Chapter 39
Zoya
When we arrive at campus, I’m already checked out. I was irritable and just needed to get out of this car.
“Now, Vedma, I expect you to do something mischievous today, so I wouldn’t tell you to behave. But thankfully, I have a lot of faith in Sasha.” He looks towards her. She gives a nod of confirmation.
“Yeah, whatever, Mr. Know-It-All,” I say under my breath.
I open the car door and get out immediately. I see the rush of students coming through the school gate, most of them peering to see who parked the expensive Mercedes at the school entrance. I pay them no mind as I shuffle along with other students, blending into the crowds to get to my classes.
It’s been a hard couple of days for me, especially with how badly my morning sickness has been. But today I made up my mind, and since Alexei agreed that I could go back, I’ve been having less of that. Probably that is what’s stopping the morning sickness from occurring too much.
I look to my left and spot Sasha walking absentmindedly, trying to blend into the crowd. Honestly, she does. She looks like a regular student. Nothing is out of place, including the fact that her hair is also messy, like she just woke up, and her posture is slouched.
“Can I ask you a question, Miss Sasha?”
She turns towards me. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Is it safe to assume that there’s more than one person keeping watch on me today?”
My question doesn’t seem to alarm her. She turns to me with a slight frown. “Mrs. Romanov, I am not at liberty to disclose who is following you, as per Mr. Romanov’s instructions. He told us not to inform you if there’s anybody else keeping watch.”
“Hmm. Well, a note of warning - since you’ll be shadowing me - the journalism department walks around a lot. We’re not gonna be in one place at a time.” I say with a sly smile. “Just a heads up.”
I walk faster, trying to lose her. But Sasha doesn’t even try, easily keeping up with me. The second I reach the classroom and push the door open, everybody goes silent. They’re all staring at me. I give a nervous chuckle, then begin to walk towards the back.
And then, from somewhere in the distance, I see three people running towards me. The closer they get, the clearer their features get.
Yulia, Larisa, and Yegor.
“Oh, my God! Larisa said you were okay, but I couldn’t believe it myself. We weren’t allowed to see you. How are you?” Yulia pushes in one breath, her eyes frantic. I can see tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.
Immediately, another voice chimes in. “Yeah, what’s up with your husband? Why is he behaving like that? Literally, he couldn’t even send us a picture to know you’re fine. The only thing available to us was your messages, and even that could’ve been fabricated. But I’m so happy you’re back.”
“Hey, how is your health?” The last of them, Yegor, chimes in.
“Guys, guys, guys…I’m doing fine, as you can see. And I’m sorry about what my husband did. He’s kind of overprotective…”
I’m cut off by a snort. “Not kind of. Can you imagine what he did to poor Yulia? She tried to sneak into the estate, and he had people drag her by her neck out of the house. Then he paid for her to go to the hospital in case she was hurt, but still threatened us not to contact you concerning that day.” Larisa says angrily, her face etched in a snarl.
“I’m really sorry, guys.” I feel myself about to cry. These people care about me, and I made them worry.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I see Sasha sitting down in one of the chairs.
Not just any chair - it’s the seat right next to mine.
Funny. How the hell did she get a seat next to mine?
Who dropped out of this class? I know most of the seats were already taken.
What poor, unlucky bastard did Alexei get expelled from this school?
But in that split second, the lecturer comes into the class, halting whatever more questions my friends have.
“Alright, everybody, take a seat. Take a seat,” he beams, positioning himself behind the desk, by the podium. “We are about to start today, and from the commotion, I can see Mrs. Romanov is back in class. Welcome back, dear. I heard what happened. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” I reply, my voice carrying a little so he can hear. “Thank you for all your well wishes, and thank you to everybody in this class who checked up on me.”
“You’re welcome,” he murmurs, before turning back to face the class. “Alright, that’s about enough. We’re about to go on to another topic today. Get your papers out. This should be interesting.”
After a whole hour, the class is done, and I feel like I can do this.
I didn’t get queasy at all, nor did I feel constipated.
In fact, my body was good all through, which is a miracle, seeing as Alexei would probably tell me to stay home if I got a little queasy.
