Chapter 8 - Vera #2
His honesty shut me up, and for a second, neither of us spoke.
Then Nico looked toward the front entrance, and whatever patience he had left appeared to evaporate.
Our conversation was over even though I wanted to talk to him more.
I wanted to hear him tell me that he could still trust me because I would always be his Vera, but I knew all of these were delusional thoughts.
Nico Romanov would never express his feelings for me again.
“I’ll be back tonight.”
With that, he walked away, and the front door slammed shut just a moment later.
I stood there alone, confused and uneasy.
A part of me was still increasingly convinced that something terrible had happened, even if Nico hadn’t told me about it.
However, I needed to distract myself. There was no point in mulling over it until I had some correct information.
An hour later, the doorbell rang again, and this time I answered it. A beautiful woman stood outside, dressed in an elegant skirt set which accentuated her figure. I already knew who she was, but despite that, it took me two seconds to recognize her from the society pages.
Ilana Romanov. Or rather, Ilana Chernykh now.
She blinked as she saw me, clearly awkward. I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same way.
“Hi,” she said eventually.
“Hi.”
More silence, and then her eyes narrowed slightly. “I know you.”
I froze. Had Nico told her I was here? “Oh?”
“You’re Vera.”
There was no point denying it, even though I had no idea what she knew, or, much rather, how much she knew.
Nico wasn’t a big sharer, and I doubted his family knew about the breakup, the kidnapping, and everything that had gone down since.
Which only meant she knew me from whatever Nico had told her in the past.
“Yes. I am. And you’re Ilana.”
Something strange crossed her face. Recognition. Surprise. Understanding. Then she laughed. It was not cruel but more like someone finally solving a puzzle.
“Oh my God.”
I frowned. “What?”
“You’re her. You are THE GIRL.”
I stared at her, my confusion growing. I had no idea what that even meant or if being THE GIRL was a good thing or a bad thing in Ilana Chernykh’s dictionary.
“Oh. I would have had a better reaction to it if I knew what that meant. But I am completely lost here,” I confessed, not wanting to lie to her. “Oh, also, please come in.”
I realized we were still standing at the door, and I quickly moved aside to let her enter. She had a secured and packed parcel in one hand and a small bag in the other. She looked around the empty house, and then her gaze found mine again.
“Well Nico never told us much about you, but the fact that he did tell us something about a certain woman in his life is enough confirmation that you meant something to him.”
Ilana and I walked towards the living room as we spoke and sat side by side on the large sofa, which overlooked the gardens beyond the glass walls.
“Really? He doesn’t speak about the women in his life?”
“No. But can you blame him? He does not know these women himself. If you know my brother, you know that he has been living a rather… colorful life when it comes to his lady friends. All of that stopped, though, when you were there.”
“And then started again,” I said quietly, my mind returning to Bianca.
“Well he never told us what went down between the two of you, but he just spent months being absolutely unbearable.”
Despite everything, a reluctant smile appeared.
“That sounds like him.”
“Oh, you have no idea. But I clearly am still in the dark about whatever is happening because here you are, inside his house, in his t-shirt, looking completely at ease.”
I laughed, having no explanation for whatever this was either.
Within thirty minutes, we were sitting in the kitchen drinking tea, and to my surprise, I liked her immediately.
She was warm, funny, and blunt. When she gave me the package, I asked her if Avgust might have told her what was inside, and she rolled her eyes and told me it was some vintage gun.
Nico had acquired it for his collection.
We both rolled our eyes at that as if saying boys.
She was nothing like the intimidating Romanov image I had built in my head, and I loved that. It felt as if we were friends already.
“So how exactly did you end up here?” she asked eventually.
I nearly choked on my tea. “That’s a complicated question.”
“I gathered that much.”
“I don’t think Nico would appreciate me answering it.”
“Fair.”
She studied me and then smiled softly.
“You know that he loved you, right?”
The words hit unexpectedly hard. Loved. Past tense. I looked down at my cup.
“I know.”
The softness disappeared from her expression.
“He probably still does.”
Before I could answer, her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. Everything changed, and the smile on her face vanished. The color drained from her face as fear settled in my stomach immediately.
Please god, let Nico be okay.
“What is it?” I asked as soon as the call ended.
Ilana stood. “Avgust just called to tell me where Nico has gone in such a hurry.”
Ice flooded my veins. “Where?”
“One of the Romanov facilities was hit this morning, and apparently many of our men have died.”
The world seemed to stop. An attack on a facility. Everything connected at once because I already knew. I knew that the only person behind this evil scheme could be Papa.
He had found me, and now he was trying to find me.
This was only the beginning of this war.