by Jennise K
Immediately, my torso fought back against the pain, and I sobbed, my eyes still closed. Something crashed in the room, and I flinched.
“I say that’s ridiculous, Rome. Really, you’re only scaring her!”
Beasty…
Suddenly, my body itched to have him closer.
“I’m not scaring her! I can’t scare her. I’m her ma—”
“Rome,” I managed to croak out the word before the pain took over again, and I choked out a pained laugh at the many times I had fainted this year. Halfway through, I broke into a silent sob; I could no longer bear the pain.
At this, a hand immediately found mine, while the other carefully pushed aside a strand of hair away from my forehead. Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Romanov’s bright and burning golden eyes met mine. When I glanced away to look around my room, I cringed when I found it in shambles.
“Get me out of he—” I said then a round of violent coughs broke into an attack, cutting me off. I gave up, staring helplessly at Romanov who now looked angrier.
I watched as he suddenly leaned in and moved his arms under me with a determined look on his face.
“Sir—” Marsha started, but Grayson quickly butt in, rendering her silent. “Really, Marsha. Do you really want to oppose Alpha? Right now?”
Bending slightly with his arms securely under me, Romanov slowly got up, and I yelped as the movement triggered a pain somewhere in my abdomen. My eyes snapped to my middle, and I let out a scream. “Wh—”
Looking at Marsha, I frighteningly quivered out the question. “How bad is it?”
“Oh, nothing bad since Alpha has—” Grayson tried to explain before she was cut off by Marsha.
“Not bad at all, dear!” Marsha yelled out at once in reply. Grayson glared at her.
Again, Romanov made a move to stand up, and this time, it hurt less. I kept it in, my arms flinging lamely around his neck.
After stealing a quick glance at me, Romanov walked out of the room and towards the new one, leaving everyone behind.
“Hold on,” he muttered, and then everything around me made no more sense. Just blur.
It seemed only seconds before the blur dissipated. Romanov stopped in front of the dark wooden door with the golden frame I’d come to know was his room.
I blinked as understanding dawned on me, what this meant. My grip on Romanov’s shirt tightened.
“You’ll stay here tonight,” he said.
“She was there Rom—”
“She was the two kids of Marsha’s playing a joke on you. They confessed after you fainted. Unfortunately, one of their…traps went wrong and your…”
I cringed. I knew he was talking about my middle.
I couldn’t believe it. Kids? A joke?
“The voices?” I whispered, frowning.
Romanov settled me on his large king-size bed before replying, “Melanie. The eldest.”
He made a move to step away, but before he could, my hand grabbed his. I shook my head. Lips thinning into a straight line, Roman sat down beside me.
“Why would they do such a thing?” I whispered aloud, confused.
“Tom, the youngest, is only nine. Melanie, is just eighteen, barely out of school,” he explained.
I flinched. My mind ran through the incident.
So, maybe I had not seen the culprit. And Lady Edika only attacked the brides. And mostly pregnant ones too.
I was neither.
My eyes widened, and I felt all colour blanch out of my face. What if they were just kids? Doing it for the sake of what they seemed was a harmless joke?
My middle throbbed, and I placed my hand on it, flinching as the pain grew. Romanov was quick to notice, and immediately, his hand found mine and removed it from my middle.
I watched him with a contemplative look. Slowly, I nodded. “Maybe you can let the kids and I play someday. Bonding should be good, right?” I said, chuckling at the thought that I managed to deliver the whole sentence without catching a breath.
Romanov’s eyes widened at my suggestion.
His eyes seemed to look me over carefully before he nodded. Slowly reaching into his pocket, he slipped out my iPhone and put in on the black silk covers of the bed, pushing it towards me. “You dropped it. On the balcony.”
I picked my iPhone and put it beside me, grateful of this gesture from him. “Thanks,” I whispered sincerely.
Slowly shrugging, Romanov turned around and began making his way towards the washroom. “Just going to take a shower,” he called out as he closed the door behind him.
