I lean against the counter, glancing around to make sure Mary isn’t close by. “I’m trying to be ok. Are you? We left on bad terms.”
“I’m trying to do what I can to protect Mila. I won’t let Boris marry her. Maybe …”
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe you can invite Mila and me there. To Russia. That way, we can get away from Boris.”
“I can ask, but Vik … Russia isn’t a safe place. We don’t know anybody here. None of us know Russian. And I’m not sure I exactly trust Mikhail. I don’t know how I feel about him, to be honest.”
“I don’t care how you feel, Sofiya. I just need to get us to safety. We can’t let our baby sister marry that monster.”
“Ok. I’ll ask. I’ll try to get you guys here.”
“Thank y—”
I don’t get to hear her words because the phone is ripped out of my hands. I spin around. Mary.
She turns the phone off and places it back on the counter. “I thought I said you couldn’t use the phone.”
“I needed to talk to my sisters.”
She glares at me as she reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a ruler. “Hold you your arm.”
I draw my arm closer to me. “What?”
“Your arm.”
I don’t move.
Mary makes a disapproving sound in the back of her throat as she grabs my arm and uses the ruler to hit me. A hot, intense pain ripples up my arm. She leaves behind a red welt on my skin.
And then she does it again.
“Stop!” I scream, trying to pull away from her, but Mary is stronger than she looks. She keeps swatting my arm with the ruler. “Stop!”
“What’s going on in here?” Mikhail’s thunderous voice fills the room.
Mary backs up and thankfully stops hitting me. “She used the phone without permission. I was punishing her.”
“Is this true, Sofiya?” I hate how he sets his eyes on me. I can never think straight when he does that.
“Mary told me I couldn’t, but I needed to talk to my sisters. You have to understand.”
“I do. And if you had come to me, I would have told you that you could gladly use the phone. But you didn’t, and now, you’ve disobeyed Mary’s orders.”
“I thought I was just supposed to follow your orders?”
Mikhail’s eyes soften as he walks toward me, placing his hands on my arms. “I’ll give you a free pass just this once. You’re still learning. You either have to listen to me or Mary. She helps keep this house thriving. If you have a problem with what Mary does, then come to me. Don’t go behind either of our backs. Understood?”
I want to object, but I know it’s pointless. And I really don’t want to be whacked with a ruler again.
“Understood.” I hold my arm out. It’s covered in red welts. “It hurts.”
“Let me take care of that for you.” He turns to Mary. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
“Yes, Mr. Ivanov.” Even though Mary’s words say she agrees, her expression says otherwise.
Mikhail walks with me upstairs and into the bathroom, where he grabs a salve and rubs it onto my arm. “This will help with the pain.”
“Thank you. Mikhail, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Mmm?” He keeps his gaze on my arm as he continues to rub the salve into my skin.
“Boris is trying to marry Mila.”
Mikhail doesn’t react.
“That’s a problem,” I say.
“Is it?”
I huff. “Yes. Mila is the kindest out of us. She doesn’t deserve to marry a man like Boris.”
“Then maybe I should have married her.”
I flinch. “What?”
He glances up with a small smile on his lips, and it’s only then I realize he’s joking. “I can see your sisters mean a lot to you.”
