Unrequited Love

Chapter 24 - Luciana

One week had passed, but there had been no sign from Mikhail. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. I had spent that time either reading or going for a run with Sofia on the property. I totally hadn't been thinking about my blue eyed devil. Nope. Not at all. In fact, I had been happier than ever to have some distance away from him. The bond between Sofia and I had grown stronger the more time we spent with each other. We had talked about everything and anything and I had even confessed to her about my past in bits and parts. It felt good, to finally open up to someone, knowing that I could trust them and they wouldn't backstab me.

Dimitri hadn't been seen since the day he had given me that verbal lashing. Sergei on the other hand, had bumped into me several times as I made my way back to my room, late at night. His eyes had glazed over as he muttered something unintelligible in Russian.

Apart from that, nothing really eventful had happened. Except when I finally plucked up the courage to ask Sofia the meaning of malyshka - which happened to be baby. As curiosity overtook me, I also asked her about the particular phrase that Mikhail had said to me in my room, something along the lines of tak prekrasno. She had bit back a cheeky smile at that, making me even more curious to find out what that phrase actually meant.

Honestly, this little situation that I had found myself in started to feel more like home than home itself. Maybe it was because of the people. Or maybe it was just a particular man that had begun to feel like home. I couldn't really tell you for sure. The part of me that never wanted to go back home was getting stronger and stronger by the day as I found myself laughing more, talking to the timid house help more as they would relate stories of the children when they were younger in their broken English.

"Luciana!" I heard Sofia's voice call out to me. "Something came up, so Alexei and I will have to go right now. Call me if you need anything, yeah?"

I nodded my head as I watched her rush out towards the garage with Alexei in tow. Guess I was on my own now. I spent time exploring the mansion, which took me quite a while mind you, since it was such a huge house. I don't think I'd ever get tired of seeing the grandeur and luxury that the Petrov mansion was. My heart started thudding as I ventured onto the top floor, the one above the library. The one that Sofia had specifically told me not to go to when she had shown me around the house. But did I ever listen? Nope.

The fear and exhilaration of possibly being caught made my blood rush faster in my veins as I stood in a dark corridor. There was a line of rooms on both the sides but a particular door stood out to me. It was painted pink and was chipped around the edges, indicating the fact that it had been used and probably slammed one too many times. Careful not to make any noise on the squeaky wooden floor, I tiptoed across as I stood in front of the room. I tried the handle, only to find out that it was locked. Not one to give up so easily, I took the bobby pin out of my hair as I inserted it in. After a few minutes of struggling and constantly looking over my shoulder for anyone, the lock finally gave way and opened with a low creak.

I coughed as I inhaled some dust upon entering the room. It was quite clear that it hadn't been used in a long time. Shutting the door behind me softly, I walked slowly, expecting someone to pop out and catch me red handed. There was probably a reason why Mikhail didn't want me to come here, according to Sofia - but so far, it just seemed like a plain old room to me. There was a purple four poster bed that looked too worn out to be new. All the pieces of furniture were wooden and intricately carved, giving a vintage feel to the room. Just as I was contemplating going back out, a glint in the direction of the dusty window caught my eye. There was a small box on the edge of the bedside table that had caught my eye. On closer inspection, I concluded that it was an old, wooden ballerina music box. From what I could guess, this was probably a young girl's room. Could it be the red head's, whose photos I'd seen around the house?

I picked up the box delicately, too scared to break. Flipping it over, I saw that there was something peeking out from the bottom of the box. Using my nails, I pried open the bottom, essentially dismantling the entire box. A small piece of yellowed paper fell out and landed on the floor. Bending, I picked it up and unfolded it. Words were scrawled messily across the worn page as I sat down on the bed, trying to decipher what was written. My eyes scanned over the page and stopped on the words under the floorboard. Hastily putting the paper inside the box and on the table, I got up to my feet, tapping the floor underneath. I'm pretty sure that there was something hidden in this very room.

I sighed as I kept an eye out for any loose floorboards, checking and rechecking if I had missed any spot. Sighing heavily, I sat down with a thump on the floor, too frustrated to acknowledge that I was at a dead end. I knew that if I found whatever this girl had hidden, it would inevitably raise a million and one questions - not to mention the dark secrets of this family.

Just as I sat down, I heard a loud noise coming from under me. My ears perked up as I hastily moved to the side. Satisfaction at finding the loose plank bloomed in me. Without wasting another second, my hands were making work of removing the wooden plank from its place. After a lot of effort and softly muttered spanish curses, the wood gave way as I lifted it. To my surprise, a thick envelope lay under it, sealed and unopened. Well, it seemed like no one had even bothered to look here and had simply locked up the room without another thought. My curiosity peaked as I grabbed the white envelope, eager to see its contents.

My hand paused midway in the air as Mikhail's face came into my mind. Hesitation and uneasiness consumed me at the thought of him finding out what I was doing. Even though we may not have any label right now, I wanted him to trust me. I didn't want to hurt him in any way. So why did it seem like I would be doing the exact opposite of that if I opened this envelope. Guilt pricked at my conscience as I tore open the seal slowly, ready to read its contents.

Just as I was about to open the first letter, I heard a dull thud of footsteps outside in the corridor. My hands grew clammy as my heart thundered violently in my chest. Without thinking, I stuffed the envelope into the waistband of my jeans. Panicking, I put the wooden floorboard back in place and glanced around to make sure that everything was in place. My hands shook as I tried to calm myself. Right as I was about to get up, I heard the door slam open.

"What are you doing here?"

***

Welp. All I can say is that shit's gonna get intense - this is just the tip of the iceberg so brace yourselves for more🥲

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