I slowly let out a breath through my mouth before I turned toward my iPhone.
Might be good if I text Prue I’m okay.
I frowned when I noticed the new messages in my phone.
From: Prue
So, Prue already knows.
I looked at the other unread text, and I frowned. Looking at the notification, I finally shrugged and tapped it open to my utter horror.
From: Private number
~
The sun rose the next day, spilling golden rays in the room. I watched with numb disdain and turned towards a sleeping Romanov on the large sofa. I sighed when I felt the mark on my neck tingle.
The text message had felt like a cold shower, and I wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. I just sat there until the morning came, without sleep, feeling the chill in my bone.
Eight hours.
I had spent eight hours lying on Romanov’s bed, staring at the text and contemplating what to make of it.
In the end, I decided to just think it was just the kids again. After all, my phone had already been unlocked when I had dropped it in the balcony.
I sighed as I reached for my phone and unlocked it. Quickly browsing through the contacts for the one person I wanted to talk to right now, I pressed on ‘Call’ and brought my phone to my ear.
Abigail picked up on the third ring.
“Liv?”
“Hey.” I couldn’t help but let the tiredness I was feeling slip in my tone.
“Hey!” Abigail replied, surprised at my listlessness.
“I won’t be coming to university for a few days, okay? I—err, had an accident,” I told her. It took her long to reply. Then I heard someone shuffle on the other side before Abigail spoke again.
“Sorry, Jaydin slept over.”
My eyes widened at this turn of events, and I grinned. “Oh, no worries!”
Abigail then yelled in protest, “Olivia, it’s nothing of that sort! Just crashed in, you know, like friends.”
“Uuh-huhhh.” I chuckled back, already feeling better.
“Okay, forget that! I’ll pick up your papers and tell Madame Crawfort. Do you want me to drop it over?” Abigail said as a lame attempt of changing the topic.
I smiled to myself, and my eyes danced around the room then it froze on the man standing at the foot of my bed. A small shiver ran down my front as I looked into his dark eyes. I slowly blinked then looked away.
I pulled my mind back to my conversation with Abigail. “Well, yes, please. Whenever you can, Aby.”
“Okay, cool. Take care of yourself okay?” she replied.
“Uh-huh, give Jaydin a morning cuddle from my side,” I teased. My grin widened when I heard her groan. “Bye, Aby.”
I could imagine Abigail rolling her eyes as she replied, “Bye, Cupid.”
The line went dead, and I sighed, putting my iPhone back on the bed.
“You didn’t sleep all night.”
I stiffened when Romanov spoke up, then nodded slowly.
A growl left Romanov’s mouth, and he moved forward. “Sometimes you make me so mad.”
Our eyes peered into each other before I gave up and looked away.
“How?” I mumbled back slowly. Feeling that my middle didn’t hurt so much anymore, I made a move to turn away slightly. Instantly, Romanov’s hand wrapped around mine, stopping me.
“Just a little longer, Olivia. The scars will be gon
e by then.”
I blinked. Gone? Cuts that hurt so much? That should scar?
“How?”
Romanov’s eyes met mine, and I saw it blaze with I don’t know what. My breath hitched when in the next second—in a blur of movement—he now loomed over me, his lips brushing his mark.
“‘How’ is something you’re currently trying to pretend you have no idea about, Miss Olivia.”
Chapter 10
Romanov and I stared at each other, neither one’s gaze moving away from the other.
His hot breath hit my cheeks, and I shivered because he was always so much warmer than me.
“You know you should stop touching me like this,” I murmured finally, looking at the beauty-spot on his neck.
Romanov paused above me, and my eyes snapped to his. His stare hardened, and he moved closer, this time, kissing my jaw.
“Like what?”
My breath hitched in my throat as he continued to trace my face with soft kisses, his lips pressing against my cheeks then to the corner of my mouth. He stopped and moved back, then he trained his eyes on me.
