The townhouse is absolutely gorgeous. It’s in a prime spot in a gated neighborhood. The guard out front is a nice older man who waves me through. “I met your parents. Great people!”
There’s a rosebush out front, and the doorbell works. I don’t remember the last time my parents had a working anything, much less an actual doorbell.
Mom answers and looks surprised to see me. She’s got a red headwrap on and her usual loose outfit, and she only hesitates a second before grabbing me in a big, tight hug.
“You gained weight,” I say into her shoulder.
She slaps my back lightly. “It’s this housekeeper your husband hired. She cooks Russian food. Did you know that?”
“I have a feeling he did that on purpose.”
“Your father’s getting fat and lazy too. I have him walking laps around the neighborhood.”
“Mom, come on, give him a break.”
“Break? Him? That lazy bastard doesn’t need a break. He needs a job!” Mom steers me into the house.
“I’m retired!” Dad calls from the other room. “Don’t let her tell you any different!”
The townhouse is tastefully furnished. Some of the stuff I recognize from our old apartment, like the paintings and the family photographs, but most of the stuff is brand new. The kitchen is spacious and has gourmet appliances, and the living room’s got a huge flatscreen TV. Dad’s lounging on the couch, looking like he’s half asleep, even though it’s only two in the afternoon.
Mom bustles around, straightening things, basically acting like she can’t sit still. It’s actually nice to see—when she’s at her sickest, she can’t do very much, and it drives her inside. She’s the kind of person that needs to be busy all the time.
“So, tell me, how are things with Arsen?” Mom asks. She makes tea, and we sit at the table together while Dad snores on the couch. I don’t know where Vadim is, but I figure he’s either hiding in his room or working.
“It’s good, actually. He’s on his way over, but he got caught up in work.”
“I didn’t know he was letting you visit.”
“There are like ten armed guards outside right now.”
Her eyebrows raise. “No kidding? You’re not in that much danger, are you?”
“No, it’s not like that, don’t worry.”
She fusses over me and asks a bunch of questions. It feels good sitting with her in her kitchen. It took a lot of arguing and convincing and at least one more session of extremely sweaty sex before I wore Arsen down enough to let me visit here.
But it’s good. It’s so much better than I thought. Mom seems healthier than I’ve seen her in a while, and Dad’s actually relaxing for once in his life. They’re not stressed-out messes. The contrast between the way things were and how they are now is like night and day and only makes me realize how terrible our life was.
Until Arsen came along to change it.
“Well, aside from worrying about your brother, life is good,” Mom admits. “Arsen found me new doctors, and they’re trying different treatments, and those seem to be working. We don’t worry about money anymore, which is a nice change. I’ll be honest with you, when you first married him, I thought you were making a terrible mistake. But now? Seeing how happy you are? I don’t know, maybe it’s not so bad.”
I blink away tears because I know she’d only wave them away and tell me to be strong, but hearing her say all that swells my heart with pride.
Arsen shows up a little while later. Mom flutters around him, asking if he needs anything, and even Dad manages to wake up from his nap long enough to shake Arsen’s hand. We end up back at the table, Dad snoring away, and Mom pouring more tea. Arsen seems entirely out of place in this normal townhouse, but he sits beside me and compliments my mother’s decor.
“If there’s ever anything you need, tell me,” Arsen says.
“You’ve done enough. You’ve done too much! I’m fine, we’re all fine. I just want to see my little girl more often.”
Arsen takes my hand in his. “Soon she’ll be able to come as much as she likes.”
“Good, that’s very good. I’m so happy right now, I can’t describe it to you.”
The conversation goes surprisingly well. Arsen’s polite and kind with my mother. She’s a little pushy and asks some inappropriate things, but Arsen handles it with tact. He even makes her laugh a few times, which is no small thing. After a half hour is over, we’re ready to get going when there’s a sound from the stairs.
Vadim appears. He looks disheveled. His eyes are red-rimmed, and his clothes are all rumpled. “Well, look at fucking this,” he sneers, coming into the kitchen. “My little sister’s home.”
“Hi, Vadim,” I say, frowning at him. “You look like shit.”
He flinches and grabs a soda from the refrigerator. “And you look like a rich guy’s toy. Because that’s what you are, right?”
I stare at him in shock. Arsen’s grip on my hand tightens. “That was disrespectful,” my husband says. His tone is low and menacing.
“I apologize for my dumbass son.” Mom gets up and lightly smacks Vadim. He glares at her, and I can tell he wants to push her away, but even he wouldn’t dare. “Sometimes he’s not so smart.”
