Chapter 7 - Simon
It’s late afternoon, and I am sitting in my home office.
I know I should go into the office and check in at the warehouse, but I have been reluctant to leave the penthouse—to leave her.
It’s a mix of fear that I’ll come back, and she’ll be gone, and a strange need to just be near her.
Even if she hardly speaks to me. And even if I am confused as all hell about how I feel about her.
I tap my fingers on the keyboard of my computer, sighing softly as I realize it’s been days since I spoke to my brothers.
And of course, I have been actively avoiding Raya since the park.
She keeps messaging me to ask what happened, and I keep brushing her off without any information.
I feel bad, but what in the world do I tell her?
By the way, I am a father now. Twins. Congratulations to me.
“Simon.” Raya’s voice pierces into my thoughts like I somehow willed her into existence in front of me.
“Fuck!” I jump in fight, then push my hand over my heart to stop it from hammering so hard against my ribs.
“You’re jumpy,” she says. Her brows are raised as she invites herself into my office.
“To be fair… the security guys usually give me a heads up when I have visitors coming in,” I groan.
“Well, not when those visitors have the code to the private elevator from the parking lot,” she smirks.
“Dammit. I forgot you had that code as well,” I sigh, pushing my hand through my hair.
She flops down onto the seat opposite me, sets her purse on the table, folds her arms across her chest, and glares at me. “Spit it out,” she demands.
“What?” I say, acting as confused as I can manage.
She rolls her eyes with extra dramatics. “Oh, come on, Simon. Don’t play these games with me. You’ve been acting so weird since the park. I know you’re hiding something. Now, do I need to start searching the penthouse, or are you going to tell me?” She moves to stand up, and my heart jolts.
“Sit,” I say quickly, a flicker of panic in my voice.
This brings a smile to her face. She knows she has me cornered.
I groan, loudly this time, and stretch my neck backward as I mull over all the ways I can try to avoid the truth of what’s going on. But this is Raya. Raya, who reads me like a book and sees straight through me.
“Fine,” I huff.
She raises her brows.
“At the park. The woman you saw… it was Selene…”
I wait for comprehension to shine in her eyes. It’s instant.
“Selene, Selene. As in the Selene?” she stammers.
I nod. “The one and only. But wait… it gets better. She was there with twins. Twins who are five years old and look exactly like me,” I say quietly.
“Noooo,” she gasps. “Are you serious! Did you talk to her? Did she deny it? Did she…”
“She’s here, in the penthouse. She didn’t deny it. They are my kids. A boy and a girl. They are so fucking incredible,” my voice chokes a little, and I laugh. “I’m a father.”
Raya sits in stunned silence for a moment, staring at me with her mouth dropped open. “Simon, this is…”
“Yeah, I know. It’s a lot. That’s why I’ve been so quiet and ignoring your messages. How do I tell you that over the phone?”
“You should never have kept this from us,” she huffs.
“The thing is that’s not the whole story…”
I proceed to tell Raya everything. Who Selene is, who her father is. That I don’t quite know what she is running from, but she is running. That there is danger, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
“You thought she was a spy, though,” Raya mutters quietly. “Do you have evidence now to prove otherwise?”
“No, but I need to wait and learn more before I condemn her to that accusation.”
“Simon, this isn’t right. If she is a spy…” She pauses. “We need to talk to the others. Matvei, Adrian, they all need to know what’s going on.”
“No, absolutely not. You know how they will treat her. I won’t let…”
“Simon, you have to. If she is a spy and her being here puts everyone in danger… they at least have a right to understand the potential of that danger and prepare for it. You can’t keep her hidden.
Besides, you have children. Family. Family should meet family,” she says sternly.
“At least the whole family can keep an eye on things, both with keeping her and the children safe, and with making sure she isn’t up to anything… mischievous.”
I sigh again, closing my eyes for a moment. “Dammit, Raya.”
“You know I’m right,” she says.
