Sasha: The Awakening (The Wallflower Series Book 2) (16 page)

In complete shock, Dmitri merely watched silently as his father gently took a seat by Natalia. They didn’t truly acknowledge one another for a bit, and so the room waited with baited breath for the first exchange. Sasha’s gaze, like the others, switched back and forth between father and son. To everyone’s disappointment however, before a conversation could begin, a housemaid came in and announced that dinner was ready and the table was set.

Sasha felt almost as if she were in a twilight zone as she watched everyone rise to their feet and in an orderly line, make their way to a room across the grand hallway. The large window that let in beautiful light from the now setting sun characterized the dining room that they entered. There was a chandelier that dangled from the ceiling, shining with gold and silver. And the china on the table made Sasha hyperaware once more of the Vikhrov wealth.

Everyone seemed to have pre-assigned seats with Nikolai at the head. Dmitri and Natalia took seats on his left and right side. Sasha naturally sat beside Dmitri with Nadia across from her and Dominic on Nadia’s right.

Sasha paid little attention to the meal she was served, instead her heart beat quickly in the silence. There was no longer a mere intimidation factor- it was simply uncomfortable. How could a family have so much and seem to be so lacking? There was none of the laughter and love she had dreamed of and had seen with her own two eyes as a ward of the state. There was nothing but the sounds of utensils clattering against the china plates as everyone paid more attention to the food in front of them than the people beside them. Until finally-

“So, I guess this is how you wished to reintroduce yourself to the family,” Nikolai stated to Dmitri, breaking the silence. It was the first words from his mouth since coming downstairs.

The fork travelling to Dmitri’s mouth paused in midair. There was a slight tick in his jaw, before he responded, “You mean by bringing my future wife?”

Sasha, overhearing their exchange, quietly reached over under the table and placed her hand upon Dmitri’s thigh. While the subject of marriage had come up before, there had been an underlying uncertainty within her that Dmitri may not be ready to commit to a deeper relationship. Now she knew. And her heart filled with warmth, a reoccurring habit since they had gotten back together.

Nikolai obviously was a bit upset by the news. “Future wife or not, given what’s happened to me, this dinner is supposed to be for family.”

Dmitri laughed humorlessly, “Yes, by all means continue talking about family. Because you have exemplified that so well. Forget how you banished me from this place, or how you ignored Nadia’s anorexia until it nearly killed her. Let’s go back to how you treated your family by having an affair with Natalia and kicking my mother out of her home.”

Their eyes locked, the same ferocity in them both evidence of their genetic link. All eyes were on them at the dining room table, their audience unable to eat with the rapidly growing tension in the air. They had all known with Dmitri’s return things would boil over, but had wrongly assumed it would come later in the night. But Dmitri was tired of waiting. It was finally time to address the elephant in the room when it came to his relationship with his father.

“Maybe you two should talk about this later,” Natalia softly suggested, trying to salvage the dinner.

“No,” Dmitri responded immediately. “I am done with the niceties and passive aggression. You want us to finally be a happy family, Natalia? Well you need to stop cowering away from the problems that have been slowly tearing your children away from you. It’s time to get your head out of your ass, you and my father.”

Nikolai’s fist slammed down onto the table at Dmitri’s tone. “You will not speak to her that way.”

“And you will acknowledge the woman that I love!” Dmitri combatted.

A silence fell upon them at his statement. The blatant hypocrisy was now obvious to them all and Nikolai seemed to be at a loss of words as to how to respond.

“You want me to finally accept your love for Natalia and how it tore apart the last vestige of my mother? Well, look at Sasha for once with the respect that she deserves. She has been more of a family to me than you have ever been; she opened my eyes to something other than hate. It is because of her that I even bothered to be here. And yet you can’t even look her in the eye? What is it, Father? Is our relationship not advantageous enough for you? How is it any different from you marrying, Natalia? You know, if they knew the truth, most of your friends, according to their line of thinking, would be appalled that you married white trash.”

Natalia gasped in horror, tears glistening in her eyes as she saw the night start to unravel. Seeing how distraught she was, Nikolai’s face went into a rage. He threw back his chair and threateningly took a step toward his oldest son.

“How dare you!” he growled.

Dmitri remained in his seat. “How dare I what? Pass off the same judgment you’ve bestowed upon Sasha? I’m only doing what you taught me. There are people in this world that are just worth more than others, right? Isn’t that what you’ve always told me?”

As Dmitri waited for his father to finally respond, he was taken aback by the smile that slowly spread upon the older man’s face.

“You think you can find happiness with her? Some black woman you met on the street?” Nikolai was either completely unaware of or had decided to ignore the glares he received from both Dominic and Nadia at his last statement.

