Chapter 31
Karina
“All right, I’m up!” My voice squeaks with false bravado as I push off into the snow.
But instead of gliding gracefully down the slope, my skis decide they’re not on speaking terms and cross like two lovers in a spat.
Jeez, this is fucking harder than I thought.
I don’t know why I told Vulcan I wanted to knock this off my getaway wish list. Horrible fucking idea.
I’d rather be back in the cabin making babies than watching my life flash before my eyes.
“Karina, you look like a baby giraffe learning to walk.” Vulcan laughs from behind me.
“Ha-ha, very funny.” I try to regain some control. My arm flies out, and my hands grasp at the air as if it could save me from another inevitable tumble. This is utter bullshit! Skiing shouldn’t be this hard. The other skiers made this look so effortless.
“Lean forward. Trust the mountain,” Vulcan advises.
“Trust the mountain to kill me,” I mumble. Yet, I take his advice, leaning forward. Now, for one glorious moment, I feel like I’m doing it right, the rush of cold air against my cheeks. Then gravity remembers its duty, and then I’m face-first in the snow again.
“Oof!” I protest, spitting out a mouthful of snow.
“Need help, snow angel?” he teases, offering me a gloved hand.
I pout but accept it, letting him pull me up. Despite my bruised ego and likely bruised everything else, I’m happy. We really needed this time away. I’m seeing another side of the man who has stolen my heart, and I pray he will never return it.
“Come on.” He chuckles. “The mountain isn’t done with you yet.
Somehow, between his teasing and my stubbornness, we managed to make it down the mountain—almost an hour later.
Vulcan snowboards like he’s part of the snow, while I look like Bambi learning to walk.
But despite the tumbles, the cold, and the increasingly creative swear words I invent, I had the time of my life.
Snow clings to my boots as I kick them off by the door. The cabin is so warm when we enter that I thank the Heavens. I wasn’t sure about the staff coming in and out while we were gone, but I’m thankful for it now. Vulcan is right behind me, hanging his damp coat and scarf.
The smell of soup and toasted bread wafts from the kitchen where lunch awaits.
We settle at the wooden table, steaming bowls in front of us.
I take my time eating before finally addressing the weight that’s been pressing on me since we arrived.
I know I will lose my appetite once I tell him about my mother.
I swore I would never keep secrets from him, yet here I am.
I finally put the spoon down into the empty bowl.
“Vulcan,” I say at the same time he says, “Karina.”
We look at each other and laugh.
“Oh, you go first,” I say.
“No, you go ahead.”
I look at him. Just rip the Band-Aid off. “Well, okay… so my mother has been texting me the past few months, which I’ve been ignoring, but she reached out me a few days ago claiming it’s urgent.” My hands clasp tightly around my bowl. “She wants me to call her,” I rush out.
“Do you want to talk to her?”
“I don’t know,” I confess, my heart thudding heavily.
“Part of me does, but then… I remember everything. There’s just so much hurt there.
I’m the happiest I’ve been in a very long time.
I finally have someone in my corner I trust and love.
I don’t want anything or anyone to mess up what we have.
And I know my mother would find a way to. She probably wants more money.”
“Karina,” he says softly, reaching across the table to gently squeeze my hand. “If you want to talk to her, I’ll be here. And if you don’t, I’ll still be here. Whatever you need. Your mother will never come between us. I won’t let that happen.”
“I’m scared,” I admit. “Scared of opening old wounds, scared of what she might say, or worse, what she’ll ask for.
” I’ve been doing so well with my finances for the past year.
I have more money in my bank account than ever; Vulcan does not let me pay for anything.
It used to bother me, but I’ve found it’s much easier to just let it happen now.
“Hey,” he says, standing up and moving around the table to me. His thumb brushes away a tear that must’ve escaped. “It’s okay to be scared. But you’re not alone. Not anymore.”
“Thank God for that,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his waist. “For you.”
“Always,” he promises. “Come, let’s go sit by the fire.”
We relocate, getting comfortable on the rug, and he pulls me closer, tucking my head under his chin.
He lets out a heavy sigh, and I can feel his heart beating rapidly against my ear.
Something is going on with him, but I don’t want to push it.
I want him to tell me what it is on his own.
We sit in silence for what feels like hours as I watch the fire burn behind the grate, but it’s only been mere minutes.