Suddenly, he leaned in again, meeting my lips with his in a sweet kiss—a light brush like a spray of water by the sea.
He moved back, and I opened my eyes, already breathless.
“Like that,” I said as he caressed my cheek with his thumb.
Everything seemed so unclear then. I blinked, trying to think about all the times he tried to pretend it never happened, his dismissals, and his fiancée.
Thinking about the fiancée sobered me, and I began to struggle from his embrace.
“You know you should really stop,” I bit out forcefully. “You can’t keep doing this when you’re already engaged.”
Immediately, Romanov moved back, his eyes wide with surprise.
“What?” he muttered out, one eyebrow cocked up.
I frowned. “Engaged?” I nudged a finger into his solid chest “You?”
And when a minute later there came no reply, my frown hardened, and I glared straight into Romanov’s eyes which had now turned to gold.
“Oh, come on. Your fiancée’s clothes are in the closet in my room, Mr. Naight,” I explained. I knew what Sophia meant. And I was not going to be some bitch who stole people’s boyfriends.
Romanov continued to glare, and I threw my hands against the bed, rolling my eyes as I did so. “What?”
“I’m not engaged!” Romanov finally growled. In that moment, I noticed how mad he looked, and my eyes widened upon realizing how he was barely controlling it.
“You’re…you’re not?” I blurted out, my wide eyes staring into Romanov’s blazing ones.
He let out an exasperated sigh. In a blur, he moved away from me and stood near the door, his hand gripping the knob.
“No, Miss Olivia,” he said, hissing at Miss. “Those clothes are from my aunt, who happens to be a designer, for when I finally…get engaged.”
Then turning the knob and not waiting for my reply, Romanov pulled the door open and strode out, shutting the door behind him with a loud slam.
My eyes stared at the black door that Romanov had just strode out of, my mind still reeling from his words.
He wasn’t engaged.
My mind still marvelled at this information. I turned my eyes away from the door and turned to the large space I was in that was his room.
Romanov’s room was surprisingly in a modern style—no hint of anything old castle in it. My eyes wandered from the sofas to the television set, then to the two doors that stood further on the left. The two ceiling-to-floor glass windows on the right gave me an amazing view of the scenery outside. It was all the more mesmerising when I realised Romanov’s room was in the highest tower.
The sound of the door clicking open sounded around the room, and I turned just in time to see Marsha and Sophia enter in.
“Hello!” Sophia signed brightly, smiling at me.
Her cheerfulness in contrast to last night’s panic was contagious, and I found myself smiling at both women.
Marsha rushed forward with a guilty look on her face, holding fresh bandages.
“Before you say it, it’s okay, Marsha. I’m okay. They’re just kids…It was just a joke,” I said, putting my hand forward before Marsha could even break out into an apology.
Her face reddened, and I gasped when she dropped down on the bed before me, bowing down.
“Oh, Miss Olivia, please do forgive my children. They didn’t know how serious it was. I promise they won’t play pranks anymore! Just don’t let Master Rome forbid them from entering the castle! They have nowhere else to go without me with them,” she pleaded.
I stared at the older woman crying before me and then turned to a sad-looking Sophia. My mouth was still open with shock. Something must have happened.
“What did Romanov do?” I asked desperately, disappointed that the answer couldn’t just come by just like that.
“Oh, when Meli told Master Romanov, he was so angry. Yes, he was. I was sure he would kill Meli had she been older and not my daughter. He told us that from now on, my kids weren’t allowed anywhere near the castle grounds or castle then told them to leave.”
“What?” I blurted out, my eyes wide with shock.
“It’s true. My s-second husband doesn’t like the kids, and so I keep them with me in the castle grounds as long as I wish. B-but that was only if they don’t do any mischievous act. I swear, Miss Olivia. My son is the sweetest. He would never! And Meli…she’s good at heart. Oh, please make Master Romanov understand, Miss Olivia!” Marsha suddenly grabbed my hand and begged me.
