chapter 36
Matleon
I see a missed call from Dad when I come out of the bathroom. I walk into the closet while calling him back.
“What did you do?” he asks without preamble.
“About?”
“With Iselyn.”
“I’ve done a lot of things,” I say dryly, “but I’m pretty sure you’re not interested in your son’s sex life. So I’m guessing Damir Mikhailov complained that I hurt his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“We’re figuring out our relationship, Dad.”
“Keep doing that. But right now, Damir is furious with you. He called to tell me he’ll only send his daughter back with you if you can assure him she’ll live happily.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. But whatever he puts on your plate, you deal with it without losing your temper. Going against the father of the woman you love never ends well.”
I chuckle as I pull on a black half-sleeve T-shirt. “Personal experience speaking.”
“Yes. And Damir is still better than your mother’s father. At least he isn’t trying to marry her off to someone else.”
I laugh. “Dad, don’t you think it’s funny? The man Grandpa wanted Mom to marry is now your son’s father-in-law.”
“Don’t laugh about it.”
I laugh harder. Dad hates talking about that time.
“Bye,” I say, still chuckling. He cuts the call.
I step out of the closet and catch my reflection in the mirror.
I’ve got a woman to impress, good looks will definitely help.
I look much better after actually sleeping last night.
All thanks to my angel. The thought of her brings a smile to my lips and a flutter to my gut.
I rub my stomach. I need to feed these butterflies before they die again.
And breakfast will be with the Mikhailovs. Mother-in-law asked me to eat all three meals with them, but I haven’t received any call from her yet. That means breakfast isn’t ready. Which also means I should get there as soon as possible.
I enter the house quietly since the door is already open. In the kitchen, mother-in-law is talking to a woman who looks like the cook.
She looks up when I step inside with slow, steady steps and gives me a bright smile. I return it with my most charming one.
“Come, sit here. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait outside,” I say innocently, glancing toward the stairs. “Mr. Mikhailov will be angry if he sees me here.”
Her face falls slightly. “I’m sorry for Damir’s behavior, son.”
I shake my head. “It’s alright, Mother-in-law. I understand his anger. If one day I have a daughter and some boy hurts her, I would react the same way.”
She gives me a proud smile and pats my cheek. “You will be a very good father.”
I smile sadly. “I’ve already failed at being a good husband. I don’t know how good a father I’ll be.”
Her smile fades again. Manipulating her is even easier than manipulating my mother. She has a pure heart, completely opposite to her husband’s. And she is the key to that man. If she defends me, Damir Mikhailov will never go against me.
“There are always problems in every relationship, son. Finding solutions to those problems together makes the relationship stronger. Forgiving the past and embracing the future are very important. If you drown in guilt over what has already happened, and she keeps holding onto resentment, neither of you will ever live happily.”
I nod. “But knowing that doesn’t lessen the guilt. I would trade everything I have if it meant I could change what I did.” I lower my gaze, recalling all the guilt I’ve carried for years and letting it show on my face. “I’ll spend my entire life making up for it.”
When I look up, I find her on the verge of tears.
Fuck.
If I make his wife cry, Damir Mikhailov will completely lose his mind.
I give her a guilty yet confident smile to do some damage control. “Don’t worry, Mother. Once she forgives me, I’ll keep her happy. Always.”
She smiles softly. “I know you will.”
I glance around. “Where is she? Can I see her?”
Her smile widens. “Of course you can see her. She’s your wife.” She points toward the door of the only room on this floor. “That’s her room. You can go.”
“It’s alright, Mother. I’ll wait here. Mr. Mikhailov will be angry if I go there.”
Her smile fades, and a glint of unspoken determination settles in her eyes. Someone is going to receive a very sweet lecture from his wife.
Iselyn
I walk out of my room and see him standing near the dining table with Mom. The moment he notices me, he turns his head. He looks so much better than he did yesterday.
At the sound coming from the stairs, I lift my gaze and see Papa coming downstairs.
“Good morning, Kroshka.”
“Good morning, Papa.” I kiss his cheek when he comes near me.
His eyes land on Matleon and narrow immediately.
Mom speaks before Dad can say anything. “Matleon has come here for breakfast. And can I talk to you for one minute while the food is being prepared?”
Papa nods. Mom takes him out to the backyard.
Matleon steps closer to me. “Good morning, Angel.”
“Good morning.”
He leans down, presenting his cheek to me. “I wouldn’t mind a kiss too.”
“I thought you were becoming a gentleman,” I say teasingly.
He straightens with a grin. “And then you said you like me the way I am.”
“I never said that,” I protest, even though my lips twitch.
He smirks, but before he can say anything, Mom and Dad return, and we move away from each other instinctively.
Papa takes his head chair at the dining table. Evelyn serves our breakfast. We eat in silence. Meals have never been silent in our house, but Matleon’s presence changes everything.
After finishing, Papa speaks. “Matleon, how long are you planning to stay here?”
He glances at me. “I don’t know.”
“What are your plans?” Papa asks.
“There’s only one plan,” he says seriously. “Bringing my wife back with me.”
I look at him with wide eyes. It was unspokenly clear from his visit, but hearing it aloud feels different, and not in a bad way.
Papa nods. “And you’ll let her decide whether she wants to go with you or not.”
Matleon’s eyes meet mine for a brief second, then he nods.
“Alright. You can stay here for one week to do your best to win my daughter’s heart and forgiveness.”
A smile touches the corner of Matleon’s lips.
Papa continues, “And for that, you won’t confuse her thoughts using seduction.”
I cough. What nonsense is my father throwing around?
But he doesn’t stop at my coughing. “You’re allowed to talk to her, but you can’t go closer than an arm’s length.”
Matleon nods. I wonder if my father has any idea how good Matleon is at seduction.
Matleon
I thought he would ask me to fight men to prove I could keep his daughter safe, or make me clean his house, or cook meals.
Instead, he asks me to stay an arm’s distance away from her, which is the same as sitting an arm’s length away from water when you’re dying of thirst. And this thirst is only going to grow, because I’m not allowed to quench it.
I had planned to do this myself, but it wouldn’t have taken me more than two days to make her willingly come into my arms. Now I have a week.
I follow her outside into her garden. “What are we doing here, Angel?”
She crouches near a plant. “I’ll be plucking some dried leaves.” She turns toward me. “I don’t know about you.”
I crouch down near her. “I’ll help you collect them.”
We hold eye contact until a cough interrupts our moment.
“Keep your distance, sir,” a male voice says behind us.
I turn my head and find a bodyguard standing there. The man has gone as far as assigning a guard to watch us.
I glare at the bodyguard.
“Don’t try to intimidate my man.”
I slide away from my Angel, look at my father-in-law, and give him a tight-lipped smile.
A soft chuckle comes from beside me. I look at her, my smile easing into a genuine one. She looks back at me, her shiny blue eyes trapping me all over again.
Damn this woman.
Damn her eyes.
Damn me for loving them.
And a thousand times damn me for loving her.
She hands me a small box. Our fingers brush beneath it, and a current rushes through me. Perfect. Now even these stolen touches are giving me goosebumps.
“Hold it for me,” she says after clearing her throat.
I hold it out while she fills it with tiny leaves. This is such a boring thing to do, and knowing this woman, she’s going to keep at it for hours, first here in the garden, then later in her laboratory.
The only interesting thing for me to do is watch her.