Page 39 of Chained Fate
“Everything your body needs to recover.A dietician I consulted gave me the recipe, along with the rest of your meal plan.”
“I have a meal plan?”
“You do.”His dark eyes glint.“Now drink up.”
Gingerly, I take a sip.It’s not bad.A little sweet, more than a little grassy, and generally very healthy tasting.It’s not what I would’ve chosen this morning, but since I’m not nauseated, I can stomach it.
My body probably does need the extra vitamins or whatever.
Alexei watches intently as I drain the jar, and then he makes me eat a piece of sprouted whole-grain toast with white-bean hummus—for the plant-based protein, he explains.Apparently, a whole-food plant-based diet is best for cancer prevention and remission maintenance, so that’s what I will be eating going forward.
“Uh-huh.”Why am I not surprised that it’s a decree and not a request?“And you’re going to be eating all those plants alongside me?”
Alexei doesn’t bat an eye.“If it helps you.”He gestures to the sink, where I spot an empty jar and a small plate waiting to be washed.“I had the smoothie and the toast when I woke up.Wanted to make sure I got the recipes right for you.”
I pause mid-bite.“You made all this yourself?From scratch?”
“Do you see anyone else in the kitchen?”
No, but… “I didn’t know you could cook.”
“I can follow directions.”He pulls out his phone and swipes across the screen to show me the detailed recipes the dietitian sent him.
I set down my plate and scroll through them.The new diet will definitely be healthy.And possibly edible.The toast I’m eating is surprisingly good, the bread earthy and the hummus rich and creamy, but the jury is still out on the rest of the recipes, though I do see my favorite breakfast ofgrechkawith berries on the list.
“I made sure the meal plan took your preferences into account,” Alexei says when I look up from the screen.“I want you to be healthyandhappy.”
My heart skips a beat before launching into a gallop.The dark intensity in his gaze makes my skin burn even as his words wrap around my chest like barbed wire.
This is Alexei in a nutshell: obsessive, controlling, yet good to me in so many ways.The more time we spend together, the harder it becomes to remember that this is the same man who’s killed dozens to force me into marriage.Or maybe it’s not the remembering that’s hard but the proper feelings associated with those recollections, the outrage and resentment that should be there but are increasingly difficult to generate.
I clear my throat and look away, picking up my plate to have something to do.“So what’s the plan now?”I ask, demolishing the rest of the toast in a couple of bites.It reallyistasty.“Are we going back to Russia or staying here for a while?”
“Your doctors have arranged ongoing monitoring for you in a specialty clinic in Moscow, so we’re flying home tomorrow.We’ll only need to return here for some key scans in a couple of months.”
I set down my empty plate.“And where exactly is ‘home?’”
Frommystalking of him, I know Alexei divides his time between Moscow and St.Petersburg and has several residences in both.He also travels quite a bit for business.
Will he expect me to travel with him?Go to all the fundraisers and parties?
The idea is not nearly as unappealing as it should be.
“I had a house built for us just outside Moscow,” Alexei replies.“So that’s where we’ll be heading when we leave here.If you don’t like it, we can build something else at a location of your choosing.”
“You mean I’m going to actually get a say in where we live?”The question comes out snarkier than I intend.
His dark eyes narrow.“Of course.You’re my wife, not my prisoner.”
I can’t help myself.“So long as I don’t try to run, right?”
His jaw tightens, and he steps toward me.“Do you intend to run, Alinyonok?”His voice turns silky.“Are your brothers getting ready to stage a dramatic rescue?”
“You know full well they’re not.”Because I’m dead certain he listened in on my conversations with them, both via phone and in person.
He doesn’t even bother to deny it.“Or so they want me to think.”
For all I know, he may be right.But what I say is, “I’m not aware of any plan, and if I were, I’d dissuade them from it.”
