MikhailI had walked out of Elena’s room last night. I feared what I might do to her. Every goddamn time I’m trying to be good to her, she always finds a way to piss me off. I have my reasons for not giving my daughter a name. I can’t imagine the disaster that will occur when she’s registered and everyone discovers that she’s my daughter. I can’t bring out my vulnerable side to the world. Besides, the sicko is still out there; she won’t miss a chance to cause a scene. “Sir, your flight has been booked, and the meeting has been arranged.” A list is passed on to me from my secretary, Lizzy. “They all agreed to attend,” She continues while I flip through the pages of the list of officials in the targetted countries. Of course, I can’t jump right into meeting with their president and getting them to join hands with us again. But this alone is a huge step to getting what I want. “Wait, why is there an extra member?” I squint my eyes at the familiar name at the bottom of the list. Dari
ElenaTucking in honey–Esther to bed was quite easy, I didn’t have to sing lullabies and all. She does seem a little mature for her age, but then kids are unpredicatable, they can be scary at times. “She’s asleep?” My heart skipped a beat at Mikhail’s voice. I flinch and almost stagger, but I hope he didn’t notice. He did. With the way he tilts his head, squinting his eyes as if to ask, ‘Am I okay?’ “Yeah, she is,” I respond, trying my hardest not to stutter while I shift my gaze away from him. “And you…Are you fine, now?” I’m not, but I don’t want to bring up any discussion that has the possibility of leading me into blurting my conflicts and emotions. “Uhh…About Es-I mean honey bear…” “Is there a problem? Is she sick?” Mikhail questions about to walk past me to the sleeping child's room. I block him off. “She’s fine,” And now, I realize how close we are, so I jump back on impulse. He may perceive my reaction as dramatic and sketchy, but being close to him now that I have r
Elena “I’ve been looking for you,” I rush up to the little girl seated on the black stallion. Her eyes are wide, flabbergasted by the sight of me. She jumps down and meets me halfway, her wide eyes now sparkling with excitement as she throws herself at me. “I thought you would leave again,”My arms around her, a little taken aback by her statement, but then I recalled the last time I left, I had a fight with Mikhail, and he chased me away. She must have thought the same. Goodness, I feel more guilty now. “I’m not leaving,” I pull her gently, squatting to her height to have a better look at her. Her eyes are glassy with tears, her cheeks pink as her pout quivers. I still don’t understand why and how she got attached to me, when I’m not even her mother. “Don’t cry,” I stroke her cheeks, trying to assure her with my smile, but it doesn’t seem to be working. “Okay, how about this, I promise not to leave without letting you know first,” I begin, pulling out my pinky to portray since
Elena Two days had passed, and I’ve been rotting in my room. Daniela had been the only one coming in and out of my room. I haven’t seen little honey bear for the past two days. I feel guilty locking her out. Daniela doesn’t have to tell me, but she has been roaming around the hallways, trying to peep into my room. I actually expected her to walk in with Daniela last night, but she only shot me a small smile and walked down the stairs. Ugh, I feel so selfish. I reluctantly get off the bed and twist the doorknob, ready to step out. But then, I recall the reason I’ve kept myself locked in, and I quickly retreat as though the other side of the door holds my nightmare. Mikhail is my worst nightmare; falling for him doesn’t make it any better. It just makes me dread myself more. How long do I plan to hide? This is his house; if he gets fed up with my hiding away, he can burst in and make a scene. I release a long sigh, reaching for the doorknob again. At least I should do this for lit
Elena It’s hard for me to face him. Even after hearing his apology, the tightness in my chest doesn’t seize. It aches more hearing his voice. I just can’t stop thinking about how he acted out on me. He has done such several times before but…It hurts worse now, and I hate it more that I am pained by his actions. All I wanted was for him to say he did all that because he was scared for me, protecting me. Fine, I was being stubborn and letting my pride get over me, but still, it shouldn’t have pushed him into treating me like an unwanted, useless being. Goddess, if I should open my eyes anytime soon, I will break down in tears. Those early hours of brutality from him keeps ringing in my head and I just need space and time to think, even more; to disassoiciate myself from any developing feelings. I don’t know when it all began, when Mikhail’s hurtful words led my heart breaking with disappointment alongside, instead of just pain and anger. There’s Ezekiel, I should love Ezekiel. He’
MikhailThe meeting has been adjourned, I have nothing more to discuss with any of them, so I stand to my feet to leave, only to be stopped. “Mr. Sokolov, don’t you owe me a private chat?” President Schwoz states with a casual tone, still seated on his chair, while the rest of the officials are flooding outside, gossiping about how their plans did not work. They all expected to get rid of me, like they did to my father. That’s crazy. Thinking they can repeat the same bullshit. I turn back to Schwoz with a forced smile on my face. “I’ve said all I want, you’ve approved, I don’t think an extra chat would change anything.” Can this fucking end? I need to see her, to plead for her forgiveness. Fuck, it feels as if the more time passes, the more I lose my chance to get her to forgive me. Schwoz gets to his feet, approaching me with calculated steps. I still can’t understand how he’s keeping his features. A man who is approaching his late sixties, yet looks as though he’s in his early f