Chapter 23 - Maria
Back at the mansion in the Chicago summer heat, I sit out on the patio staring toward the lake as waves lap endlessly against the white sandy shore.
We’ve been back home for two days, and I’ve made myself distant.
There is a lot going on inside my head, and I’m trying desperately to figure out what’s real and what’s not.
Nothing that I come up with justifies what they claim my brother said.
Misha isn’t like that. He was best friends with Artur.
Why would he be best friends with someone he thought wasn’t fit to be part of our family?
We’re just people. There isn’t anything more special about any one of us because of where we came from or how we grew up. We’re all just people.
All my brother has ever wanted is to give me the best in life. He’s been taking care of me since I was little. He’s the best big brother I could ask for.
There is no way that I can believe he was the one so terribly in the wrong in the fight between Artur and himself.
There must be another explanation.
If only I could reach him and talk to him, I could clear the air and find out the truth.
“Hey, you,” Joe’s voice is gentle and quiet.
“Hi,” I say softly, turning to glance at him.
“How are you doing?” he asks, sitting next to me on the outdoor sofas.
“I’m okay. I’m…confused,” I sigh.
“I think that’s completely normal. The important thing is that you understand we’re all here for you, if you want to talk.”
I bite my lower lip and watch the waves.
These four men are each kind and generous in their own ways.
Beneath their rough, stern, flirtatious, or rigid exteriors, each of them has a beautiful heart.
They are good people. So while I am still unable to believe that Misha is the bad person here, I also can’t believe that any of them are, either.
There has to be some kind of middle ground that makes sense.
“Maria?” Joe says, stroking his hand down the back of my neck.
“Mm?” I murmur.
He smiles tightly. “Can I get you something? Some tea? Coffee?”
I shake my head, “Not right now, thank you. I’m not really hungry,” I reply.
He threads his fingers up into my hair, sending a current of electricity down my spine. “If you need anything, just ask, okay?”
I nod, “I will. I promise,” I smile, grateful for his reassurance and support.
He sighs, frustrated, wanting to do more for me, but he can see that I need space now.
He leaves, and I’m alone again.
My stomach cramps and I groan, clutching my hand over it.
Whatever tummy bug I got while we were away hasn’t completely healed yet.
I’m still struggling with it, and I’ve barely been eating.
This morning, I was throwing up again, even though I’ve hidden it from the guys.
I can’t deal with more stress on top of the stress already swirling through my mind.
Maybe I should get one of them to take me to the pharmacy, though. I don’t like taking medicine, but…
My brain sparks.
Hang on.
When last did you have your period?
No….
It can’t be that? Surely not?
I only had sex once before it started. Yes, but you had sex with four different men….
My head begins to spin with anxiety and panic.
I can’t be pregnant. It would be such bad timing. But you already know it’s true. You know you are. There’s nothing else it could be, and all the symptoms fit.
“Hi, baby bird,” Ben’s voice makes me turn around.
There are tears in my eyes, and he notices right away. I panic again because he’s going to ask me why, and there is no way in hell I’m telling him I might be pregnant.
“Sweetheart,” he rushes to my side and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Talk to me,” he whispers as he hugs me.
“I’m…I’m just overwhelmed. I need to find a way to clear my head,” I whisper back.
“How? What do you need? Tell me, and I’ll make it happen,” he says right away.
I swallow hard. I don’t ever want to lie to them. Not to any of them.
“Maybe…if I could go out for a bit. Somewhere safe, like a mall. I can take a bodyguard with me and go shopping or walking around. I need to get out and… I just need to get out,” I sigh.
“I’ll take you,” he says right away.
“No, Bear, I need space to think. I really appreciate that you are willing to go with me, but this is something…I need to be on my own for a little while,” I tell him.
He nods, his face strained. “Alright. I’ll have a guard bring the car around for you. You can take my credit card and shop to your heart’s content. Please, baby bird, stay within sight of the guard at all times,” he says sternly.
