, and Father spun around to stare at me wide-eyed. He was on the phone, and with a roar that could wake the dead, I hurled the vodka at his head.
Father’s eyes bugged out just before he ducked down, and the bottle smashed into the picture behind his desk. Glass shattered and rained down in a million little pieces…just like my heart.
Father darted away, covering his head.
“I have to go,” he yelled into the phone while lifting his eyes to mine.
He looked like he was questioning my sanity. Maybe I had lost my mind. But he was the one who had driven me to jump off the sane cliff into a freefall of emotional turmoil.
“Yulianna, what the hell has gotten into you?”
Walking calmly over to the bookcase that held more than just books, I grabbed anything light enough to throw. Screaming like a banshee, I did just that. Crystal vases, statues, candles, and framed photos all flew across the room.
“Yulianna, stop this madness,” Father ordered, but I was just getting warmed up.
He stomped toward me, and I ran to the fireplace to grab the metal poker. Father stopped in his tracks and put his hands in the air.
“I hate you,” I screamed and swung the poker at the closest decorative bust.
It flew off its pedestal and smashed into dust as it hit the floor. Swinging again, I cleared everything off the fireplace mantle. The lone family photo he kept in here crashed to the ground. The frame broke as the glass cracked right down the middle like it was a physical representation of our family divided.
“Yulianna, enough.”
Snarling like a wild animal, I spun around and charged at my father. He began to backpedal as he pointed at me.
“Stop. I command you, as your father and the head of this house, to stop this.”
With the poker in hand, I raised my arm and swung for his head, only narrowly missing. I’d never seen Father scared, not like this, and in this moment of insanity, I found clarity. He was just a man, and he bled like everyone else. He wasn’t a god or immortal, and one day, I would rule this house whether he wanted me to or not.
Father tripped over the coffee table in the sitting area and fell, knocking over one of the chairs as he crashed to the floor. He rolled over and looked up at me, real terror in his eyes as I stepped on his chest and held the point of the poker to his throat.
“Hear me, Father,” I said with a deathly calm.
Staring into his cold and unyielding blue eyes, I wondered how one grew to be so malicious.
“You betrayed me. You broke my trust and sold me off to someone who I know wants to kill me. You may not believe that, or if you do, then maybe you don’t care, but he does. Marrying Eddie is the only thing I’ve ever begged you for and you just couldn’t let me have him. I’ll never forgive you for choosing money over my happiness. You had a choice…but I now see your heart and it’s as black as your soul.”
I pressed the sharp metal tip into his neck and wished that I could be more like Eddie and just end this now. My hand shook, and while it was tempting to free myself, I wasn’t a murderer.
The office door burst open, revealing my mother and two guards.
“Yuli, please don’t do this.”
Ignoring her, I turned my attention back to the man who had contributed to my existence but chose to sell me to the highest bidder.
“Do you hear me?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Answer me,” I screamed.
“I hear you.”
“Then understand this, you’re not my father. You can say what you want and boast all you want, but at the end of the day, only a spineless piece of shit would do what you’ve done to me. The loathing in my chest burns brighter than the bowels of hell. I will rejoice when you’re sent there to meet your maker and then I’ll laugh as you scream among the flames.”
My mother gasped.
“Don’t come to my room. Don’t summon me. Don’t talk to me. Don’t even look at me again. You’re nothing and no one to me, and if I never lay my eyes on you again it will be too soon. But if you think for one second that I’ll let you continue to dress me up and use me as a spectacle of your loin’s greatness, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
I tossed the poker onto the floor, and it bounced and rolled away on the marble.
“You’re dead to me. Dead,” I said, turning for the door.
“Yulianna.”
He was no longer worthy of any respect, but I stopped and glanced back.
“Edmundo was never going to be good enough for you.”
Narrowing my eyes, I spun around to face him.
“If I were you, Vadin, I’d watch what you say. You may wake up in the middle of the night, missing your tongue. Never mention his name again. You’re not fit to breathe the same air as Eddie.” I looked him over as he sat up, rubbing his neck. “You’re a pathetic excuse of a man who hides behind the word family when you don’t even understand the meaning.”
Wheeling around, I balled my fists and growled at the two guards.
“Get out of my way, or I’ll rip your balls right off your body.”
They hesitated a moment but stepped aside for me to pass.
