My parents were stupid. That much was proven without a doubt. They were already in the ground in some nondescript grave, maybe somewhere on the property. Truth be told, I couldn’t care less at this point; what’s done is done and should stay done. No one could’ve stopped Aleksander Makovich, and no good could ever come from my lingering on the past.
But that past also affected my future far too directly for my comfort. Clenching my hands into tight fists, I scrunched up my nose as I started up the wide steps. My parents had modeled this house after Aleksander’s, as if that would somehow impress him. The opulence of every detail was excruciating, and the ache in my eyes intensified with each step. Grabbing the curved, brass handle, I sucked in a huge breath through flared nostrils and held it.
My heart beat wildly before I opened the door, and dead silence met me. All the staff had been laid off, but what shocked my system was the noiselessness left behind. The stillness— a barrette dropping on the tile would be as loud as an earthquake. Gazing around at the utter lack of presence, I wrapped my arms around myself tightly to rub my goosebumps off my biceps.
“Creepy.” My voice echoed, and a shiver raced up my spine to bristle the hairs on the back of my neck. This is like those haunted house shows Sascha likes to watch. Shutting the door behind me with a damning click of the lock, I gulped down the tightness in my throat. The tiles had a faint coat of dust from being completely undisturbed. Obviously, the cleaning staff hadn’t been here ‒ maybe since the day my family got stuck in the basement.
I took to the curved staircase to head upstairs, and surprise rose my brows from all the open doors. Peeking into the nearest room, my mouth dried at the mess left behind. Cori’s love for exotic, designer clothes was strewn all over the floor, a broken necklace dangling over the foot of her bed on rumpled, soft pink sheets. Wandering deeper into the room, I knelt down to pick up the gems left behind.
“Someone had a good time,” a voice spoke.
Jumping at the overly loud observation, I almost tripped over my own feet as I whipped around. My heart jumped into my throat, and my lungs stuttered underneath my palm.
The young, handsome man leaning on the bathroom door frame arched a brow quizzically at me.
I closed my eyes to stop the world from spinning.
He broke the silence again, “Let’s get to it, shall we? The cleaning ladies obviously cleaned out a lot more than just dust. No point in dwelling on it. It’s not like your family needs their Louboutin anymore.”
“Who are you?” I tensed at the glint in his eye.
Brown, styled hair swished as he pushed himself off the doorframe. “Name’s Lyov. I’ll be handling you for the time being.” Scorching eyes scanned me from top to bottom, and Lyov smirked. “You’re prettier than I imagined.”
My skin crawled in disgust. “Great, you’re more useless than I imagined.” My lip curled ugly, my eyes narrowing on Lyov’s stiffening form.
His face closed like a heavy book.
I exhaled the stale air trapped in my lungs. Thankfully, I’d worn looser jeans and a thicker shirt, knowing I was going to be hunched over all day. “Don’t think you can pull the daddy card with me. I’m beyond caring about you Makovich’s and your power trip bullshit. If you touch me at all, I’ll kick your ass.”
“You’re threatening me?”
The incredulous lilt in Lyov’s tone told me I was right to threaten him. Boys like him….were slackers. The world was against them for any and all reason. I’d heard enough rumors about him to know not to give him an inch of slack.
Advancing on me as a cocky, irritated smirk stretched his lips, he reached to touch my hair only to stop short. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to threaten the person that holds your life in his hands?”
My eyelid twitched, gaze never wavering, and my knuckles tingled wildly. “Is your name ‘Aleksander’?”
Lyov went red faced at my mocking, eyes flashing brightly.
I turned my back on him to stalk out of my sister’s room. “Don’t overstep. Your last name may mean something, but you’re a useless piece of shit by yourself. This is my house now, and you answer to a higher power, which means you have none.” I surprised myself with my own words and actions, and I could feel it radiating from Lyov against my straight back. This is the only way to deal with a man like this. No matter how ugly I felt, I couldn’t lose control in front of anyone—especially someone like Lyov.
This kind of man… the kind who thought he was more important than he was. The one who thinks everyone owed him. The stereotypical rich kid, with his fabricated rich kid problems and lording attitude.
My blood boiled just thinking of spending the rest of the day having to deal with his incompetent ass. Shouldering open my father’s office door, I huffed loudly as I stalked to his desk. His computer was cold, a thin layer of dust on the screen. Everything and I mean everything was dusty. I pulled my hair back into a bun to drop into the chair. I swished side to side as I turned on the station.
Lyov shuffled into the room a few seconds later. Shoulders curled, hands shoved in his pockets, he was obviously upset…
Which was good…fuck him and his lofty attitude. There was nothing I hated more than people thinking they were better than anyone else just for being born. I really need to calm down… Jesus Christ. Closing my eyes tightly, I took a few, deep, stabilizing breaths. Twisting all the way around, I hoisted myself up to open the windows. The warm air of mid-Spring blasted through the office, and I braced my palms on the sill to savor the sensation. My irritation over the past 40 seconds flittered away on the breeze, coaxing a sigh from low in my chest. “I hope Sascha is having a better morning than I am,” mumbling softly, I ducked my head and rolled my shoulders free of the tension that gripped them.
This was only just beginning; I’d have to go through every single scrap of anything I could find. I’d have to get creative in the places I would need to search. Someone would have to come by and clear out everything in this house. If I was lucky, I could tear it down and sell the land by itself. After all, no one would want to buy such a gaudy, ugly house.
The computer’s bootup sound ended my moment of organization, and I lifted my head to take a huge breath. If I could just get through the next few days, everything would be fine. Depending on what I found out about my parents and the other families, I might even live a relatively stable life as compared to before.
As long as I was thorough and honest, Aleksander would have no reason to keep his nose against my armpit. As long as I did just a little better than I was expected to, I would stay alive. And I would be useful, no matter how terrible it sounded, I wasn’t going to marry anyone. If whatever I found today impacted my future with him, that was a problem for the future.
Lyov was sitting in the computer chair when I turned around, and an involuntary bark of a scoff escaped me.
He walked the seat around the desk, his eyes watching mine, like he was a child daring me on a technicality.
For a fraction of a second, red seeped into my vision. My mouth dried as something dark and ugly clawed at my throat. Honestly, it’d been so long since I’d directly involved myself with this business that these feelings were almost alien. This need to assert myself, to prove I meant business…Prove I wouldn’t take anything less than I deserved. “You’re pathetic, Lyov Makovich.” The pathetic part would be that Lyov was older than me, but he acted like a 6 year old.