Page 76 of Beautiful Deception

Once Viktor is gone, Mrs. Green turns to me. “I am so sorry, child.”

“What for?”

“You were gone all night and I thought…”

“What?” I sink deeper into the mattress. It really is the softest mattress I have ever slept on.

“I thought that you and Mr. Smirnov were…”

“What?” I need to hear her say it.

Mrs. Green blushes. “Having an affair.”

Now is not the time to tell her about the marriage proposal Viktor gave me.

“No,” I say flatly. “I was held in a cage for hours and punched and kicked and almost raped.”

Her eyes grow large as she grips my hand. “I am so sorry. I assumed the worst of you and Mr. Smirnov. That will never happen again.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Green. But I need to rest now.”

“Of course. You do that.” She stands up and hesitates by the door.

“What is it?”

“It’s just… while you rest, who’s going to clean the entire house?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“It’s a valid question, child. I’m fifty. I can’t be bending over to scrub the toilets.”

“Then talk to Viktor about it. I can’t do that right now. I’m too sore.”

“Of course.” She finally leaves the room and I can get a moment of rest.

But I know that nothing will ever be the same, not if I accept Viktor’s marriage proposal. Mrs. Green will be angry but I can deal with her.

The uncertainty of everything is too much to handle right now, so I close my eyes and let sleep take me.

Viktor and I don’t speak about the marriage topic while my body heals. In fact, we don’t really talk at all. He puts himself into his work and I focus on resting and getting better. Mrs. Green is bitter with me as she has to take on my chores for the two weeks I’m healing. Doctor’s orders.

After two weeks, my nose is no longer broken and all of the swelling has gone down. I’m no longer covered in bruises and it doesn’t ache to walk around the house.

I’m feeling like myself again.

During these two weeks, I wasn’t able to pay for my dad’s motel room as I had to remain at home, resting.

First order of business is making sure he’s all right.

I go to the motel first – with a guard since Viktor needs to work and he wants to make sure I’m safe.

I make the guard wait in the car as I talk to the front clerk. “Is my father still in his room or…”

“I kicked him out. He couldn’t pay. Left this number for you in case you came around.” He slides over a card with a number written on it.

“Thanks.” I quickly call my dad. “You changed your number?”

“I couldn’t pay for my last phone any longer so I had to get a cheap burner phone. Where have you been, Inessa?”

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