Page 6 of The Monster

5

NINA

The first rays of early morning sunlight slip through the sheer curtains, and my eyes flutter open. For a moment, I linger in that calm, hazy space between dreams and reality, but when the disorientation clears, I sit up in bed and groan.

Father sent three suitcases of my clothes before we came home last night, and everything else—shower, skincare, and hours of tossing and turning before succumbing to sleep—was a blur.

I shower and brush my teeth, still in the process of taking in how grand this bedroom is. It’s at least three times the size of my old bedroom, with high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows lining one wall, two deep armchairs around a wooden coffee table to one side, and the walls painted a warm ivory color.

I sit on the oversized bed in a silk robe, sweeping my gaze and smiling. I won’t miss my old bedroom. This is infinitely better.

A soft knock on the door momentarily startles me. Is it him? Is it Nikolai? If so, what would he think of me in broad daylight? Lastnight, I had makeup on. Right now, I’m bare-faced and deeply flawed.

The thick carpet muffles my steps as I walk toward the door. Should I change into decent clothing first? But maybe he’s just here to ask me to join him for breakfast? Oh God. Why am I overthinking everything?

I grasp the ornate brass handle and turn it, peeking at the small figure on the other side.

“Good morning, Miss Nina.” Standing in the doorway is a young woman about my age, her black hair neatly pinned up in a bun. She smiles brightly at me, her warm, friendly face making me smile back at her. “I heard you moving about, and I brought you breakfast.”

I step aside to let her in, and she gives me a nod of gratitude as she balances a tray in her hands, setting it down on the coffee table. It has a cup of steaming coffee, a glass of orange juice, and a beautifully arranged spread of bread, fruits, egg, and jam.

“Oh, gosh. Thank you so much for this…?”

“Elsa, Miss.” Her eyes sparkle with kindness. “Nikolai said to bring you breakfast in case you didn’t feel comfortable eating with him.”

“You call him Nikolai?” Her smile disappears, and she blinks slowly. Realization dawns on me at what I just said, and I smack a palm to my forehead. “God, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, Elsa. I should just shut up.”

Elsa gives me a sheepish smile. “I see how you’re surprised. House staff aren’t usually allowed to call their employers by their first names.”

I want to deny it, but that is true. My sisters would get a conniption if their assistants dared to call them by their names. “I’m sorry again. I must seem like a snob to you. I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. I’m just curious.”

She shakes her head, her smile widening again. “Nikolai insisted we call him that. He said he had enough people calling him boss or sir.” Elsa pulls her earlobe. “He’s not like other employers, Miss. He treats us like family.”

Yet another surprising thing about Nikolai. “Well, then. Stop calling me Miss. Call me Nina. Nice to meet you, Elsa.”

I extend a hand to her, and she takes it. “Nikolai was right. You are very beautiful.”

Heat rises to my cheeks. Nikolai gossips with his people? How so unlike him. Then again, I don’t really know him that much, do I? “W-what? He talked about me?”

Elsa nods enthusiastically. “Oh, he couldn’t stop. When he instructed me to bring you breakfast, he said, ‘You’ll be the first to lay eyes on her, Elsa. Make sure you don’t stare, even if her beauty knocks you off your feet.’”

Nikolai said that? “Oh, uhm, okay.”

She purses her lips and covers them with her hand. “My mouth is running again. I’m so sorry, Miss Ni … Nina. I’ll leave you to your breakfast now. If you need me, there’s a button by your bed. If I can’t come, Wilma will be here. If she’s not around, there’s Beth. Rest assured, there will be someone on the other line.”

“How many are in this house?”

Elsa thinks it over before she says, “Two dozen, probably? We go on shifts, depending on our classes.”

“Classes?”

“Nikolai requires everyone under thirty to attend college. He pays for it, says we need to fulfill our dreams.” Elsa looks like she’s about to burst, and she lowers her voice. “I’m graduating in two years. I’m going to be an accountant!”

She leaves me with my jaw hanging open. I’m trying to reconcile this version of Nikolai with everything I’ve heard about him. The stories paint him as this cold, calculating monster who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Who will take the lives of innocent people just because. Who will bathe in the blood of his enemies.

I’m utterly confused. The conflicting images swirl in my mind, leaving me uncertain and unsettled.

Who is my husband? What is the real version of him?

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