Chapter 84
Katerina:
I watched, in pain, as Nikolay took my children away from me, expecting me to fight back.
The idea of staying in the house alone to begin with wasn’t something that I wanted. It was his house, and the last thing that I wanted was to find myself burning inside it.
“You aren’t fighting back.” He said, noting it out. I looked at the man as I stood in front of the doorframe, watching as the kids were happy getting inside the car, knowing that they were going to spend time with their dad.
“I will,” I said, looking at the man with darker eyes than I knew that I could have. “But not in front of them. I am going to be sure that you regret doing this, but right now, they are going to leave with you while being happy.”
“You are playing the role of the perfect mother. I am curious, though, how much longer can you hold it up? You know, the mask of the loving woman who is willing to do everything and anything for her children. How much further are you willing to take it?” He asked, knowing that he was pressing on my nerves.
“Until my last breath,” I said, taking a step back. “I hope that you enjoy spending the next few days with them. I do believe that if you are going to choose taking them to your mistress, that you are going to end up…”
“Ashley would be a better mother to them.” He said, and I nodded.
“We’ll see,” I said, slamming the door shut in front of him. The air felt tight in my lungs, and it took everything in me not to burst out in tears as I sat on the floor, knowing what was to come. Viktor, who was in the living room, walked toward the
front door.
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His eyes were fixed on me for a few moments, he didn’t say a word, and I was forced to remind myself that I wasn’t alone. The man was a stranger to me, and I didn’t want him to see me broken down.
I wiped my tears and massaged my temple, knowing to calm down as I rose to my feet.
“Thank you for being here, Viktor.” I said, and he nodded.
“You were going to need someone to stop him legally if he crossed limits with you, and I believe that him seeing me here is what stopped him from trying to do so.” He said, and I nodded in understanding. This was a situation that I wouldn’t even wish upon an enemy. “You did well,”
“You may leave if you want,” I said, and he raised an eyebrow for a moment before he nodded.
“Sure, but I was considering inviting you for a drink. You seem to need something to get your mind off of things, and I believe that you not having the children tonight could be the perfect opportunity.” He said, and I scoffed.
“Do you invite all your clients for drinks when they’ve lost claim over their…?”
“You haven’t lost claim over anything,” he said, stopping me. “And no, I don’t invite any of my clients. I prefer to stay away from most, if not all social activities that involve dealing with them.”
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“Then I should consider myself a…?”
“I’ll be waiting for you in the car,” he said, stopping me. I raised an eyebrow, and he winked. “You can choose to come or not. I’ll know your decision after a while…”
“How did you know that I was going to come down?” I asked, looking at the man as we sat at the bar, taking a few sips of the cocktails that we had ordered.
“You didn’t say no, and I think that it is the best option for you right now. You know that you needed the distraction, and you were well aware that I was more than willing to provide it.” He said, and I playfully rolled my eyes.
“A fact that I never saw myself put into. But then again, I never did expect to end up doing…”
“Tonight, you are going to ignore all of this. Consider it as a one day off from the kids. They are with their father and you get to do whatever it is that you want.” He said, stopping me. I sucked in a harsh breath and shook my head.
“I never complained about them. I was always more than open and willing to taking care of them. If anything, I was against them being raised by tutors and maids. I knew to do it despite having them over to assist me.” I said, knowing that it was something that tore me apart inside when my mother did it. When I was younger, I was left by her to be raised by malds and tutors for her to live her life. I promised myself at the time to not be like her when I grew older.
“They are his kids too, and no matter how much you might not want it; the jury will be giving him days to be with him.” He said, and I nodded. “The man is going to have them by his side, and…”
“I don’t, want them to be living in a broken family. I am trying to make sure that this divorce ends without much damage, but I know that it is not something that I will be able to change. At least, not when it concerns Nikolay.”
“You said that he went from one woman after the other. Why didn’t you stop him before now?” He asked, and I looked down. at my drink, taking a deep breath. “You don’t have to talk about it, but one can’t help but find himself growing curious. You are a beautiful woman, smart, and you know how to manage things the way that you want them to be. What stopped you from having them go your way?”
“I thought that he changed, time and time, I believed that he would. He convinced me that he did, that he was madly in love with me. Until he was sure that I was not only pregnant, but that I was feeling our kids grow inside me to the point where I wasn’t going to abort them. I wouldn’t have done it in the first place, but when the pressure became too much on me…”
I shook my head as I stopped myself from talking.
“You deserved better,” he said, making my soften. “Being married on paper is not a fate that anyone should be enduring. While you might not want to hear that right now, it is the truth. You could have lived differently, and I don’t know what had you forced into living what you are, but know that you have one person behind you.”
“Why?” I asked, shaking my head. “Don’t get me wrong, but you are my lawyer, you are paid to do things when it comes to
court…”
“Everyone deserves one friend to be around,” he said, making my eyes soften. “And I witnessed firsthand what a woman can go through when she is alone. Judging by what I see, you are alone.”
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His own eyes held more pain in them than I thought possible, and he took a deep breath before turning his attention to me. “Anyway, how about we close the subject? I didn’t bring you here for you to be living through your pain.”
“To freedom then?” I asked, and he chuckled, raising his cocktail glass, pretending that it was a glass of champagne as we
raised our toast.
“To freedom…”