Turning back to Sophia I began signing, “Can you please go and call Mr. Naight, Sophia, please?”
Sophia’s face blanched. She shook her head, looking very scared. “Oh no, Miss, I must not! He’ll get wild! He won’t listen!”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Marsha beat me to it. Leaning forward, she spoke out in a strong voice. “But he will listen to her!”
I wanted to shake my head and tell the woman I didn’t think he would, but I was shocked in silence that Romanov could get so angry for me getting hurt. And seeing Marsha plead like this for her children, I decided I had to try.
“Yes, please, Sophia. There is no need to get scared of him,” I assured her.
Sophia shook her head. “You don’t know master’s anger. He is truly a force of nature.”
Beside me, Marsha sighed. “Let’s just change your bandages first, okay?”
I looked at her in the eye and smiled when she gave me a sad smile. I nodded. “Okay,” I mumbled as I made a move of getting out of bed. Sophia’s soft small hands went immediately around me, helping me up. I smiled at her appreciatively as I finally stood on my feet, her arms still around me.
Smiling warmly at me, she moved a step back while I turned towards Marsha and tried to lighten the mood. “Work your magic, doc.”
The click of the latch bolt sliding from its lock and the creak of the door opening echoed around the room. Thee three of us turned towards the door. A freshly bathed and dressed Romanov strode into the room, stopping in his step when his eyes landed on the three of us.
“What are you doing up?” he growled, storming forward.
I gulped, noticing the storm brewing in his eyes. He was furious.
“It’s easier to change the bandage this way, and it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. So, you know…”
Romanov’s eyes narrowed, and he bit out angrily. “No, I don’t know.”
Ugh, he can be stubborn.
“So you’re not getting out?” I mumbled tiredly, rolling my eyes.
One second, Romanov was twenty steps away, and the next, he was two steps in front of me.
“What do you think?” he hissed out.
Okay. Definitely stubborn.
There wasn’t a choice. And if there was, I was too tired to think of one. So, I pulled my shirt up to the underside of my breast and turned towards the two women who watched the exch
ange between Romanov and me silently, their eyes wide in wonder.
“Please,” I told them.
Sophia and Marsha immediately reached forward and began to undo my old bandage, unwrapping them with the quick precision of an expert.
Soon, the bandages fell off, and I gasped when my eyes saw the three long scars that spread from one end of my waist to the other. Each thick scar was a swollen mass of red and purple. There were some parts where the flesh was still raw, oozing with fresh blood.
My attention, however, was broken when a low growl emitted before me, and suddenly, Romanov had his arms on each side of my waist. I felt another round of the sparks as they began their onslaught. I looked up at him, shocked. Even more so, when I saw his pitch-black eyes blazing. I gulped when Romanov’s eyes slowly warmed, and his expression turned entirely different from before.
His eyes still on mine, he now extended his hands towards Marsha and asked her for the bandage and ointment. Marsha, still looking dazed, placed both in his extending palm.
“Everything will be gone by the afternoon,” he mumbled slowly as I watched him apply ointment on each one of the thick claw marks then do the same to the three on my back, too.
His gaze flickered to mine, and he quickly looked back to my middle and began wrapping it with white bandage.
“Including the scars,” he mumbled again, securing the bandage in a snug fit. Straightening to his full height, he pulled my shirt back down, his eyes focused on me.
His hand still on the hem of my shirt, he made a move to walk away, and I quickly held his hand to stop him. His eyes widened with surprise and then narrowed. I had a hunch he knew what was coming.
“Thank you, honestly,” I said sincerely but then stopped and tightened my hold on his large hand when he tried to get away. “But I beg you, please, let Marsha’s kids stay at the castle while she’s here. They have nowhere else to go. Her wee lad is only just nine. Please?”
I thought I saw the corner of Romanov’s lips quiver up in amusement at “wee lad,” and I smiled, both my hands now holding his. “Please! I promise they won’t be bad, and if they will be, I promise I’ll plead with you again.”