19. Arkadiy
19
ARKADIY
“ W hat happened to not judging a book by its cover?” I thrust my hand at my office door as if Mara stands on the other side. Its shake is unmissable. I’m not scared. I am furious about the way my mother ignored Mara’s offer of an introduction before dragging me away from her as if she has the plague. “You don’t know Mara. She’s?—”
She cuts me off with the same excuse she gave me multiple times the past forty-eight hours. “Going to ruin your political career. Your campaign for the presidency is just taking off. Being involved with a woman who has a child will complicate things.”
“How?” Not needing to hear her answer to know which direction she will take, I issue the poorest excuse in the book. “Mara is an employee. I’m not… fucking her.”
She looks at me like she knows all my sordid thoughts, her lips pressed into a thin line. “You’re not seeing that woman?—”
“Mara,” I snap out. “Her name is Mara.”
She doesn’t fold as easily as Veronika. “You’re not seeing that woman for who she is. The similarities between her life and Karolina’s have distracted you from your objectives.” Anger surges through me when she says, “You choose a life of solidarity for a reason, Arkadiy. You know the odds if you were to become a family man, yet you want to play with fire like there’s no possibility you will get burned.”
I step closer, my voice trembling with fury. “It is a little too late to worry about me getting burned, wouldn’t you say, Mother?”
She scoffs as if my anger isn’t valid. “People will talk, and they will judge. Then once their curiosity rises to a point they can’t ignore as to why you picked her out of all the women in the world you could have settled down with, they will dig and dig and dig until all aspects of both of your lives are on display for the world to see. Is that what you want, Arkadiy? Do you want your dirty laundry aired for the masses to sniff?”
Just the prospect of my secrets being shared would usually have me backing away instantly with my hands held in the air, but it isn’t as easy to do this time. Mara fascinates me, and every red-blooded man knows obsession is the most potent drug on the market.
As my mother stands, her eyes flashing with determination, I suck in the scent of Mara’s shampoo, hopeful it will cool the fire raging inside me when she says, “This is not about your happiness, Arkadiy. It is about the image you agreed to present on behalf of our family when you made the decision you did years ago. Certain things are expected from you. Being involved with a single mother won’t fulfill those expectations. It could ruin everything.”
She places her hand on my shoulder, her expression softening as she vainly tries to display she cares about me. “I’m not asking you to step back solely for myself. This could destroy Riley as much as it could you. Don’t put her through more pain than necessary. She’s been through enough.”
I pull away from her touch, my heart pounding. I’m not shocked she is placing the entire burden of our family’s secrets on my shoulders. She has done it my whole life. But this is the first time she’s used Riley to get me on board with her plans.
Usually, she acts as if she doesn’t exist.
“Ark—”
“I need time,” I interrupt, my tone announcing I’m not making a suggestion. It is a demand.
“Time is not in your favor. Ballots?—”
“I. Need. Time,” I repeat more forcefully.
“Fine.” My mother sighs, her shoulders slumping before she heads for the door. Never one to leave without having the last word, just before she exits, she says, “I just want what is best for you. You’re my only child, and I don’t want to see everything you’ve worked so hard for stolen from you because you’ve forgotten that being the head of the family means you sometimes have to make difficult decisions.”
I watch her exit, equally furious and confused. I know what she is asking is too much, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is also right.
I’m also super curious to discover why she left Riley out of the equation while referencing how many children she has.