Maksimillian
“What? What did you say?” Zenovia’s jaw hung.
She was ready to leave that morning, and so was I.
After her and her father’s dramatic and touching scene last night, they miraculously made up. And I couldn’t be happier for her. After years of bitterness, anger and hatred she held and kept inside, they were finally a father and a daughter again. A family once more.
“Maks!” She slowly wriggled out of her father’s embrace, tears wetted her face.
I immediately sauntered towards her and dried her tears, while her father watched us, wiping his own tears.
“I… uh…” she began but couldn’t make out the words. She then swallowed hard, and I nodded.
“I understand.” I kissed her gently on the forehead. “It’s great. It’s great. I’m happy for you both.”
“Thanks for giving us some time to talk, Maksimillian. I owe you this for lifetime,” Daniel told me.
Zenovia’s mouth opened in surprise, looking at him and at me. “You deliberately went out so we could talk?”
I simply nodded.
“I asked him, so don’t get mad at him, Zenovia,” her father defended me.
Zenovia just stared at me, speechless. I could just guess that she was still trying to absorb all this and that she was now actually on good terms with her dad.
Well, that was a great achievement for me. Not that it’d go to my head because I did a good thing for Zenovia. But I just needed this. I just wanted her to be less… unhappy, because I knew how hard it must be for her, especially that she had a chronic condition.
Daniel left after bidding us good night. And of course, I couldn’t resist the pull of my desire, so I kissed Zenovia that left her breathless.
And so naked and moaning afterwards.
“You heard me, Zenovia. I’m coming with you to Iași. You’re still not pregnant, are you?” I pointed out.
She closed and open her mouth, looking at me with utter bewilderment. “But you have to go back to Russia!”
“I will, in due time,” my calm response.
“But—”
“Let’s just be together,” I persuaded. When she winced, I immediately added, “For now. For now, okay?”
She let out a big sigh.
I still had no idea why she didn’t want to give us a chance. But maybe I should just take it slow with her. One little step at a time.
***
Zenovia
I couldn’t believe we’d take his private jet to get to Iași faster. It was my first time to be in such a high-class air transportation, and it was my first time in Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport. Its terminal was made of concrete floor with metal braces, sturdy concrete pillars, metal beams and glass walls all around, so it looked really modern.
I had heard that the Irish singer and songwriter Ronan Keating was the first one to use the runway in 2019. Too bad I wasn’t there to see him. I was one of his fans since his Boyzone time up until now when he had his solo career.
“Can I get you a drink?” Maksimillian offered as he poured the expensive champagne in his glass, looking at me from across the big cozy seat he was in. It had cream-coloured upholstery, so it looked elegant and spotless.
I pulled my gaze from the oval window, as I was entranced by the cottony clouds down below. We were already cruising by noon, and it was faster than commercial planes.
“You know I have zero tolerance in alcohol, Maks,” I replied, eyeing the champagne.
“This is non-alcoholic, moye solntse. Besides, I have some other drinks to offer you other than this if you don’t want champagne,” his smooth rejoinder. He smiled at me and sipped at the amber liquid, eyes holding mine nonetheless.
I stared at him as his Adam’s apple moved up and down, continuing to imbibe his drink. I didn’t know what got into me, but I imagined his lips working on my femininity at the moment that I started to feel hot. I shifted in my seat, trying to not think about it.
“What does moye solntse mean, by the way?” I questioned slowly to distract myself. Otherwise, I’d jump on him, and maybe one of his bodyguards would walk in on us unexpectedly. It’d be a hell lot of embarrassment!
“My sunshine. That’s what you are to me, Zenovia.”
I furrowed my brows but smiled at him. “Why?”
“Why do you have to ask that? It’s just how you are to me, bringing sunshine to my gloomy skies!”
I laughed at his being cheesy. I could not almost believe he was a bit poetic. And yes, trite. It never occurred to me when I approached him in The Black Church.
“Surely you have a more logical reason for calling me that.”
“There’s nothing logical when it comes to you, Zenovia. You have to know that you’re the only woman I’d ever dated. Surely Aunt Marisha already spilled the beans, hadn’t she?”
I chortled softly and nodded. “Yes, when we had this girl bonding, if you want to call it that. Apparently, she did it to talk about you. I don’t know though if she was selling you or she wanted me to stay away from you.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Hmm.” He put the empty glass down. “I can just guess what else she said.”
“Well, she talked about your late parents and uncle. And I think she misses them.”
He slightly nodded and rubbed his lips with his fingers. “I do, too.” And he went on to tell me how much he learned from his late uncle, Rurik’s father. He also talked about his cousin, who was always supportive and affectionate to him.
“You are very lucky to have them, even though you don’t have your parents anymore. But are you sure your parents were killed? Maybe it was just plain accident, Maks.”
He looked at me straight in the eye. “It wasn’t, Zenovia. I’m telling you it wasn’t.” He said it almost with vehemence.
“You said it was a stormy winter’s day,” I reminded him.
He gritted his teeth. “There must be something that forced them to fly despite the weather. Or else, they wouldn’t have flown.”
I tried to analyse it. “What do you mean? Like they were blackmailed or something?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s what I want to know.”
I moved my head from left to right. “You can be mistaken, Maks. Maybe they just didn’t know there was a storm, and they were caught in it.”
“You never knew my father, Zenovia. He was the most cautious person I knew.”
Well, that was something. He could be right or maybe not. So far, nothing had turned up from the investigation, so Maksimillian could be wrong after all this time. And maybe what happened to his parents had no connection with those people who now wanted him dead.