“What, it’s stupid to call this what it is? This weird little farce?” Vadim stalks to the other side of the kitchen. “Lena got knocked up by rich dick, and suddenly we’re going to pretend like that’s normal?”
“Vadim,” Mom hisses. “Arsen’s helping us.”
“He’s throwing money at us. I don’t call that helping, more like bribing. And I see it’s working on you.”
“That’s enough.” Mom snatches the drink from his hand and slams it down on the counter. “Go back to your cave.”
“I don’t know why you’re being so rude right now,” I say, getting to my feet. “My relationship with Arsen isn’t your problem. He’s done nothing but help our family.”
“Your husband’s a fucking criminal. You know that, right? Yeah, I know who you are, Arsen Sarkissian. Patron of the Brotherhood.”
Everyone stares at Vadim in shock. It’s one thing to flirt with that idea, but it’s another to say it out loud.
Arsen slowly gets to his feet. I tremble, and a jolt of terror runs through me. He moves forward toward my brother, and the sneer on Vadim’s face slowly fades.
“I’m not going to kill you out of respect for your mother and my wife,” Arsen says, staring at Vadim with that cold ruthlessness. “But if you ever speak to me or to anyone in my family like that again, I will break your neck. Do you understand me?”
“I don’t—I mean, I’m not—” Vadim’s trembling. Fear’s making him freeze up like a scared animal.
Arsen leans closer. “You will be kind to Lena, or you will no longer receive my generosity. Do you understand?”
“Fine. Fuck this.” Vadim turns and leaves the kitchen. He hurries back upstairs, and his bedroom door slams.
I go to Arsen and put my hand on his arm. He gives me a worried look and leans down. “Are you okay?” he whispers.
“I’m fine. Thank you for not hurting him.”
He nods once. “If he weren’t your brother, he’d be dead right now.”
“I know that.” I kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
“And I apologize for that,” Mom says, sounding mortified. “Vadim’s been struggling lately. That boy has no purpose. Ever since you started giving us money, apparently most of his old friends are afraid of him and won’t spend time with him anymore.”
Arsen’s eyes narrow. “They know who I am?”
“That’s what he says.” Mom’s hands rub together nervously. “Vadim’s involved with some… unsavory people. Arsen, is there any way you can give him work? Something respectable? Just to help him feel like a man again with a reason to get up in the morning?”
“It’d mean a lot,” I say, leaning into my husband.
I can tell Arsen doesn’t like it, but he agrees. “Legitimate work,” he emphasizes, and my mother gives him a great, big hug, or at least as big as her little frame can manage.
We leave together after that. Out on the sidewalk, Arsen pulls me into his arms and kisses me. I smile to myself and breathe in his smell. It’s better than anything I’ve ever tasted in my life.
“I’ve been thinking about our house,” he says quietly. “I think I’m going to make some changes.”
“Yeah? Really?”
“That wing. I think cleaning it won’t be enough.”
My eyebrows raise. “You mean we’re really going to burn it down?”
He gives me a look and shakes his head. “No, baby, but we will rip it to the studs. Then I think you can make it into anything you want.”
I pull back in surprise. “Really? You’re giving me control over this?”
“It’s your home too. I think you should have some say in how it looks.”
“What if I want to turn it into one giant rock wall climbing gym?”
His jaw works. “Then I will invest in safety gear.”
“You’re too much.” I kiss him, beaming with excitement. “This is a really good day.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.” He squeezes my ass and turns away. “Now, go back home with the guards. I have more business to deal with.”
“Nothing dangerous?”
“Everything I do is dangerous these days, but nothing particularly bad.”
I open my mouth to say goodbye and the words nearly spill out. I love you, see you later. But I stop myself before I can say it.
My body freezes. He doesn’t notice as he strides off. I’m left alone for a moment, in total shock.
I just almost told him that I love him.
Casually, too, like it’s no big deal.
Like it’s just the truth.
But that’s too much, right? I mean, our relationship is pretty good, but we’re not there yet. We can’t possibly be there. I’m still processing the whole murder shrine and the fact that our housekeeper is an Armenian poisoner.
There’s no way I’ve had time to fall in actual love with him.
And yet it doesn’t feel wrong. Thinking those words only makes my body glow with happiness. Arsen swept into my life and he gave me so much already. My mother’s happy and healthy and my father gets to enjoy retirement. Vadim’s having trouble adjusting, but he’ll get there eventually.
Would it really be so wrong if I fell in love with my husband?