“I will,” I nod enthusiastically, then jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. “Thank you so much,” I whisper. He hugs me back, and it’s like being held by a force of nature. Strong, safe, secure. My heart beats faster, and I snuggle my face into his shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay, baby bird, you’ll see. It’ll all work out,” he reassures me.
An hour later, I’m at the mall with a burly bodyguard following me everywhere.
He’s polite and quiet, but he stays very close. I haven’t been into too many of the stores because I’m trying to stay out in the open.
My theory is that Misha never left Chicago after finding out where I was. He’s still here, and he’s got his eyes on me, following me everywhere he can.
He’ll be here somewhere. He’ll come and talk to me.
I wander up and down looking in store windows. I get an iced tea and carry it into the outside section of the mall and sit on a bench in the shade of a tall palm tree.
My entire body is tense. My shoulders feel like someone has pulled a cord so tight in me that I’m going to pull several muscles if I just turn my head in the wrong way.
Thankfully, though, Misha doesn’t take long to show his face.
I spot him in the distance, and my eyes shoot wide, my mouth drops open, and I have to force myself not to call out his name in relief and excitement at seeing him.
The guard is standing close, but it seems Misha already has a plan.
In the blink of an eye, a man comes out of nowhere and pulls the guard out of sight into an alleyway behind the building. I gasp in shock at the efficiency of it.
Misha hurries to me, and I grab him in the tightest hug, holding on and wrapping my arms so securely around him that he laughs.
“Maria, it’s okay, breathe, I’m here, I’ve got you,” he says, peeling my arms off his waist.
“I missed you so much!” I blurt out, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I thought about you every day, and I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer, and I missed you!”
He chuckles again, stroking his hand down the side of my face.
“It’s okay, little sister, I’m here now.
But we need to move. The guard is only going to be unconscious for ten minutes or so before the sedative wears off,” he warns me, wrapping his arm securely around my waist and pulling me to follow him.
“Misha, we have so much to talk about,” I tell him, trying to make him stop.
“We do, but not here,” he says tightly.
“Did you drive Artur out of the city? Did you try to have him killed because you thought he was getting too close to me?” I blurt out the questions with urgency because I’ve been holding them inside me for too long.
They’ve been sitting in my thoughts like a virus, festering away, and I need to know the answers. I can’t wait.
“We have to move, Maria. We can talk later,” he growls coldly. Something in his voice comes out as a warning in my heart. I yank myself away from him and stand my ground firmly. My heart is already weighted with realization from the look in his eyes.
“You did, didn’t you?” I mutter, heartbroken. “You drove your best friend out of the city,” I whisper.
“Maria, he doesn’t deserve to be a part of our family.
The moment he thought he could hook his claws into you, I knew he’d pushed his luck too far.
I have no idea why Uncle Ivan ever brought him into our home.
He doesn’t belong with us. He’s beneath us, Maria.
We are too good to be connected to someone like that.
Someone from an orphanage,” he says angrily.
The passion in his voice is terrifying. He truly believes what he’s saying.
“Misha…” I murmur his name in disbelief. “How can you say things like that?”
“We have to go, Maria. Stop messing around and come with me,” he snaps, his eyes cold and dark as he glares at me.
“No, I’m not going anywhere,” I snap back at him. “I can’t believe you did that to your best friend and then made me believe he’d screwed you over somehow.”
“Maria!” he snarls angrily. “We’re leaving.”
Around us, people are noticing our argument, and a lot of other shoppers are staring.
Misha groans and pulls his mouth tight. “Fuck’s sake,” he growls.
I take the chance and run.
I want to get back to the guard. I want to make sure he’s okay, and I want to go back to the mansion.
My heart is broken to find out my brother really did those things, and now I have even more to think about.
Misha doesn’t follow me. There are too many people watching, and he’s in a difficult position now. Someone shouts, “Call security!” and “Hey, leave her alone or we’re calling the police!”
I bolt into the alleyway where my guard was dragged, but he’s not there anymore.
I turn to run out, but I hear the familiar click of a gun safety, and the barrel is pushed into my back.
“Don’t move, little one,” a husky voice growls. “Or I’ll blow your spine right out of your body.” He laughs darkly.