I peel some vegetables and put them on to boil – I’m going to purée them for Alex. I remain silent and so does Hannah, both of us refusing to crack, but she loses patience first and bursts out, ‘You should have cleared off a long time ago! I’m his wife, and I’m sick of having to put up with you being here!’
‘Put up with me?!’ I explode, with a burst of hysterical laughter. ‘You haven’t been here once, or at the hospital, or anywhere! Where exactly have you been putting up with me?’
‘Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Sorry. You’re a saint. That’s all anyone can talk about – Alex’s miracle cure, otherwise known as “Valeria”! Ha ha! I hope you at least got a fuck out of it! As a reward, so to speak... well, as payment for your work. We both know how good he is at it!’ she says with a wink.
Anger and resentment cloud my judgement. I jump towards her, wanting to stuff a rag in her disgusting mouth, but all I can do is hiss, ‘Get out!’
‘I’m afraid you’re the one who has to leave. This is my house. Although you seem to have forgotten that. Right, Alex?’ She looks up towards the staircase.
I turn around and see him standing there. He heard everything, and it’s awful. I feel embarrassed about all the things Hannah just said and about the way she spoke to me. It’s humiliating, and I hope with all my heart that he’s going to say or do something to put her in her place. I mean, he has always been a genius at avoiding conflict... in the past.
*** ‘I Found’ by Amber Run ***
Instead, he says, ‘Lera, I think it is actually time you went home.’
It is a blow to the heart. To the very core of my soul.
I lowered my defences over the past few months and he has struck me: unarmed, defenceless, vulnerable, and completely open to him. The blow knocks me down and lays me low, but it doesn’t break me. And although I cry more than I’ve ever cried in my life, no one sees because, within minutes, I am out of that house by the sea, the house that isn’t mine, but where I have spent my days and where I have left my strength, warmth, and concern for him.
Just twenty-four hours later, I am home. I left on September 24th and return on December 18th. For almost two and a half months, I have been absent. I have spent more money than we can possibly afford, especially on the return ticket, which I bought just an hour before boarding. But despite everything that happened and how it all ended, I did Something. I tore down mountains to succeed. And, for all the pain and the hurt, I have no regrets.
End of book one in the Monogamy series
LETTER TO THE READER
My dear reader! If you like the Monogamy world you can continue the journey! The book two is coming soon, and I’ll be glad to send you my notice about it as soon as it’s ready.
Please, share your thoughts about Book One with those who are as interested as you here: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin= B083F6Q4C9
And here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50264415-monogamy-book-i-lover?from_search=true&qid=Uis8rPm4Ma&rank=1#other_reviews
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ABOUT VICTORIA SOBOLEV
Victoria Sobolev is the author of four bestselling series and one standalone novel that have gained her thousands of followers on Russian indie platforms and a Monogamy fan club.
She was born in Ukraine but spent most of her life living in Moldova until immigrating to Canada with her husband and two children. She currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Victoria believes in true love and soulmates just as much as she does in working hard at marriage. Travelling is her passion, but she thinks there is no safer or calmer place for a woman than her man’s shoulder.
She is fascinated by watching people and studying human relationships, but, even more, she loves writing novels about them.
Victoria Sobolev loves all her characters and never abandons them in the tragedy of separation and hopelessness forever, but always leads them to happiness. She takes her reader’s breath away only to make them feel even more alive when they start breathing again, so that everyday things become appreciated even more and their true value recognised.
Please, visit Victoria’s web site: http://sobolevvictoria.com/
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Notes
[←1]
As the Spaniards themselves refer to their country.
[←2]
From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Book One. Lover
Chapter 1. Getting Acquainted
Chapter 2. Our First Day Together
Chapter 3. A Song And Our First Kiss
Chapter 4. Our First Date
Chapter 5. Our Second Date
Chapter 6. A Discovery
Chapter 7. Spain
Chapter 8. Alex’s Birthday
Chapter 9. Paris
Chapter 10. Taoist Practices
Chapter 11. The Card Game
Chapter 12. Amber
Chapter 13. Say Something, I’m Giving Up On You
Chapter 14. A Phone Call
Chapter 15. America
Chapter 16. Four Days
Chapter 17. On The Edge
Chapter 18. Stay
Chapter 19. Through Hardships To The Stars
Chapter 20. Pragmatism
Chapter 21. Gratitude
Letter To The Reader
About Victoria Sobolev
Monogamy Book One. Lover: This is one love for life and beyond time Page 22