But Sasha had had enough. “I assume you’re asking that question rhetorically. But let me give you an answer.” Her eyes met the man who only three years ago had instilled such fear into her very soul. How had she ever wished for his approval? “Yes, he can find happiness with me. Because I’ll never let him become you. For a man who says he is so concerned for his family, you are full of nothing but hate. You disregard people for circumstances completely out of their control. No, my family background doesn’t hold the prestige yours does.  But unlike you, I don’t measure the worth of life in dollars and cents. And I don’t need your fucking approval.”

Dmitri grinned at the shocked look that crossed his father’s face. He hadn’t expected a word to come from Sasha’s mouth because he was so used to relying on the intimidation of his presence. But they were no longer affected by it; they now saw the true weakness hidden within.

“Damn right she doesn’t,” they heard from across the table. It had been Dominic, who was no longer comfortable simply watching the turn of events. “The problem isn’t Dmitri and it isn’t Sasha, it’s you,” he said, referring to both his parents. “We’re tired of going along with this dream-world you two have composed and its time you stopped hearing it from just Dmitri. You’re so blinded by your wealth and class you know nothing of your children and yet you presume to understand what’s best for us. Sasha and Dmitri belong together. Anyone who spends just five minutes with them can see that! But you two are so jaded, you can’t. And I feel sorry for you. Because that isn’t love.”

Natalia was taken aback by the new voice in the argument. She had always presumed the discord that existed was simply between Dmitri and the rest of the family. And for a while, it had seemed that way because of the way he had distanced himself from his siblings. But now, she was finally getting a reality check. And with the concern for her husband’s well being, her desire to see peace between Dmitri and Nikolai, and now the new turn of events, she felt discombobulated. The problem was no longer as one-dimensional as she had assumed. But there was more:

“You want to know what led me to anorexia and why I had to stay away from you?” Nadia asked them. “You two made me unhappy. No amount of gifts and money could replace what we lacked in our relationship. And maybe I am a spoiled brat for wanting more, but what I wanted is something every child deserves. And as we sit here, pretending to be a ‘whole’ family, I can’t help but to roll my eyes at the sheer delusion you wish to continue instead of facing the reality. You ignored how sick I was getting and I allowed you to because I was caught up in the same delusions. But I’m not anymore. I’ve lived on my own and I’ve met people who haven’t gone to the best boarding school in the country and graduated from an Ivy League. And yet they’ve found something I’ve been searching for my whole life with no success despite all the resources at my disposal: peace and happiness. That’s what Dmitri found with Sasha. And Daddy…that’s what I thought you found with Mother. Where has that gone since? What has made you so cynical and negative?”

Natalia and Nikolai’s attentions were now directed at their other two children. The patriarch had nothing to say as they corroborated what Dmitri had been protesting for so long. But Natalia was not as emotionally immune. The guilt she had been holding since Nadia’s hospital scare came flooding back to the surface once more. There was nothing she could rightfully say to defend her actions because she knew what was spoken was the truth. Appearance had been overwhelmingly important to her because of her background. She had wanted to protect her children from the stigma of poverty that was so prevalent in their social circles. But it seemed she had taken it too far, to their detriment.

It had been the first time Dmitri had felt supported by his siblings but he wasn’t surprised. The closeness they had attained had meant more to him than he would have guessed; he no longer felt like an outcast in his family despite his relationship with Nikolai and Natalia. Their acceptance and love was enough.

He stood from his chair, holding onto Sasha’s hand as she followed his movements. “I forgive you for loving someone other than my mother. I cannot fault you for supposedly finding what I have found with Sasha. It is something you can’t turn your back from. I did at one point, and I became even more of a shell. But I will not allow you to treat her the way you have. You see, I’ve already chosen because there was no contest. And I’ll be happy to leave, just say the word.”

Nikolai’s mouth was tense. He exchanged a quick glance with Natalia who was in tears after being witness to her children’s true feelings.

“You would choose this woman over your own flesh and blood?”

Dmitri smirked and shook his head, “Why ask a question you already know the answer to?”

Nikolai’s eyes finally settled on Sasha. Instead of the usual disgust she had seen directed at her, there was confusion and…hurt? To her shock, she saw Nikolai’s shoulder slump as he returned to his seat at the dining table. His eyes wandered off to an unknown spot in the room as everyone waited for his response.

Finally, he said, “Then leave.”

And without a flutter of emotion, Dmitri squeezed Sasha’s hand within his own, gave a farewell smile to his siblings who sat aghast across the table, and began to walk out of the room.

