Anastasia
Something made me surface and open my eyes. I was in the hospital. There was no light in my room other than the faint bit coming from the bathroom. The sound of the monitor counting my heartbeat was still there.
I’d sent Mom to get some rest at midnight. She was exhausted. The only way she agreed was if Iker brought Delphine in to stand sentry outside my door. Delphine replaced Poe. And Iker promised he’d make sure Mom got home safely and was kept under watch.
I knew from Reign he might not be back until late tomorrow. Eventually, I took more pain medication and slipped off to sleep. Wanting to know the time, I reached over to my bedside table to pick up my phone and check. The face lit up, and I saw it was three o’clock in the morning.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Reign said softly in a deep voice from the darkness, causing me to scream, then cut it off.
“Oh, Lord, you scared me! What are you doing sitting here in the dark? How long have you been here? Is it over?” I rattled out.
“Watch your eyes,” he said before snapping on the small overhead light. I scanned him.
Reign appeared drained, with darkness underneath his eyes that he usually didn’t have.
I saw no bruises or cuts on his face or hands, but I had no clue about the rest of his body.
I lifted my good arm, and he took the clue.
Reign stood and bent over, kissing me. We made it last before he disconnected.
“Wow, I needed that,” he whispered.
“I did too. Have you slept or eaten?”
“No, but that’s not important. Being here with you is. How are you feeling? How’s your pain?” he asked.
“You answer me first,” I told him stubbornly.
“Damn, woman, can’t you let me be the boss this once? Okay, I was sitting in the dark because I wanted to be near you while you got the rest you needed. I’ve been here for two hours. And yes, it’s over.” He said the boss part with amusement in his tone.
Relief hit me, then anxiety.
“There’s nothing that can come back on you, is there?”
“No, there isn’t. I need you to focus on healing. I’m not going to go into any details, at least not for a while. We’re going to be getting you back to normal. We’ll deal with your family, but with Sam gone, I believe they’ll only be an annoyance, and that might be more toward your mom now.”
“What about Rowan?” I asked.
“The court case will determine his fate, but regardless of whether he goes to jail or not, he’s out of my life. I can’t trust him, Sia. And I sure the hell won’t allow him around my family,” Reign said wearily.
“Help me scoot over,” I demanded.
He did it without asking why. It hurt, even though he was gentle, but I endured. Once I was on the far side of the mattress, I gave him my next demand.
“Put the siderail down and get in bed with me. You need to sleep.”
“Jaanu, I can’t. I’ll hurt you,” he asserted.
“No, you won’t. I can’t rest without you next to me. And I know you rest better when I’m near you. If the nurse complains, we’ll tell her to hush. You are better medicine than anything they give me,” I confessed.
Reign hesitated a few moments, then he groaned, kicked off his shoes, and slid into the bed as easily as he could. His arm came to rest across my waist.
“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” he stated sternly.
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he replied.
I was already drifting off, and his voice sounded drowsy. I let his warmth and love lull me to sleep.
?
It had been just over two weeks since the entire nightmare happened with Sam.
The time had been full of more than my recovery, though I did only end up spending three days in the hospital.
When I got home, Reign wanted to hire a nurse to stay with me.
I vetoed that. He settled for Mom spending part of her day with me. She did it between her work schedule.
For me, I’d been bored and felt guilty about having to bring in a temporary chiropractor to cover for my patients. I knew my regulars were less than pleased, but they kept their visits. And all their messages and cards for a swift recovery were forwarded to me.
Sam’s disappearance had caused a stir. When he didn’t show up to work the Monday after the shooting, and there was no call, his company had called the police to do a welfare check. Of course, they found his place empty, with no signs of a struggle or of him having taken his things.
His unexplained disappearance sparked rumors. The biggest was that he was so upset over losing the breach-of-contract case that he’d decided to go away and lick his wounds for a while. Others whispered that he’d gone off and killed himself.
The police came to speak to Reign and me about the case. And it ended up being the same officers who visited me and took my statement while I was in the hospital. I’d told them the story Matvey concocted for the shooting at the first meeting.
As for Sam’s disappearance, I told them I hadn’t seen or spoken to Sam since the hearing. Yes, I knew he was upset, but I was busy planning my future and now healing. When they left, I got the feeling that we weren’t suspects.
Mom had taken the final step and filed for divorce. When Dad received the papers, he went crazy. I know this because he came to the townhouse, beat on the door, and demanded to speak to her. He had Arish in tow. No surprise there.
Luckily, she wasn’t alone. Poe and Delphine were there.
Delphine had been inside visiting Mom rather than on duty.
They’d hit it off. They came forward to run Dad off, but Mom told them to let him speak.
I knew exactly what was said and done because it was caught on my security system’s cameras. It had been heartbreaking in a way.
“Kati, what is the meaning of these goddamn papers!” Dad shouted through the door.
Mom opened the door and stepped out on my stoop.
“You can read, Savar. They’re exactly what they say they are. Our son is a lawyer and right behind you. Surely, he can read and recognize what those papers are.” Her tone was sharp and condescending, something she never was with them.
I noted her attitude took them aback.
“Kathlyn, come back inside.” Delphine appeared from inside the house.
Right about then, Poe came jogging up to the house.
“You need to leave. You’re trespassing. She doesn’t want to speak to you,” Poe told Dad and Arish with an edge to his tone. He was polite, but barely.
