Chapter 21 - Marlen
With the attackers on foot, we managed to get away easily, and thank goodness they didn’t open fire in such a busy part of town, harming innocent bystanders.
I’m still driving too fast, though, worried they’ll catch up somehow. Easing my foot off the accelerator, I take a deep breath.
“Stef, are you ok? Are you hurt at all?” I ask, reaching across the car to place my hand on her thigh.
She shakes her head, muttering a quiet, “no,” and I realize she must be in shock.
This is the second attack she’s experienced with me.
It must be the same group. Those men who shot at us and chased us before.
I need to figure out who they are and put an end to this before something terrible happens to her.
I can’t face that. I can’t face losing her.
“I’ll get us home,” I reassure her, turning off the main street to take the back roads as an extra precaution. She doesn’t answer me, instead turning to look blankly out of the window. Her breathing is labored, her hands knotted in her lap.
My heart aches for her. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her she’s safe. I will, when we’re inside the mansion.
Then I’ll have my men start working full-time on figuring out who’s attacking us.
I don’t push her to open up to me; rather, I focus on the drive. But she’s so closed off that it’s really worrying me. She’s just processing. Give her space.
But when we’re home and safe in the mansion, and she’s still withdrawn and unusually pale, I start to really worry. She looks sick with the shock of it. Even though we got away easily, maybe it’s bringing back memories of the first attack that she didn’t deal with?
She’s sitting on the sofa with her legs curled up beneath her. I set a mug of tea down in front of her and sit next to her. She doesn’t look at me, but rather stares ahead blankly.
“Stef, talk to me. What are you thinking?” I ask, reaching out to her.
She winces when my hand touches her leg.
Shit. She’s really stressed.
“You’re safe now. No one can reach you here,” I reassure her.
“Marlen, I recognized those men,” she murmurs.
“You did?” I ask in shock.
She nods, finally looking into my eyes. Her eyes are deep brown, dark, and moody. She looks… she looks guilty. Why?
I must be reading her wrong.
“Stef?” I ask, pushing her to talk to me.
“They were Jaroslav’s men,” she whispers.
I reach out and grab her hand. “What? Did they spot you by mistake? Pure luck?” I stammer, confused. But the look in her eyes when she stares up at me tells a different story. It is guilt. Traced over her face in etched lines of worry.
“Stef, what did you do?” I ask, my voice growing dark as I pull my hand away from hers.
“Marlen, let me explain,” she pleads, trying to take my hand again. Tears begin to pour down her cheeks.
“Why are you crying? Because your plan didn’t work?” I snap, standing up and backing away from her.
All this time together, everything we’ve been through… I trusted her. She earned my trust, and it was all a lie leading to this moment. The instant I gave her a phone, she called her brother. How stupidly naive was I? A trusting fool? Manipulated and betrayed.
“Plan?” she stammers, standing up. “I only wanted to…”
“You called your brother?” I demand.
Stef stands up and walks toward me, but I hold my hand up, warning her not to take another step. “Did you call your brother?” I shout.
She stands bewildered, her eyes wide, her body frozen in place. “I called him, yes, but only to…”
“I trusted you, Stef. But that was always the plan, wasn’t it? To lure me into this false sense of security around you. To take my guard down? To get me out in the open without my security and let your brother’s men take me. All along, this is what it was leading up to!”
Rage builds inside me like a poison. My heart beats heavy against my rib cage.
“That isn’t what happened!” she shouts over me.
“That’s exactly what happened!” I shout back, clenching my fists, grinding my teeth to try and disperse the anger before I do something I’ll regret.
Her face is red, her eyes flaring. She takes a deep breathe, scrunching her nose, fighting for control as well. I hate seeing her like this, but then I hate that I care.
I hate that I fell for it.
I hate that I fell for her, and it was all a lie.
Stef looks at me, into me, she speaks softer, trying to reason with me.
“You’re wrong, Marlen. I wanted to show you that my brothers aren’t the bad people in Bardil’s story. I wanted to prove to you that my family is not to blame.”
“Of course, you did. Of course, you were here this whole time just to prove their lies and make sure my family took the blame!”
I won’t fall for her soothing tone and gentle gaze. I won’t be manipulated anymore.
“No!” she screams, stomping her foot in anger and frustration when the sweet, fake innocence doesn’t work on me. “Stop saying that and listen to me,” she complains.
“I think I’ve heard and seen enough.”
“You don’t know anything! You only know what Bardil told you, and it’s not true!”
“My brother isn’t the one who is standing in front of me, lying to my face, Stefania. My brother isn’t the one who tried to get me killed. So you tell me… who would you trust?”
“Please, Marlen. Please don’t do this. Don’t shut me out. Give me a chance to explain what I’ve found out about that night,” she begs.
Staring at her, my heart is aching in ways I can’t bear. She’s too beautiful for words.
Memories of her smile, her laughter, flash through my mind. Moments we shared. Intimate moments that made me believe I meant something to her.
The only way I can manage the hurt is to push it away. And the moment I do, the anger returns with force.
“Get out of my house,” I demand. “You’re a trickster. You betrayed me, and I can’t stand to look at you for another second,” I say coldly.
“No,” she gasps, horrified.
“Yes, get out. Now. I don’t want you here.” My jaw is set firmly, my shoulders squared as I glare down at her.
“I won’t leave,” she snaps.
“Yes, you will!”
“I refuse to leave, Marlen. If I leave, I can’t keep you safe!
I refuse to abandon you when things are starting to come to the surface.
I’m staying!” She is so insistent, so forceful, that I’m shocked by it.
Why wouldn’t she run with her tail between her legs now that I know the truth?
What is the point of staying here? Her trickery has been revealed. I won’t fall for it anymore. Why stay?
I lick my lips and swallow hard. Her eyes plead with me for something. But I don’t want to listen to anything she says. She’s dangerous. She’s not who I thought she was.
Shaking my head, I step back.
“Do whatever you want, Stefania,” I snarl, turning my back on her and walking away.
***
Over the next day, I expect her to leave. I give her every opportunity to do so.
But she doesn’t.
I can’t figure out why. She hovers nearby, as though she wants to talk to me, but I have nothing more to say to her.
Every time she walks into a room, I walk out of it. It’s too painful to be near her.
I want her to leave, but I also don’t. But the things I am yearning for weren’t reality.
However, as time passes, the fact that she hasn’t run away starts planting seeds of doubt in my mind.
It doesn’t make sense. She can go home to her family now, but she’s still here with me.
Am I not seeing something? Misunderstanding something? Is there more to this story that’s been kept from me? Was my brother hiding the truth?
I have more questions than answers, and it’s driving me insane.
I realize I didn’t really give her a chance to explain anything, and instead I jumped to conclusions. Maybe I should have listened, but how can I listen to someone I no longer trust?