“No! Stop! Wait, Dmitri!” Natalia yelled before they could fully exit. Seeing the couple pause, she took hold of her husband’s arm and shook it. “What is the matter with you? Didn’t you hear all of them? We’ve failed our children, Nikolai. We created a life together after facing countless obstacles but now you won’t even fight for it? How can you expect him to let go of the woman he loves when you won’t even let go of your own fucking pride for him?”

At his continued silence, she turned from him in disgust. “Don’t go,” she spoke to Dmitri and Sasha. “Please, sit back down. Let’s get it right. I’ve always thought of you as my son, Dmitri. My love for Nikolai extended to you and if we were to push you out again, I would never be able to forgive myself. You…and Sasha,” her gaze fell upon the younger woman warmly, “are as much a part of this family as any of us. Please, let’s make it right together.”

“Natalia…” Nikolai spoke in warning.

“No, Nikolai! How long are you willing to hold onto a grudge that tears apart our family? My background is no better than Sasha’s and still you loved me. Don’t you remember? I came from nothing but you never saw that. Our love once destroyed a family; don’t let our pride and hypocrisy do the same.” After her outburst, she took his silence as acceptance and swept her hands toward the emptied seats. “Please, sit back down.” At their hesitation, she continued, “You may not need us but…we wouldn’t be whole without you.”

Natalia looked toward Dominic and Nadia, seeing them smile in agreement.

“Come on, bro. Give us another shot,” Dominic encouraged.

Dmitri turned to Sasha; he gently cupped her cheek in one of his palms, his thumb caressing the softness of her skin. “Only if you want to.”

Innately, she leaned into his warmth. Her eyes grew sleepy at his continued caresses. “It’s always worth a try.”

And so, they returned to the table.

“Healing takes time but…I think we should start with what we skipped. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Sasha?” Natalia asked.

Nikolai said nothing as conversation began to flow around him. But for once, the dynamic of the family was no longer imposed by his presence. It was an independent entity that thrived without him, and that scared and humbled him.

Sasha smiled warmly into her pillow at the feel of Dmitri’s lips against her neck. He pecked lightly from the edge of her jaw until he was dangerously close to the swell of her breasts. She could already feel her body heating in arousal but before they could both give into the urge, Dmitri pulled back. Whispering seductively against her ear, he said,

“It’s time to wake up, baby.”

Instead of bothering to respond, she rolled over until she was pressed against the breadth of his chest. It was her favorite position being snuggled against him with no space between them. It was the place where she felt most safe and cared for. She knew he would merely smile in humor at her blatant disregard to his request. As always, his hand tangled within her hair, soothing her scalp and she felt the subtle vibrations of his laughter.

“I’m serious, Sasha. I have something to tell you.”

This piqued her interest. Reluctantly, she finally opened her eyes and looked up into the almost pitch black of his. Even after being together for so long, they still mesmerized her. “Fine. I’m up.”

His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. She accepted the kisses he dispersed across her cheek and bare shoulder. Once she felt the wetness of his tongue, her legs became deeply entangled within his own and for a minute they forgot exactly what they had been discussing merely seconds before.

“Mmm, Dmitri,” she moaned at his ministrations. His hands had left her waist and were now cupping her breasts. She took hold of his head, directing his lips to her own. As always, the moment of contact was almost earth shattering. Their exploration became frenzied, prompting Dmitri to roll her over onto her back.

But as Sasha’s hands reached down for the hardness pressing into her thigh, Dmitri shackled her arms above her head.

“While I would love to continue this, there is a reason why I woke you up.”

She moaned slightly in protest. “What?”

“Get dressed first. You have thirty minutes,” he said while rolling off of her. He watched in humorous silence as she crawled from their bed, a pout of disappointment written on her face.

“You’re the one who started it,” she yelled back as she entered the connected master bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror and vanity, Sasha pushed her hands through her hair and tied it at the nape of her neck. Glancing quickly at the surface of the counter, she smiled at how her various beauty products completely outnumbered Dmitri’s.

Sasha had moved in with the love of her life merely a few weeks ago. It had taken months of deliberation on her part to give into Dmitri’s request. For her, she was hesitant to let go of the last vestige of her single life-her apartment. But Dmitri had proven to be just as stubborn as she.  Paying off the rest of her lease and even passive aggressively packing her things into boxes and taking them to his place, Sasha had ended up confronting Dmitri, who unsurprisingly, was fiercely unapologetic.

“We belong together, Sasha,” he had stated adamantly as she glared at him. “I hate being apart from you; we basically already live together-why can’t we make it permanent? I’m tired of having the entire city between us because you’re afraid we’re going to fail. Don’t you get it? I’m never going to leave you. I am as much yours, as you are mine!”

