Chapter 149
Vladimir:
I walked out of my mate’s room, leaving a small part of me there with her as I found myself wanting nothing more than to be by her side.
Her eyes, which met mine, told me that the feeling was mutual, and though I couldn’t do anything about it, not yet anyway. The fact that she was more than willing to accept me, despite not truly knowing or understanding it, was something that meant more than I could describe to her.
“You are out early,” Claire said, catching my attention as I walked into the room. I turned to the woman, knowing that Beatrice was on her break. Having sent the medicine needed to her family, new clothes, and the best doctors to tend to her siblings; I knew that she was more than a little thankful. The headmistress allowed her a day off when she found out about her ill sister, and I knew that seeing her in a better state was something that she was thankful for.
“And you are back under my nose,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked at the woman. The idea of her waiting for me here was something that surprised me, and though I could catch the scent of almost everyone within the house, I could hear them walking around and talking, I couldn’t help but notice that a lot was muffled within the walls of the Estate. Its structure and architecture must have been designed by mother; it was the only explanation that I could give.
“Not really, no.” She said, and I raised an eyebrow, waiting for what she was going to say. Her eyes studied my expression for a second, and I could tell that she hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I came to give you some news, though I am not sure how you are going to take it; something inside me tells me that you are going to want to hear of this.”
“What news?” I asked, shaking my head in question. Her eyes met mine, and I could hear her heart racing as if fear was coursing through her. Though I could tell, from her eyes, that she wasn’t scared of me. It was something, or more specifically, someone else that she was afraid of. But whatever it was, I didn’t know.
“I heard them over talking, Yigrette and Batrov.” She said, hesitating for a moment. Her eyes avoided mine as if debating on whether or not telling me was a good idea, but I knew that she understood that she wasn’t going to be able to take it back now. “They are planning on trying to find a way to get you out of the house. They are willing to do anything that they can to ensure doing so, and that is not something that you are going to like. But they claimed that you’ve been spilling oil on fire for long enough and now it was time for it to explode.”
“Why are you telling me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman. Despite the fact that I was thankful for her doing so, at least I knew to be a step ahead, I was curious about her reason. I knew for fact that she didn’t know me for long enough to be interested in telling me about something like this. And that was something that I was curious about.
“I know what it is to be dealing with the devil that calls himself Konstantin.” She said, wrapping a hand around her arm. “We saw him first hand what he used to do to Elena before he locked her up, and he has taken his anger out on us more than once. I do not intend to lose the one person who has been keeping him grounded and guarded, afraid and controlled.”
“He does not fear me, do not mistake…”
“He does,” she said, and I took a deep breath as I raised an eyebrow at her, trying to process her words. “He wouldn’t be doing what he is if he wasn’t afraid of you, or maybe of losing you. Whatever it is that you have against him, use it. Even if it is the bloodline deal, the man fears it more than he will ever admit, and that is something that we have all noticed.”
“He can give birth to his own heir…”
“He is a bastard,” she said, stopping me. “Though he will have my head if he hears me saying that, I know that I am safe to speak as I please to the one person that I know is doing the one thing that is far worse than me telling you about him.”
“And I am doing what?” I asked, teasing the woman. She smiled and shook her head at me.
“You are touching what is forbidden. And believe me, other men have died right after he offered her to him.” She said, making me frown. “Yes, he is that sick, Vladimir Ivanov. And he will stop at nothing to destroy the woman and everything that she holds dear if he can. If he finds out about the two of you, then he…”
“He will not, not unless I don’t want him to.” I said, stopping her.
“I do hope so,” she said, taking a step back. “I came to give you the warning.”
“How did you hear about it?” I asked, shaking my head in question. She smiled and winked.
“Has anyone ever told you that our walls have ears, so do our floors and ceilings?” She asked, turning to the door. “Be careful where you go, who you speak to, and what you say. There is always a high possibility that someone is listening,”
“And that, you are indeed right in.” The redheaded bitch said, smiling as Claire opened the door. She walked inside, looking confident as she did. And when her eyes met mine, I could tell that she believed that she got what she wanted. “These walls do have ears, and their ears have been extremely satisfied…”