“I know,” I answer begrudgingly. “Fine.”
“Excellent. Dinner is on Sunday as usual. You missed the last one. I guess you will be bringing some guests to this one and…”
“Don’t tell them,” I blurt out.
“Oh?”
“No, leave it for me to tell them. I’d rather do it in person. You just tell Matvei I am bringing a guest, but don’t tell him who or what. I don’t want them banging down my door before dinner.”
She bites at the inside of her cheek and studies my face for a moment. “Ok. But if you chicken out and don’t pitch up at the dinner… I will tell him.”
“That’s fair,” I agreed.
Raya leaves, slipping away as silently as she snuck in, and I breathe a sigh of relief that Selene didn’t walk in and find her here and all the awkwardness that would have caused.
I sit for a long time staring at the open door.
For Selene to face the interrogation of my family…
It’s a lot. It’s not something I want to put her through, but Raya is right.
It’s not fair of me to put my family in danger that they don’t even know about.
My stomach is tense with knotted anxiety.
Selene and I haven’t been getting on. I guess that part is obvious, but something is simmering beneath the surface of it all, and I don’t know if I’m making it up in my head… stupid hope… naivety… who knows.
I guess getting my family’s outside, unbiased perspective will be good for me.
I just really hope that it is unbiased. I hope they don’t just throw her under the bus based on assumptions or over-precaution.
Huffing, I push away from my desk and go in search of Selene. I find her in her room, reading while the twins play at the foot of her bed.
“On Sunday, we have a dinner event,” I tell her when she looks up at me.
She raises her brows. “What dinner?” she asks, setting the book down and looking concerned.
“It’s dinner with my family, at Matvei’s home…”
“No, absolutely not, Simon. Not a chance. Your brothers will hate me before they have a chance to know me. My name alone is…”
“Calm down, Selene. I will make sure that…”
“Did you just tell me to calm down?” she snaps. I hesitate, pushing my lips closed. There is so much fury in her eyes that I realize that just the words “calm down” have tripled her resistance and made her the complete opposite of calm.
“Um, I, um… I meant… There isn’t anything to worry about.
You’ll be with me. It’s a family event, so all the wives and kids will be there.
I want my children to meet my family, Selene.
This is important. My brothers will have questions for you, but at least it will be in a group setting, so it can’t get out of hand,” I explain as best I can.
She sighs softly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Giving in, her shoulders soften, and she quietly replies, “Alright. Family dinner it is, then.”
On Sunday, we arrive at five in the afternoon. I hesitate outside the massive doors of my brother’s mansion, my hand hovering over the doorknob.
I didn’t warn them in the slightest. I didn’t even give them a hint.
Once this door opens, it’s going to be a rush of mayhem and confusion for a moment before I can introduce them. After that… the confusion will probably only get worse.
I take a deep breath, and Selene glares at me. “Why are you nervous? I thought you said everything would be okay?” she asks under her breath.
“It will be. Sorry. I was just thinking.”
I grab the handle and open it, pushing the door wide.
Solenne doesn’t even hesitate. She bolts right inside, bursting through the open door and shouting hello as loud as she can.
Several faces turn towards her. Raya grins and kneels down. “You must be Solenne?” she says, holding out her arms.
Matvei walks towards us, his brows knotted. “Simon… welcome… who is…”
He gestures towards my guests.
“Matvei, this is Selene. And this is… our twins. My twins. My children.” I trip over my words. Matvei’s eyes shoot wide for a fraction of a second, then he composes himself again.
“Selene… the mysterious woman who disappeared five years ago?” he asks, his eyes lifted.
“The same,” I nod. My brother doesn’t know about the turmoil I have been through over the past five years searching for her. He doesn’t know how her leaving affected me. But he knows of her. He knows I was hurt when she left.
He takes her hand and shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you, Selene,” he says.
It’s a little awkward, but Matvei doesn’t know everything yet.
