Chapter Twenty-Four
The door suddenly pushed open again, but this time, Lisa was ready for whoever it was. She glared at the door as Nikolai walked in with a look she couldn’t describe. Lisa made to hide her brother behind her frame, but Nikolai barely paid attention to Aleksei. To both their surprise, he planted himself firmly beside Lisa and pulled her flush to him.
“You’ve had enough time with her,” he muttered, not bothering to hide his jealousy. “I know she’s your sister, but … that’s enough.”
Lisa’s breath caught in her throat as she thought he was finally going to say he felt something for her, but he abruptly ended it. There was no surprise there, anyway. But what Lisa couldn’t understand was the essence of all of this. Wasn’t he letting her go anymore?
Suddenly, Lisa forced herself away from his arms and moved to one end of the room, putting as much distance between them as possible. Even though it was hard for Lisa to loathe him, she desperately wanted to feel that way towards him at that moment. He was a monster who only wanted to have his way despite the fact that he knew it would hurt her.
“Elizaveta…”
“Don’t call me that!” she yelled, glaring daggers at him. “You don’t get to call me that. I don’t care how long you think you’ve known me for; whether you watched me race about in nothing but diapers. To me, you are a monster. That is what you are.”
“You don’t really feel that way.” Nikolai oozed unfaltering confidence, and it irked Lisa because he was right. The truth was that she wanted to run into his arms because, despite everything, she felt safe in there. Lisa missed his scent badly, but she wasn’t going to do that to herself.
“Elizaveta, stop it!” Aleksei chided subtly. “Let’s just go home. Nikolai, I’ve done what you wanted. I’m here now.”
“But I don’t want that anymore,” he said, casually, shrugging. “I want to change the terms of our deal.”
“What?” It was Lisa who yelled in exasperation, not believing her ears. Who the hell acted this way? What exactly did he want now? Was this because of the way she spoke to him when he came in?
“Lisa goes nowhere,” Nikolai muttered. “I can’t let her go with you.”
“But you agreed to… our mother… Nikolai, why are you doing this? I don’t want to wage any more wars.” It was apparent that Aleksei was exhausted from it all. He was a great and intelligent person, but he was no match for Nikolai. Sooner or later, all his plots against the Davydov family were bound to take a toll on him.
But that wasn’t even what Nikolai was referring to.
“Lisa is…”
Was he nervous?
Lisa stared in bewilderment as Nikolai struggled with what to say. She had never seen him this way because he always exerted impeccable confidence and speech. This was strange.
Slowly, Lisa returned to her brother and Nikolai while still putting a little distance between herself and Nikolai. “Let me go with my brother. Please.”
“Lisa,” he turned to look at her, putting a hand through his silky hair. “I can’t do that.” Aleksei looked like he was going to punch something.
“Why can’t you?” Lisa whispered, pleaded even.
“I just can’t.”
“You have to give me something.”
“Don’t you fucking get it!” Nikolai exploded suddenly, taking everyone in the room into another level of surprise. “I need you, Lisa. I want you here. This is where you belong, right beside me.”
Lisa swallowed, her heart doing a tumble of its own. She stared at Nikolai in confusion, willing not to get too excited or overly confused. “I belong here?”
“Lisa, I… I know I have not been exactly honest since I found out about who you truly are, but you have to admit that anyone would have acted that way. Your family is an enemy to mine.”
Lisa snapped back to the present. “How can you need your enemy, Nikolai? Is this another game of yours?”
“No, Lisa. You are not my enemy, and neither is Aleksei.”
“I’m not?” Aleksei asked, surprise laced in his tone. What happened to the Nikolai he had spoken to a few hours ago?
“When Aleksei was doing everything to get you back, I realized that I would never really be able to let you go. I have… I have gotten so used to you that I wouldn’t be able to… it won’t be the same with you gone.”
The Russian Bear was actually nervous.
“But at the same time, I couldn’t just let it all go after everything. I needed someone to blame for it all. So, it got me thinking. Till a few hours ago, no one knew who kidnapped you or why you were taken. Dmitri suggested we visit the facility that was in charge of your upkeep. That was where we found out that your father arranged it all.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Aleksei said, chuckling. “You are only saying that, so I would leave without Lisa.”
“I knew you would say that.” At that instance, Dmitri walked in with some files in his hands. He opened them on the table, albeit dramatically, and Aleksei took the first move. He inspected the documents, and with each page, his eyes grew wider. Lisa was dying with anxiety, so she joined him as well, glancing through the leaves.
Nikolai was right.Her father’s name and signature were everywhere. Aleksei would have been able to recognize that writing anywhere.
“Why would he do that?” Lisa whispered to no one in particular. “He left me to suffer while he… he….”
“He found out your mother cheated on him and that you were not his child. This way he killed two birds with one stone. Destroyed your mother and got rid of you.”
“But she was innocent!” Aleksei couldn’t wrap his head around it. He knew his father was capable of anything, but he didn’t actually think he would hurt a kid.
“He wanted to kill her at first,” Nikolai continued. “But my father talked him out of it. I guess that was the first thing he did to get your father angry.”
“Fuck!” Lisa mouthed, dropping to the bed. “My life is such a fucking soap opera.”
“That’s why you should stay here with me,” Nikolai said, kneeling beside her. “Your brother and mother can come visit you anytime. I promised you that I would protect you when you first got here, and I’m not going back on my words.”
“That isn’t enough reason for her to remain here,” Aleksei blurted, earning a glare from Nikolai.
“He’s right,” Lisa sighed, getting on her feet. “I need to return to my family.”
“Even though I am in love with you?”
A deafening silence enveloped the room as the weight of the words sunk in. She had been dying to hear those words all this while, yet she couldn’t believe them now that they were out in the open.
“You what?”
“I love you, Lisa. A part of me thinks I always have. I’ve just been such a jerk about it.”
“Nikolai…”
“You don’t have to say anything now,” he cut in. “But just know that there is no way on earth I’m letting you go. Never. You are mine, krastoka.”
Lisa had always known she was his. She was just waiting for him to come to that realization. Now that it was here, she guessed her brother was going to have to go back home alone.
“Aleksei…”
“I understand,” Aleksei replied, chuckling. The stress around his eyes were beginning to loosen up. “I’ll be back with mom to visit.”
Lisa’s response died in her throat as Nikolai pulled her to himself, pressing his lips against hers.
Finally, he had her all to himself.