“I will take from you what you took from me.”
My limbs start to drain of blood.
“What was that?” my husband asks, not a clue as to the threat Dimitri just delivered in Russian.
Dimitri grins. “I said I hope we’re able to form a productive partnership.”
Emily claps her hands. “Ooo, now say something to Alena.”
Dimitri turns the full force of his stare upon me. “Of course. How could I forget about Alena?”
I am incensed and terrified. I hate that I am hopelessly locked into his stare, breathless for his words.
He speaks to me in Russian, his beautiful lips moving like music, so gently that it sounds like a lover’s caress. His words are velvet-coated daggers. “You will regret the day you left me.”
My blood drains from my face.
Emily lets out an excited squeal and claps. “Dimitri, what did you say?”
Dimitri’s eyes bore into mine. “Ask Alena.”
“What did he say, Alena? What did he say?”
I hide my face behind a napkin, pretending to wipe my mouth, borrowing time to compose myself. I know why Dimitri is here. He’s not here for me. He’s here to make me suffer for running off five years ago. Dear God, how many times must I pay for it? How many scars must I carry because of one mistake?
I lift my chin, staring the devil right in his piercing blue eyes. I won’t be cowed away. “He said, ‘God gave you two ears so you can listen twice as much as you speak.’”
Dimitri’s eyes flash. I stare right back, heat rising up my neck to my cheeks.
“So, Alena,” Dimitri says, “if you grew up in St Petersburg, how did you meet your husband? I’m sure it’s quite the love story.”
I almost choke.
My husband lets out a small curt laugh. “I was on a business trip in St Petersburg. I saw her and had to have her.” He doesn’t mention that he saw me in Isabelle’s catalogue.
“How interesting. So it was love at first sight. How romantic.” Dimitri’s sarcasm bites at me. I can see that neither my husband nor Emily have picked up on it.
“And are you…married?” Emily ventures.
“No, I’m quite single.”
She giggles. “How is that even possible, a handsome, charming man like you?”
“Perhaps my tastes are…too specific.”
Emily rests her chin on her hand. “What does that mean?”
“I think I have a very clear idea of my perfect woman.”
“Do tell.”
“Well, she needs to be…imaginative, generous to a fault. She’s hopeful with a dreamer’s heart. A little wild like I am, and yet, she is the only one who can tame me.”
The roots of my scalp start to burn. That’s how he used to describe me.
He is describing me.
My heart begins to flutter. Here is hope alive. Here is the start of him forgiving me. Perhaps he came for revenge but our love will break through it, I know it will.
“That is my perfect woman,” Dimitri continues, “A woman I would make my wife. That is, until I grew up,” he faces me, “and realised that my perfect woman was a lie.” His hateful eyes bore straight into me, piercing my hope with icy shards.
Emily lets out a soft laugh. “Oh, Dimitri. Surely you have more faith in your future wife?” She places a hand softly on Dimitri’s arm. I want to rip it away.
Dimitri turns towards her and his entire countenance softens completely. Only I used to be able to soften him like that. “Sweet Emily. I’m sure you’re right. I’m sure I just haven’t met her yet.”
24
____________
Dimitri
The next day, I am shrouded in a cold detachment as Emily, Alena and I set out from a back door of the Worthington mansion, through their gardens. Alena is wearing jeans that cling to her slim legs and shapely hips. A thin jumper that hugs her woman’s body. I feel a stab in my gut when I see her, before shoving it aside. It’s a relatively warm day by England standards, even if it is already the end of September.
I deliberately walk alongside Emily, forcing Alena to walk behind us, making her the third wheel in our little party. I can feel Alena’s eyes boring into my back. I can hear the strained huffs she lets out when I gaze down at Emily. Her obvious fury feeds me, making it easy to smile.
My plan is working. She deserves it after what she did to me. How I burned over the last five years, knowing that another man was touching her, kissing her, fucking her. The wind howling through my