Matvei eyes the twins in disbelief. He’s about to drop down to greet them when Raya rushes forward with Sofie and Athena and fusses over the kids and Selene.
“Come on, let’s get you a drink. I have a feeling you are going to need it,” Raya says as friendly as ever.
“And I’m sure these two little monsters want some marshmallows to roast on the fire with their cousins? ”
Selene looks nervous, but she leaves with the women, calling the twins along with her.
Once Selene is out of earshot, I tell Matvei the basics.
Adrian and Trifon are standing with Egor close by, listening in with curiosity and varying degrees of concern on their faces.
I speak in hushed tones, filling them in on who she is and my concern about her father, and not knowing why she is running.
I don’t tell them everything. I don’t know everything, and I want them to treat her with as much respect as possibly while I try to work things out.
Matvei grinds his jaw as he listens. Adrian and Trifon look less angry and more curious. I purposefully leave out my worry about her being a spy all those years ago. But Matvei is sharp, as always, and draws his own conclusions.
“We have to question her,” Matvei says when I am done. “We need to interrogate her.”
“Matvei,” I say sternly. “That is the mother of my children.”
“Children you didn’t even know you had. How can you even be sure they’re yours?” he snaps. “She could have lied about…”
Adrian scoffs, “Um, did you see them? I seriously doubt we need to be wasting time asking whether or not they’re Volkov blood.”
Matvei sighs heavily and pushes his hand through his hair. “Fine, they look like Volkov children. Fine. But we need to question her.”
He stares pointedly at me.
“You may ask her questions, Matvei. But you may not interrogate her.”
His mouth pulls tight, but he nods. “Let’s go eat,” he says.
We are all seated around the summer dinner table outside on the patio. It’s a beautiful afternoon, the sky is still bright, and the sun isn’t ready to set yet.
Kids are running all over the garden, including mine, my twins, who are playing happily with their cousins.
Matvei is talking to Selene. And it’s tense.
It’s not an interrogation, that much I can see. He’s being diplomatic about it, gentler than I’ve seen him being before. But he’s also being thorough.
Selene looks uncomfortable. But she is answering as best she can, from what I can tell.
Adrian, Egor, and Trifon are throwing the occasional question into the mix as well. I hate this for her. I understand why it’s necessary, but I hate it.
I am so relieved when Sofie stands up and waves her hand over the finished dinner plates and declares, “Alright, you’ve had your turn with her. It’s our turn to get to know her now.”
“I agree. And I need help getting the desert together anyway. Come on, Selene, let’s leave these boys to their own devices and take a break from… all of this,” she gestures over my brothers.
Matvei raises his brows at her in warning, and she tilts her head to the side, shooting a look back that says I dare you. And he doesn’t dare.
He nods politely, smiles, and says, “Thank you for answering our questions, Selene.”
Selene smiles tightly. “I hope I answered to your satisfaction,” she says, a little defensive, but trying to be polite.
Once the girls have whisked her away, I turn to look at Matvei. “That was harsher than I would have liked,” I say.
“But there are reasons to be skeptical about things, Simon. There are reasons for us to need to be more aggressive when questioning her.”
We talk back and forth about the potential threat she brings, and I continue to defend her.
When the girls come back in carrying a peppermint crisp tart and ice cream, the men fall silent. The woman is laughing. Even Selene looks more relaxed now.
They set down dessert for the men at the table and carry their bowls to the garden, where they stand, eat, and watch the kids, still talking and laughing.
The sight of her surrounded by my sisters, my family, suddenly has my heart doing somersaults.
It’s a sight I have dreamed about without knowing how badly I wanted it.
I can picture it so clearly now. Every family dinner involves her.
She sits at my side. She smiles and leans into me.
Our children laugh and play, and she is a part of this family. My heart aches for this.
But my mind is a quiet voice of reason. I don’t trust her fully. I don’t know what her intentions are or were in the past. I can’t let myself get carried away in these daydreams until I have the truth.