Chapter 199: secret

While alone with my silent grandpa, I slowly thought about it all.

I knew it that I was going to be soon heartbroken, but funnily enough, I was worried how Mira would feel when the contract ends, and Andrey Volkov and I walk in separate ways. I was truly loving her, and I genuinely enjoyed those days she came to visit me. It was nice to feel like I was part of the family of Andrey, but it also hurt to think of them like that.

They were not my family and I would never see them again after the next six weeks. Looking at my grandpa's face, I reminded myself that this was only my family and I would do what is needed to be done for him.

After my morning visit with papa, I went to see the doctor about my ankle. Originally, they thought it was worse than it was before. There was something to be said about my balance if I could save myself from a worse fate while falling down a flight of marble stairs.

Had it hurt?!

Yes, it did terribly, but I was alive and insanely lucky to be recovering so quickly. I wasn't sore anymore save for a slight twinge in my ankle as I walked. Nothing I couldn't push myself through. I'd had worse pains just from weeks of practice, and I didn't stop then.

My goal was always to be on the stage with the ballet. Undeterred by my feelings and turmoil surrounding Andrey, I had the comfort of knowing that the ballet will be there for me in the end. Ricky and the other dancers will be there for me.

As I thought about Ricky while walking out of the medical center, my phone vibrated in my black clutch on my arm. One item Andrey had bought to spoil me, and I tried not to think about it.

"Hey," I answered the phone, stopping on the sidewalk, and I watched cars zip past me. The scent of the city filled my nose and a light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. Beneath the familiar urban air, there was something else , that made me shiver without knowing why.

"Are we still meeting up for lunch?" Ricky chirped through the phone.

"You haven't let me see you since your fall, so you better not cancel on me!"

I didn't need the reminder. Since my contract with Andrey was a secret, I couldn't let anyone find me at his home. Perhaps we could have come up with some cover story or excuse, but after my fall, I simply didn't have the energy to pretend.

"I won't, Ricky. I'm out right now. I will meet you there in ten minutes."

Antonio pulled up in the black Cadillac just as I clicked off the phone.

Andrey’s driver, Antonio, popped out of the car and opened the back door for me before I got a greeting out. He always moved so fast; it mirrored his driving skills. Probably one of the reasons Andrey kept him around. Sometimes, I caught the faintest glint of something sharp in Antonio’s eyes too, a flicker of amber, but it was gone before I could ever be sure.

"How was your appointment, Elena?" His smiles were always genuine and warm. It forced you to smile back. "Going to the hospital and the doctor's office on the same day is a lot. I hope you're alright," Antonio added when I didn't reply. Lying to Antonio felt bad, but I didn't want him getting back to Andrey and telling him the reason why I went to the hospital.

Despite my feelings for Andrey, I would keep this to my heart, to protect myself. He simply didn't need to know.

"I'm alright, Antonio. Thanks for asking. They just wanted to do some scans to check up on my recovery progress. Nothing to worry about," I gnawed on my bottom lip as the car pulled up into the street.

"Good to hear." He looked at me through the rearview mirror, and for a fleeting moment, I could have sworn his pupils narrowed, like a cat’s catching light. "So, is it back to the house?"

"Um, I'm actually meeting a friend for lunch. Do you mind taking me?" Antonio had been driving me around for the past two weeks, any time I had an appointment to make, but I still felt strange having a personal driver after years of walking.

"Of course, Andrey would have my head if he found out I let you walk with your ankle still braced up. What's the location?"

"Yeah, we wouldn’t want that," I chuckled, then gave Antonio the name of the bistro I was meeting Ricky at. We fell into idle chatter as we rode through the bustling city. Watching the massive skyscrapers pass, the civilians of the city walking the sidewalks and going about their ways, I let my mind wander as I stared at them.

Every now and then, a chill would crawl across the back of my neck, like being watched. I glanced at the rearview mirror, but Antonio’s focus stayed forward. There were moments around Andrey’s people when the air felt… heavier. As if something unseen breathed with you.

As the black car pulled up to the curb in front of the restaurant, I saw Ricky standing there under the red and white striped awning over the bistro’s window. He was looking at his phone and didn’t notice when I got out of the Cadillac and approached him. I knew that Antonio was going to stay parked nearby to offer me a ride back to Andrey’s once I was done here.

Seeing that Ricky was engrossed with his phone and not his surroundings, it wasn’t hard to sneak up on him. Leaning in as close to his ear as I could without touching him, I whispered,

"Waiting for someone?"

"Ah!" Ricky squealed and jumped, nearly dropping his phone. If not for his quick reflexes, he might have dropped it. "Elena! How dare you?"

Seeing Ricky grasp at the front of his shirt, breathing hard after the scare, made me laugh for the first time in the entire day. Genuine laughter that came from the pit of my stomach and made me feel lighter as it left my lips.

"Oh! Ricky, it's good to see you." Ignoring the pretend glare, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a tight hug. He huffed out, but a second later he was embracing me.

"I have hated not seeing you, girl. Gosh, there's so much to talk about. Come on, let's get off the street," he wrapped his hand around me and tugged me through the bistro front door.

What was he going to tell me? I was kinda worried.

Outside, the Cadillac engine gave a low hum , too deep for a normal idle  and though I didn’t look back, the fine hairs at my nape lifted. Somewhere close, Andrey Volkov’s shadow lingered, and even without seeing him, I could almost feel the weight of his gaze.