And Sasha watched me throughout the entire lecture like a hawk.
Like, girl, give me a little bit of peace.
You don’t need to look at me all the time. That’s kind of creepy.
And now, speak of the devil.
“Mrs. Romanov, I think you only have one more class today. What would you be doing in your free time? Do you want to go back to the estate, or do you want to get something to eat? You should probably rest, and then maybe we can check your blood pressure and your sugar levels…” Sasha rambles, coming towards me.
“Sasha,” I stifle a groan. “I am fine. Thank you very much. But I think I’m just going to relax a little bit. So if you don’t mind, I would prefer a little bit of peace and quiet.”
I heard there was a hockey rink in the school, and because I’m kind of into it, I move towards it.
If Alexei is going to put people on me, then I’m going to find out where they are.
And I’m going to escape. I need to find a way to see my boss today.
If not, the chance I have to help him is going to be gone.
I make my way inside the hockey rink, sitting on the bleachers. Scouring my surroundings, I spot about twenty more people perched around the rink, doing one thing or another. But I know my main focus. It’s on the ones pretending to be students.
One, two, three, four - oh, five, six, seven, and lastly, the one pretending he’s on the phone: eight. Eight bodyguards were sent to watch me. Oh, Alexei, you are smart, but not smart enough.
I begin to map out the area mentally, finding every possible exit point. That’s when I start to hear voices coming from the entrance to the rink - pounding and boisterous. Then I see them, about twenty men entering the rink.
They’re a loud bunch, and a few of them have their arms slung over their shoulders as they walk. Their silver and white uniforms stand out clearly against their bright blue pants. They all look so excited, and I wonder if they won a game or if they’re just training for a game coming soon.
Taking my focus off them, I continue with my surroundings. I need to be able to move without alerting the people watching me. Yet, as always, Sasha is seated about three chairs away from me. Not close enough that it feels suffocating, but not far enough that I can slip away from her sight.
The bleachers soon get a little fuller, and the whistle goes off, signaling the start of the games.
Cheers erupt in the light crowd, and a few more students saunter in, milling around the bleachers with focused attention in their gazes.
From the corner of my eye, I start to see a bunch of students crowd a particular area.
I peer in that direction, spotting a very familiar, beautiful face.
Well, well, well. I guess the school beauty does come around here to watch the boys play.
Pyrene.
Seriously, though, she’s a gorgeous girl.
I won’t lie about that. But her attitude sucks.
The way she treated Larisa has been etched in my memory, and I cannot forgive or forget.
She’s surrounded by so many men and women, all pining for her attention.
But her gaze is fixed on the match being played.
She doesn’t even bother to hide the contempt and the haughtiness in her eyes, looking at the people pining for her attention.
I stare towards the rink to check who she’s watching.
But when I find the guy, I’m a little disappointed to see that he looks like a normal jock.
There isn’t anything special about him. Sure, he’s tall.
He has nice blonde hair. But that’s about it.
Maybe he’s rich, but Pyrene is rich as well, according to what I heard.
I’m about to turn my gaze back to my laptop when I spot a face I didn’t think would be here. A gasp leaves my mouth. Sasha must have heard me, because she immediately inches closer. Her gaze follows mine, trying to find what has gotten my attention.
Stanislav.
What is he doing here? Is he part of the hockey team?
I never imagined he would be the type to play such a rough sport, since he looked so quiet and reserved.
And these boys playing the sport just seem so much like the outgoing types.
Quickly returning my gaze to my screen, I take a deep breath, trying to act casual.
Sasha keeps peering, searching for who I was looking at.
But my eyes stay glued to the laptop. The last thing I want is for her to know about him.
About twenty minutes into the game, a fight breaks out between two boys on the team.
Spectators start to gather around them, trying to get the full story for themselves.
And knowing myself and the job I had before, my curiosity sparks.
Immediately, I turn off my laptop and begin to head down the stairs towards where the rink is.
It’s covered by metal bars separating the rink from the bleachers, but I need to get close enough to see what’s going on.
I don’t take more than ten steps - getting closer and closer to the metal bars - when I feel a hand tug me backwards.