Chapter Eight
1249 Words
~Valentina~
I jolted up at the sound. What the hell was that?
I made my way towards the door and quietly pulled it open. I listened carefully to see if I could pick up any other sound that could hint at what made that noise.
I picked up two voices. One was undoubtedly Nikolai and the other was...
A woman?
What was Nikolai doing with a woman on our wedding day? An unusual feeling bubbled in my chest at the thought, and I refused to put a name to it.
I made my way through the halls, as curiosity got the better of me. I mentally took note of my way, so I could find my way back to my room. The voices seemed to be coming from downstairs so I began my descent.
When I reached the bottom, the scene before me was an unexpected one.
The normally pristine living room was now a mess as a flower pot laid in pieces on the floor, ceramic and dirt sprawled all over. I looked up from the mess and met Nikolai frowning at a young lady.
Nikolai wore a frown that now replaced his usual scowl and he had a softness in his eyes that I have never seen before. My heart squeezed at the thought that he might have something special with this woman.
She didn't look like she had lived a day over 20. She was beautiful with long blond hair that fell to her trim waist and big baby blue eyes that glared at him with an audacity that I know Nikolai wouldn't take from just anyone.
"You're going to pay for that flower vase", Nikolai said, his words lacking any heat.
"No, I'm not", she said, as she rolled her eyes.
"What's going on here?", I asked, to make my presence known.
They both turned to me and Nikolai's signature glare slipped back on.
Just great.
"Nothing that you have to be concerned about", Nikolai answered dismissively, as his eyes trained back to the young woman, "Because this conversation is over".
They had a glaring contest for a total of three seconds before she turned to me. Her eyes lit up and she smiled.
She made her way towards me and extended her hand.
"Hi. You must be, Valentina, right?", she said, the warmth in her voice throwing me off.
I shook her hand.
"Yes I am. And you are?", I asked, an edge to my voice that I couldn't hide.
She looked taken back and confused by my tone. Suddenly, her eyes lit up like she realized something and she began laughing manically.
I exchanged a look with Nikolai who just shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm sorry", she said as her laughter died, "I'm just realizing what this must have looked like to you. My name is Inesaa Vetrovski, Nikolai's sister".
The bomb she dropped on me was an unexpected one.
I nearly called it bullshit cause they had nothing in common— well except their eyes— when she dropped a little detail.
" Half sister", she said.
I'm disappointed at how relieved I was to discover this wasn't his lover or anything.
"Hey, Inesaa", I greeted awkwardly, "My apologies if I came off a little strongly. I didn't know Nikolai had a sister".
I glared at him and he glared back. Shocker.
"I think you've had enough introductions, Inesaa. It's time to leave", Nikolai said as he stepped between us.
Inesaa glared up at her brother but it held more hurt than venom, "I'm pretty much angry with you, Nikolai. The one time you get married and you couldn't even tell me?".
He let out a breath and ran a finger through his hair.
"I didn't think it was importa—", he started.
Ouch by the way.
"You didn't think your wedding was important!", she threw her hands up, nearly taking out my eye in the process. She was clearly stunned by her brother's admission.
She turned to me and pulled me into a hug.
"You poor thing", she said, as she patted my back like a baby, "Who put you up to this horrible idea of getting married to my brother. He's such an asshole".
I nearly giggled at her theatrics. And I thought I was dramatic.
I pulled away from her embrace and gave her a smile.
"Trust me when I say this is definitely against my will", I said and stuck out my tongue at her brother.
She beamed at me and admitted, "I think I like you".
I chuckled and looped our hands together, "I think I like you too".
I heard Nikolai curse out as I dragged his sister away with me.
♣♣♣
Inesaa was a very interesting character. Meaning she was a direct opposite of her brother.
She had a warmth about her that was really refreshing. How she grew up with Nikolai yet turned out like this, would forever be a mystery to me.
"Does he know you have a boyfriend?", I asked her, already knowing the answer.
" No way", she said, laughter spilling from her mouth, "The last time I accidentally hinted that I had one, he promised to castrate any male that he even caught looking at me twice".
I laughed at her expense.
"Brothers", I said, as thoughts of my brothers filled my head," That sounds like something my brother would have told me. As over bearing as they can be, they are still the best and you wouldn't understand that until they are no longer with you".
My statement was pretty much vague but by the way Inessa's eyes searched mine, I knew she got exactly what I meant. For a moment I saw her brother in her knowing gaze.
It was unnerving.
"How did I end up spending my wedding night with my brother's sister?", I said, making an attempt to change the topic.
She let out a breathy laugh.
"Don't worry about Nikolai. He'll come around soon enough", she said, but we both knew how likely that was.
She stared ahead and let out a sigh.
"You know Nikolai wasn't always like this", she said, her eyes still trained ahead.
I didn't say a word. Nikolai was a mystery to me. If I wanted to be ahead in this game then I needed information.
"But his father, the previous Pakhan was just....", she zoned out, as a shudder racked through her.
"Was just what?", I prodded calmly.
She turned to me and my eyes caught a darkness in her eyes that I wouldn't have believed could exist in this sweet young girl.
"A monster", she finished as a tear slipped from her eye.
She quickly wiped it away and stood up from my bed. I guess our happy bubble was now burst.
She made her way to my door then turned to me and smiled, but this time it barely reached her eyes.
"It was nice meeting you, Val. I think you're good for my brother. A calm to his storm. A light to his darkness".
Her words resonated within me long after she had left my room.
A light to his darkness, she had said. I scoffed.
If Nikolai was looking for his light, then he definitely made a mistake marrying me.
A ding from my phone drew my attention to it.
A feeling of unease raked through when I saw it was a message from an unknown number.
The message was confusing.
Unknown number: S
- Writer
