Page 84 of Merciless Sinner

"My mother?"

"Yes. When I was younger, my parents lived in both Russia and New York. They did so until I was in my teens. When I was here, I was mainly at your house. Your parents would teach me all kinds of stuff like cooking."

"That sounds nice." Her voice is low and reflective. “I wish I could remember them.”

"Your parents were some of the best people I knew. They were so good, they extended their love to me. I'm sure you can see that my parents aren't exactly the model type."

"I noticed." She brings her hands together nervously. "They didn't really say much at the wedding."

She's putting it lightly, because my parents didn't say anything. They were already getting up to leave before we were declared husband and wife.

I was glad my sister stayed, but apart from my aunts and uncles who complimented Olivia on her dress and beauty, that was the extent of my family's interaction with us.

"What are you like with them? You don’t seem to be close with your father."

"No, I’m not. I have a strange relationship with both my parents. I think it's because neither of them were cut out to be parents. They think of their kids as assets to be used to gain more power. That's what it was like in their homes. My grandparents were like that before they died. My father is very controlling. My mother does what he tells her to do, as long as she can have access to his money. We never had a home like yours."

"That's sad." She sets her fingers on the counter. "What happened between our families, Virgo? You told me about this bond they seem to have. Then it just got broken. Was it really about the diamond mine?"

I've thought about this a lot over the years. Every time, I come to the same conclusion.

"I think it was always about the diamond mine," I reply. "I think your father got it, and my father wanted in. My mother just played along, playing the part of friend, but I'm not sure I believe either of them can be friends with anyone without an ulterior motive.”

“I don’t think they’re happy we're together.”

“That doesn't matter.”

“It would just be nice if there weren’t such bad blood between us.”

I can see the whole issue has been bothering her, just like before. Some things never change.

“Neither of us can worry about that. That bad blood is something that neither of us can control. My father will always be the way he is, and my mother has no desire to change.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes.” I don’t bother to tell her that I know it. “Come on, let's eat. This is all ready now."

“Thank you for cooking.” She smiles.

“Anytime, Zayka.”

I serve the food, and in next to no time, we finish everything.

When it gets dark, Olivia suggests watching a film and picks out one of theSawmovies for us to watch.

Ten minutes into the film, my phone rings. When I look at the home screen and see it's Cillian, I decide to take the call.

"I'll be back in a second," I tell Olivia.

"Sure," she answers but glances at the phone, knowing it must be an important call.

I go outside onto the porch, where I can talk in privacy.

"Hey, what's going on?" I say.

"I have bad news," Cillian says.

"What happened?"

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