for a split second. "Oh, I forgot all about that." It was the best I could come up with but something flashed in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I shipped it to Katja. You know, his fiancée."
My lips parted and blood drained from my face. Katja wasn't Kova's fiancée. There was no way he had proposed to her. He would’ve told me first. I know he would have. Mom was just saying that to get a rise out of me, but thankfully I played it well.
"She was so thankful to have it back since it was a gift from Russia she had custom tailored for him."
The room was thick with a mixture of hostility and bewilderment. The silence was deafening. I didn't know how to respond to the chilling tone she used. I didn’t know how to do anything but sit there. All I could do was stare at the woman who birthed me and question why she hated me so much.
"What did you ship to Katja," Dad asked curiously as he waltzed into the room with Xavier. The kitchen doors flew open behind them and servers came out carrying the first entrée. Everyone stayed silent as trays of food were removed and new ones were placed down. The food looked divine, but there was no way I could eat even a crumb with the way my nerves were on edge.
Mom looked me dead in the eye. "Just Konstantin's coat he left behind at our New Year’s Eve party."
Please, God. I will do anything if you could stop her right now. Anything at all.
"That was nice of you," Dad responded, sitting down.
"Your precious daughter is turning out to be just like you, Frank." Her eyes glistened with devious intentions that had my pulse sky rocketing.
Dad took a long pull of his amber liquid before he responded. He smiled at me and winked. "I would say that's a good thing.
"Or maybe she takes after her mother."
Her mother? Goose bumps trailed down my arms. Mom was so inebriated she was speaking in third person and not making sense.
Dad's silverware crashed to the plate. I flinched. He used the corner of his cloth napkin to wipe his mouth, then tossed it onto his plate with disgust. His chair slid back and an aura of anger surrounded him. I sat watching in shock.
"This is not the time or the place." He leveled his gaze on her and his look shook me to the core. Dad was done playing whatever game Mom had in mind. And quite frankly, I was too. "The issue you have with me has nothing to do with her. Leave Adrianna out of it."
But she wasn't looking at Dad. She was glaring at me.
Fifty-Four
Mom's hard eyes were fixated on me as she took another long sip of vodka.
I don't think she heard one word Dad said.
"Put the glass down, Joy. I think you've had enough for one day." Dad sneered. He was still on his first tumbler of whiskey and much more coherent than her. "We talked about this."
Xavier was in his own world, texting feverishly on his cell.
"Actually, she's identical to her slutty mother."
"That's enough," Dad hissed. He was livid and had his eyes exclusively on Mom. "Joy, you are going to regret this if you don't stop right now. This is your last chance." He pounded his fist onto the table. The plates, glasses, and silverware all wobbled from the sheer force of his hand.
He didn't faze her. She gave him a scathing glare that would make anyone tremble in fear. "I think it's time we put the truth on the table. Wouldn't you agree, Frank?" she said his name like it was coated in venom.
Xavier finally looked up. One of his eyes was swollen, but not discolored or bruised. He placed his phone face down on the table as his brown eyes jumped back and forth between me and Mom. "What's going on?" he asked.
"If she's such an adult like you claim your princess is," Mom said, looking at Dad from the other side of the table, "I think it's time she knows the truth."
"What truth?" Xavier asked. He sounded just like Dad. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing that concerns you, son. You have enough going on as it is, what with that little predicament you were in a few weeks ago," she said.