96 Father

Anya Shumilskaya:

“What are you doing here, Dad?” Nazar asks Mr. Yartsev, who’s leaning against his son’s car, watching us closely with his arms crossed.

“I thought we were family and helped each other in hard times,” his father scoffs, looking at us with cold steel-gray eyes. “I know everything.”

“Well of course you do. Somebody already ran their mouth,” my boyfriend sighs heavily and leans against the car too, caging me between his arms.

“Nazar, now isn’t the time to argue,” the man replies calmly to his son’s irritation. “Tell me how the girl is and what the doctors are saying.”

Grinding his teeth, Nazar reluctantly gives in and tells his father everything that’s been happening. About the kids and Masha’s condition, and about their half-assed guardians. Oleg listens carefully without interrupting once, only staring thoughtfully at his son.

“And you seriously want to take two homeless kids into your care?” Apparently, that’s the only thing that truly unsettled the elder Yartsev out of everything Nazar told him.

“They already are our kids!” my boyfriend snaps. “So what if they came from the streets and don’t share our blood? I don’t give a damn about that! I got attached to them, you understand? I’m glad fate brought all of us together. And I’m a grown-ass adult capable of making important decisions confidently and consciously. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting your understanding or support in this matter anyway. I’m just stating facts.”

“Don’t get smart with me,” his father calmly shoots back with a skeptical grimace. “I never said I didn’t support you or judged your intentions in any way. If this is truly how you feel, then I’m happy for you… genuinely proud of you and admire you.”

Nazar visibly freezes at those words, literally parting his lips in shock. Apparently, hearing praise from his father isn’t exactly common for him, judging by the stunned way he’s staring at the older man now, trying to process what he just heard.

“You know, out of the two of you, you’re the one who resembles your mother the most,” the man says with a sad smile, placing his hand on the brunette’s shoulder, and I can physically feel how emotional they both are right now, so I stay quiet as water beneath grass, afraid to ruin such an important moment for them. “Even though you and Kirill look like two peas in a pod, your personalities are completely different. You inherited almost everything from your mother. Just as stubborn on a cosmic level, incredibly peculiar in your own way, uncompromising, and loyal to your beliefs no matter what anyone in the world says. You have your own unique backbone and the endurance to achieve what you want. Those are some of the things I loved Varvara for so much… though it seems I forgot that myself,” the man’s voice trembles slightly, and there’s so much grieving pain in his eyes you can feel it from a distance. “I’m very grateful I got to experience a love like the one I had with your mother. And I’m also grateful to heaven for not spitting on me and sending me Valentina, who became my cure and whom I love just as madly. Anya,” Oleg suddenly addresses me, “we Yartsevs are very difficult and complicated people. But when we LOVE, there are no obstacles or impossibilities for us. I’m glad you found each other, even though I honestly wasn’t hoping for it anymore,” the man smiles sadly. “Take care of each other. And if you still need my help, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure the children become part of OUR family. Just say the word…”

The elder Yartsev pats his son on the shoulder, turns around, gets into his car, and drives away from the hospital parking lot.

And we just stand there, stunned, mouths half open.

It’s obvious Nazar is trying to process everything he just heard, so I simply hug him tighter, burying my face in his chest.

“If only you knew how much I love you,” I whisper to my man, and he lifts my chin, looking straight into my eyes.

“If it’s even a little close to how much I love you, then I’m the luckiest bastard alive,” Nazar leans down and kisses me softly.

God, he kisses unbelievably well.

While discussing our next steps, we hear a phone call from Elena Egorovna.

“Did something happen to Masha?” my boyfriend immediately asks anxiously, and I forget how to breathe. There’ve already been so many horrible surprises that you no longer know what to expect.