Chapter 13

It felt weird, being out alone. In all her twenty years she was out alone, without looking over her shoulder to see if someone was following her or if someone was searching for her.

Even though she had to ask her father, and beg for it, it felt good not to have someone constantly in the shadows.
Luyeva had been worried and even offered to ask Michal to drive her to and come pick her up later. Her governess reminded her that she would have a lot of baggage to carry when coming back.

But Katya brushed it off. She wanted to do her birthday shopping all by herself. And Michal- well, things had been somewhat between them. Sure, he came by the house and asked how certain things were going. He ate at the table when Luyeva said so, and he went grocery shopping for the house. Aside from that, he pretty much stayed away and avoided eye contact.


And he was back to calling her “miss”, only talking to her when Luyeva was present. She had an idea- maybe the right idea, why he was behaving in a formal manner, but she did not want to push it.

*Because she was angry too.


His assumption left her somewhat angry.
His words, “take advantage of you,” summed her up to be a naive, ignorant girl. Which was even worse than being called a spoilt brat.
She knew enough to know that she wanted him at that time.
Going back to re-read her mother’s letters hadn’t don’t any good either because someone finally remembered to lock her father’s office. So, she spent the weeks doing nothing except walking around the house, reread old books, looking for other clues about her mother and the letters, finding nothing and finally giving up. The only excitement was her birthday.

And the only reason she was excited about it was because it was the only thing remotely exciting. And maybe it would be the wake-up call her father needed to remind him that his daughter was no longer the little girl he knew. Maybe she will finally get her wish.

“Miss? Do you need assistance?”

She broke out of her reverie and turned to the shopper’s aid. The woman had a patronizing look on her face and a smile.

“Oh no, I’m good,” she reassured her.

The smile dropped a bit. “Are you sure? Not to be nosy or anything but you have been pacing around for the last thirty minutes. In this section.”

*Yeah, it’s the only day I get to spend doing whatever I want. You can’t blame a girl for trying to while away time.

“I’m good. Thanks.”

The woman nodded and left her alone.

The truth was, Katya knew what she wanted and she had already picked up the dress. But she didn’t want to go back so soon. Not when she had hours to burn.

*Maybe go watch a movie?
Wasn’t a bad idea as bad ideas went.







As things went, it wasn’t a bad day. She saw the movie- an hour after she got there, saw another movie after, went to an indoor concert (after seeing the poster somewhere) and went on to get a couple of things. It was late at night when the cab finally dropped her at home.

Bags in hand, feet tired from standing, eyes begging to close for the night, she stumbled into the house, not taking care to be silent.

She had informed her governess that she would be late and didn’t need her to wait up. But as she walked into the living room, there was someone else there. *Michal.

He didn’t notice her- eyes glued to his laptop screen, fingers clicking and his lips somewhat upturned. He also had glasses on, halfway down his nose. In that position, he didn’t look like that serious bodyguard she knew. He was more…relaxed.

*Funny how he seemed more casual clicking away than being behind the wheels.

“Hi,” she offered. It seemed rude to walk away without acknowledging his presence.

He looked up and his glasses slid down even further. He pushed it back up with a finger.

*Okay, that was hot.

“Evening,” he replied.

*Oh? No pre-fix?

“Yeah, evening. So, you’re working?”
Way to go, Katya. She lightly berated herself. *Prolong the awkwardness with small talk.

“Yes, ” he pointed to his laptop, “I had a lot to catch up on. You didn’t need my help today and I saw the opportunity to work.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The silence that followed seemed to go on forever. To leave or say something else? She waited a beat- nothing. She started to leave-

“How was your outing?”

She stopped.
“It was good.”

“Just good? I’d have expected to hear a wild tale. It isn’t everyday you get to go out on your own, you know.”

The laughter bubbled out of her throat and she heard it in her ears.
“Well, that is true.”

“So, how it did go?” The beginning of a smile formed on his face.

“Contrary to what you think, my day was pretty bland. Or basic. Except from the concert. Now, that was fun.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.”

*Was that genuine interest? Any how, she’d take it.

She sat down opposite of him.
“Well, after buying the dress I wanted and going to watch a movie, and then another, I still had some hours of daylight on my hands. So, I thought- what would be the best way to spend my time? Then I saw a poster and it was an indoor concert. I have never been to one in my life- any concert that is, and I thought, why not?”

“You carried everything you bought to the concert?”

Katya shrugged.
“Yeah. It was pretty heavy after a while, because we had to stand through it but it was worth it.”

His glasses slipped again and pushed it back up with a finger.
“Want some coffee? I started brewing before you walked in.”

*Did they just go from barely tolerating each other to being fast friends?

Katya stared at his retreating figure, obviously bewildered. Was he on drugs or something?