47 A Choice That Doesn’t Exist

A few days had already passed since the day of our “kidnapping.” I was very surprised that no one from work rushed to find out why I had disappeared when I didn’t show up for my shift the day after we were taken away. So I called Polina, and I got really angry when I found out that, apparently, I had been fired!

And what’s more, Nikolai explained to my coworkers that I had left of my own free will, since I was getting married soon and had a happy family life ahead of me! And later, from Yartsev Sr., I learned that it was Mr. Koshev who “turned me in” into this captivity, after noticing the resemblance between my children and the older twins!

My fury had no limits. So that’s why the man behaved so suspiciously and overly understanding toward me and my children. I knew it—nothing in this world ever happens without a catch, and there’s always a hidden trick somewhere.

The children’s room in Mr. Yartsev house was ready in a matter of days. It was located next to the room where I was temporarily living, and across from it was the room of Kirill and Nazar. On the other side of the nursery was the guest room where Valentina stayed. The master’s chambers were in another wing of the house, together with the office and the library.

As Oleg explained, the boys’ nursery would be shared for now, until a certain age, and then they would redo two separate rooms when they grew older. Why I even needed to be informed of such details, I honestly have no idea, since no one asked for my opinion about any of this.

“Are you ready yet?” Kirill addressed me when he walked into the living room where I was staying with the children and Valentina.

Surprisingly, Mr. Yartsev often joins us to sit with the kids, unlike their biological daddy. It’s very noticeable that Yartsev Sr. genuinely enjoys the role of grandfather in this house.

As I understood, the topic of family is very painful for him, because several years ago he lost his wife in a car accident. Despite his harshness and cruelty, you can see that he loved her very much. And when he watches his grandsons, he practically becomes younger before your eyes—he turns cheerful, happy, and gladly squeezes the boys… well, at least in those moments when he isn’t bickering with Valentina. Those two simply cannot find common ground, constantly sniping at each other for any reason or none at all. She calls him “stone-face,” although when we’re alone, his nickname is “old goat,” and he calls her “the commander.”

But in order to sit with the boys, they have to put up with each other. Especially touching for Oleg to the point of impossibility was the moment when he heard the children babbling the word “pa,” which means “grandpa.” Yes, they know “grandpa,” “mom,” and “grandma,” and they also call Valentina “Va,” but the word “dad” hasn’t worked out at all, because such a character simply hasn’t existed in their lives yet.

And as for our daddy… he is at work almost the entire day, or at least that’s what I’m told. Mr. Yartsev said that Kirill is in charge now, while he himself is enjoying the role of grandfather. After all, after the wedding we’ll move into our own house, and then Yartsev Sr. will take the chair again to give Kirill more time for the honeymoon and bonding with his newly acquired family.

“Where?” I ask our daddy in surprise, not understanding.

“Today we’re going to look at our house,” Kirill sighs heavily, stepping closer to the boys and watching them attentively but not touching them. They, in turn, began staring back at him with their big eyes.

“I don’t remember anyone informing me about this,” I remark displeasedly, pressing my lips together.

“Now you know. Let’s go. I’ve already arranged everything with the realtor,” I can see Kirill starting to get worked up.

“When you have two small children, things aren’t handled like that,” I glare into his green eyes. “You need to warn me in advance. I was feeding the babies, and my pants are covered in porridge, and there’s some in my hair too, thanks to Egor. Children are like walking bombs, you never know when to expect trouble from them.”