14
Chloe
As soon as Nikolai deposits me in my room, I go looking for Alina. I find her in the kitchen, chatting with Lyudmila, and I give her the flowers, along with the birthday congratulations.
“Thank you.” She accepts the bouquet with a beaming smile. “Where on earth did you get these? They’re so pretty.”
I smile back. “Oh, just around here.”
“Really? With your ankle this way?”
My cheeks heat at the memory of what almost happened in the forest. “Nikolai might’ve helped.”
Her smile dims slightly, but she doesn’t say anything to me. Instead, she turns to Lyudmila, who’s chopping up some veggies by the sink, and speaks a few words of Russian to her. The blond woman bustles off to fill a pretty vase with water, and Alina arranges the flowers in it before taking it out to the dining r