My mother had a strange look on her face that I couldn’t decipher as I left both her and my father in his destroyed office. He’d broken something in me. I could feel the blank space where my empathy had been. The emotion had allowed me to forgive him in the past because he’d been born into this world, raised by strict parents, and, in his own way, felt that he was doing what was best. It was gone, along with my love and respect.
“Oh my god, Yuli, are you sure that was wise,” Frida asked as I breezed past her to the stairs.
“I don’t care, not anymore.”
A thought occurred to me, and as soon as we were in her bedroom, I locked the door.
“Tell me something, does my father have one of those secret entrances into his office?”
“I’m not sure I like what you’re thinking, but yes.”
“Good. When everyone is asleep, you’ll take me there.”
“Yuli, this isn’t a good idea,” Frida said, and she might be right, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen.
“You don’t even know what I’m planning yet.”
Using the other door, I walked into my room. If I was going to war with my father, then I needed to take action. I wanted an office of my own. Looking around, I picked a corner and started moving everything out of the way.
“I don’t need to ask. Whatever it is will be risky. He’s fired people and had them taken out and beaten for stepping foot in his office when he’s not there.”
Standing straight, I put my hands on my hips and stared my best friend in the eyes.
“He’s already ripped my heart from my chest, stolen my future, and signed my death certificate, all with a swipe of his pen. I don’t care if it’s risky, and honestly, I don’t give fuck if he has me killed at this point. It’s time I fought back. If it takes a week, a year, or even ten years, I will have my vengeance.”
“You’re talking treason,” she said, lowering her voice and looking around.
“I am, and I mean it. If you’ve decided it’s too much for you and you want out, I’ll understand. But from this moment on, I’m taking control of my life.”
“You never have to ask. I’m with you all the way.”
“Good, I need a desk and a file cabinet.”
Frida smiled. “That’s easy, follow me.”
We stepped out into the hall, and I pointed to the guard outside my door.
“If you’re going to follow us, then you better be prepared to help, or you might as well stay right where you are.”
He looked bewildered but followed along behind us. Frida led me to a spare room that I’d never been in before. Despite being smaller than mine, it was split into two levels, and I loved it. Running up the stairs, I stood before the massive window that looked out toward the stables and paddocks.
“We can take this one,” Frida said, tapping the desk, but I shook my head.
“No, change of plans.” I looked down at Frida. “Does this have a second bedroom attached like mine?”
She nodded. “Yes, all the suites do.”
“Excellent.”
Jogging down the stairs, I faced the guard who had come with us.
“What’s your name?”
“Vlad, ma’am,” he said.
“Are you ready to get your hands dirty, Vlad?”
“Um….”
“If not, get off my service and send someone willing to work for a woman. From now on, you’ll take your orders from me, not my father.”
“But….”
“I’ll pay you ten percent more than he’s paying you right now, but I need guards who will keep my best interest at heart. You can work for me or my father, but not both. Choose, and make it quick.”
He licked his lips before closing the door. For just a moment, I wondered if he was going to try and kill me.
“Ms. Mikhailov, there are a handful of soldiers who are not happy with the current state of things. We have been looking for employment with another family, but if you want, I can arrange a private meeting with them.”
“You think they would stay on and work for me instead?”
“It will be tricky, but yes, yes I do.”
Vlad looked down at the ground briefly before locking eyes with me, and a surge of power raced through my body.
“I will work for you no matter what, and for the record, none of the guards like Christov.”
Walking forward, I held out my hand, and he gripped it with his much larger one.
“In that case, welcome to my personal guard. You’ll be in charge of my safety going forward.”
Releasing me, he made a fist and put it to his heart as he bowed his head.
“My loyalty is to you and you alone.”
“Vlad, you’ll set the meet with the others for as soon as possible. But keep it quiet.”
“Of course, Ms. Mikhailov.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Frida whispered.
“Do any of the other staff feel the same way?” She nodded. “Good, gather them as well.”
“What are you planning, Yuli?”
Walking over to the window near the bed, I moved the sheers out of the way, running the material through my fingers.
“I’m not sure yet, but it starts with discovering where loyalties lie.”
I turned around and faced her, crossing my arms.
“What I do know is that I denounced my father in front of his guards and made him look weak. It’s time to build my army, and when the time is right, I’ll strike.”
This world had tried to paint me into a corner, but I was going to mold it into something else…a life worth living.