And yet, his heartbeat has not returned to normal.
He lets out another heavy sigh. “Karina, there’s something I need to tell you,” he begins, and I tense. He’s never used a tone this serious with me before.
“What is it? You’re scaring me.” I sit up, my heart beating just as fast as his had been.
He lets out another deep sigh that seems to carry the weight of a thousand confessions.
I’m honestly not sure if I want to hear what he has to say at this point.
“Before we got married…” He trails off. Did he sleep with someone else?
Did he get someone pregnant? Come on, Vulcan, say something.
I’m trying to be patient and allow him to gather his thoughts, but I want to shake whatever it is out of him.
Fuck it.
“What happened before we got married? Did you sleep with someone else?”
“No,” he quickly answers. “I would never cheat on you.”
“So what is it? It can’t be that bad, right?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” He holds my gaze. “I made a deal with your mother.”
“A… a deal?” My voice doesn’t hide the tremor of confusion. I untangle myself from him, putting just enough space between us. “With my mother? Why?”
“Baby, promise you will hear me out first.” Why do I know this isn’t going to end well.
“What did you do? I’m not promising anything. Tell me. Now.”
“I met with your mother before the wedding and had her sign a contract to leave you alone,” he says, each word setting off a bomb in my stomach. “Not for good, but long enough where you might find some space to heal.”
My world stops spinning, and I almost lose the ability to breathe. “Now it all makes sense.” I clutch at my throat, feeling it tighten with emotion, with anger. “How much did you give her?”
“Please don’t get mad.”
“We are way past that. How much money, Vulcan?!”
“Five hundred thousand.”
No. Tell me this isn’t happening. “Y-you gave my mother half a million dollars?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds bad.”
“Because it fucking is.”
“I’m sorry.”
As the words leave his lips, the room seems to tilt, disorienting me as if I have a bad case of vertigo. My breath catches in my throat, and it’s like the cabin has been sucked out.
Half a million dollars. The number bounces around in my head.
What the hell was he thinking? My heart thuds painfully as a wave of disbelief, anger, and utter betrayal crashes over me.
It’s all fucking suffocating. I’m trying to process what he just said, but the betrayal burns through every rational thought, leaving only searing anger in its wake.
With each breath, my rage solidifies, a white-hot ball of disbelief gathering strength in my chest.
I can’t believe this. After everything, he went behind my back to make a deal with the one person I’ve spent my life handling. I can barely stand this, can barely stay here, can barely look at him.
“How dare you?” I leap to my feet, yanking my hand from his. “You had no right!”
“Karina, listen—”
“No, you listen!” My voice rises an octave. “She’s my mother, my family. It was never your place to interfere! I told you countless times I don’t want—”
“Damn it, Karina! I did it to protect you!” His anger flares, matching mine. “I couldn’t stand watching her tear you apart anymore. You’re my fucking wife. My fucking wife, and I will always put you first. I will always protect you.”
“You think money is protection? Do you think doing what you did behind my back put me first?” I spit the words at him. “That’s your answer to everything, isn’t it? Throw cash at a problem until it goes away? I should have known this was a mistake.”
“A mistake? You think we’re a mistake?” I can see the hurt in his eyes before he blinks it away.
“Sometimes, money is the only language people understand. It’s certainly the only language your mother understands.
” He stands so we’re toe to toe, his frame towering over me. But I won’t back down, not now.
“Then you don’t understand anything.” Tears blur my sight, but I blink them back fiercely. “This wasn’t about money. This was about choices, my choices. And you took that away from me. I should get to choose when it comes to matters involving my mother. Not you.”
“Just because she’s your mother doesn’t mean she has the right to make you suffer.
What I don’t understand is how you can be her punching bag and see nothing wrong with that.
” His fists clench at his sides, the muscles in his jaw twitching.
“I’ve seen what she does to you. Dealing with her leaves you shattered.
It’s not fucking right, Karina. I will not allow it to go on. ”
“Maybe so, but it’s my problem to deal with.” My voice cracks, betraying the hurt beneath the fury. “Not yours to fix.”
“Karina…” There’s a plea in his voice now. “I was trying to be your… your partner in this.”
“Partners don’t make unilateral decisions!” I retort. “They communicate. They trust each other. Not whatever the fuck you did.”
“Can’t you see?” He pushes a hand through his hair. “I was trying to help!”