“She’s my wife. You have no right to keep me from her. Who the hell are you to do so? You need to leave,” Dad barked.
“If you don’t back off, I’m calling the police,” Arish threatened.
“Go ahead. But you’re the ones trespassing, not us. We have permission from the occupant and the homeowner to be here,” Delphine stated.
“Hold on. Let him speak. It’s time to get this over with. Since I prefer not to air my dirty laundry to the neighbors more than it already has, they can come inside. But both of you stay,” Mom told Poe and Delphine.
“I won’t ever leave you alone with them,” Poe muttered.
Arish and Dad cast glares at Poe, but he pretended not to notice. Delphine and Mom re-entered the house, followed by Dad and Arish, with Poe bringing up the rear.
What happened inside was also recorded, but on Delphine’s phone.
“What are you doing?” Arish asked Delphine.
“I’m setting up to record. That way, nothing gets misrepresented later,” she said pleasantly.
“Turn that off. We don’t consent to being recorded,” my brother barked.
“Then this meeting is over,” Mom said.
“Kati, stop this nonsense. Be reasonable. Why are you allowing strangers to tell you what to do?” Dad asked.
“These strangers, as you call them, have shown me more kindness and friendship than you have in our entire marriage, Savar. Either we record this, or you can communicate through my lawyer. What is it to be?” she challenged.
For the first time in my life, I saw my dad concede to my mom. Mom sat in a chair, and Delphine sat in the other chair next to her. Poe stood behind Mom. That left Arish and Dad no choice but to sit on the couch. There was no offer of refreshments. It wasn’t a social call.
“Say what you have to say, Savar, then leave,” Mom told him.
“I’d like to speak to you alone,” Dad replied.
“Well, I don’t. Savar, you have five minutes,” Mom explained.
You could tell Dad didn’t like her standing her ground, but he gave in.
“I know that things got a little mixed up between Sameer and Anastasia. Arish and I were only trying to ensure she was well cared for by someone who understands tradition and family legacies. We were upset when she abruptly stopped seeing Sam and let some stranger into her life.
“However, none of that has anything to do with us. We’ve been married for thirty-eight years.
You don’t just throw away a whole lifetime together.
And what do you think you’ll do out there in the cold world all alone?
How will you support yourself? I’m your husband.
You need me. I provide companionship, financial support, and family stability. ”
“Actually, I don’t care whether I have companionship outside of our daughter, Reign, and the numerous friends I’ve already made.
They will sustain me. I don’t need a man to make me happy.
I had one, and he wasn’t capable of it. I won’t waste my life looking for one who can.
As for money, I have a job, and I make more than enough to live comfortably. ”
“A job? Since when?” Arish asked.
“Since your sister grew old enough to take care of herself.
I fit it in between her school commitments when she was a teenager.
After she left home, did you really believe I was just sitting at home doing nothing but cooking, cleaning, and waiting for your dad to come home?
If so, how silly. I have a very successful business.
“Oh, and before you think of going after it in the divorce, remember when I married you, your parents made me sign a prenuptial agreement stating that anything made before or during the marriage remained the sole property of the person who earned or owned it. It wasn’t to be considered communal property.
They thought that would keep me from ever divorcing you because they believed I’d never have anything of my own. I guess you were all wrong.
“I’ve spent thirty-eight years submitting to you.
Allowing you to dictate not only our lives but also our children’s.
I suppressed my needs and desires for nothing.
Those days are over. Anastasia helped me to see that there is a way to be happy.
Nothing you say or do will stop the divorce.
Save us the hassle and heartache and sign it, Savar. ”
Dad sat there, shocked. Arish came to his feet.
“You won’t see your grandkids if you divorce Dad!” Arish threatened.
“I love my grandchildren, but if their parents choose to be petty, then that is the way it will be. Maybe when they turn eighteen, they’ll come seeking to know me.
However, I won’t be without grandbabies.
Reign and Stasia will provide me with some.
And they have friends who have them. I can give them my grandmotherly love.
I’ll grow old watching them live their lives,” Mom fired back.
Poe bent down, put his hand on Mom’s shoulder, then whispered in her ear. Whatever was said made her smile and blush.
“Who the fuck is he? Why is he always around you?” Dad demanded to know.
“Who he is isn’t any of your business, but I will say, he’s a friend and protector.”
“He needs to stay away from you and keep his hands off you! You’re still my wife! I won’t allow you to shame our family or me with your loose and immoral ways,” Dad shouted.
Mom stood up. Delphine came to her feet.
“This meeting is over. You got to have your say. We’re only going around in circles. I will not change my mind about the divorce. Subject closed. You need to leave,” Mom said with finality.
There was more arguing, and at one point Poe and Delphine had to get in Arish and Dad’s faces, with Mom holding her phone, ready to dial 911 before they left.
Since then, there have been a few email attempts, but nothing else. Things were progressing with the divorce. Dad was fighting it all the way, but we were assured he’d lose. Reign and I supported Mom however she needed us to.
The court hearing for Rowan’s forgery and loan was drawing nearer.
As if that wasn’t enough, we signed the paperwork, and the building we lived in was ours.
Reign had already found an architect to draw up the renovation plans.
I couldn’t wait to meet with him to go over what we wanted.
What else was in the works, though it would take a lot of time, was the expansion of Caldwell Catastrophes.
My life had never been this hectic before, but despite the bad things, the wonderful parts were outweighing them. I had found the love of my life.