Despite the harshness in the delivery, Sasha had been able to see in his eyes the love he was trying to convey. And, for argument’s sake, she had told him to let her choose on her own time and watched as he left her apartment in defeat. But that very night, she had gone through her things and packed the rest into boxes because she knew he was right. It was time to stop listening to that voice telling her to wait in anticipation for her life to fall apart once more. She had learned it wasn’t about simply loving someone else, but believing in the strength of that love. And Dmitri needed to know that she believed in them.

And so the very next morning she had knocked on his door and to his pleasant surprise, shoved a box in his arms.

“I do, however, resent the assumption that I would move in with
you
and not the other way around. I had a really nice apartment, you know.”

At her teasing tone, Dmitri set the box down next to the front door and pulled her into his arms. “Well, that’s debatable but I always saw us buying a house and doing the cheesy ‘white picket-fence’ thing.”

Emotionally overcome by how much she loved him, Sasha wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. Yes, it had been a dream of hers. But she had always been too afraid of even consciously considering it for fear it would never happen. Responding accordingly, Dmitri had pulled her further into his home, closing the door and leading her back to the bedroom. But, before, she was too aroused to even remember her own name, she told him succinctly,

“Don’t ever go over my head again, Dmitri. I trust you, but you have to trust me too.”

Knowing she was referring to her lease payments, Dmitri nodded in agreement. “Agreed. Now can I make love to you?”

Sasha found herself smiling in the bathroom as she remembered just how thoroughly he had done just that. But she was torn from the delightful memories by the incessant knocking at the door.

“Sasha! You have twenty minutes!”

Rolling her eyes, she continued brushing her teeth and reached for her make-up.

After arriving at the airport and being shoved onto his company jet, she was more confused than ever as to where he was taking her and why. And to her rising frustration, Dmitri remained staunchly silent on the matter.

“Dmitri, come on! Tell me something.”

Rolling his eyes at her artificially ‘sweet’ voice, he turned to her in his seat and stated simply, “April.”

Sasha’s eyes narrowed at that. “What?”

“It’s April.” Dmitri repeated. And as if the subject was now mute, he returned his attention to reading on his tablet.

In less than an hour, they were landing and Dmitri’s hand on her lower back hurried her down the steps onto the landing strip. Immediately, she recognized that they were in Newark, New Jersey once more. Looking at him questioningly, Sasha followed him from the airport and as if everything had been planned beforehand, a driver in a black suit and hat opened the door for them both before taking off in an unknown direction.

Immediately, Sasha’s thoughts turned from positively suspicious to purely negative. Beginning to panic she grabbed Dmitri’s hand and asked pleadingly, “Did something happen to him?”

Knowing she was referring to her grandfather, Dmitri soothed her by gently caressing her hand until her grip softened. “No, baby. Nothing is wrong with your grandfather. I would have told you if there were.”

Her breathing returned to normal as she leaned back into the leather seat in relief. “Oh, thank god. I was so worried there for a minute.”

Having kept in contact with the older man, Sasha had taken it upon herself to remove him from the evil clutches of her mother after finding out how Janelle had been using his disability payments to her own advantage. The verbal abuse and physical neglect had begun to take a toll on his health and even hundreds of miles away, Sasha had been able to hear the defeat in his voice every time they spoke. But she refused to see her last living relative be abused like she had by Janelle. Ad so, she had moved him into an assisted living apartment complex where he was able to interact with other people his age. And the transformation was almost immediate. Sasha knew that they had more years together and that was more than she could have hoped for. As for Janelle, she no longer cared what happened to her and the neglected home she had visited was now abandoned.

After a few minutes of silence, Dmitri found himself asking curiously,

“Have you figured it out yet?”

Sasha merely grunted. “I give up. Is this some sort of belated April fool’s joke or something?”

At her response, he looked at her disappointedly. And her curiosity was piqued once more. From his expression, she could tell that her assumption that he was merely teasing her was wrong. This was obviously pretty significant to him. And now she felt even worse for having forgotten the significance of April.

What could be so important? And as if things were beginning to click, Sasha knew the most important thing to him was her-them. So, how did April relate to that? Chewing unconsciously on her fingernails, she looked out the window and realized she recognized her surroundings.

Branch Brook Park!

It came flooding back to her immediately; he was taking her to see the Cherry Blossom Festival! Which meant it was officially their anniversary.

An embarrassing heat came to her cheeks as she felt even more ashamed at her ignorance. How could she have forgotten something like that? When the car finally stopped at the park, she reached out for his hand once more and squeezed it again to gain his attention.

“It’s our anniversary,” she stated simply.

Instead of immediately responding, Dmitri reached over and gave her a peck on the cheek as he exited the car. Sasha followed, nodding in thanks at the driver who held the door open for her. Dmitri came around the vehicle and placed one arm around her shoulders as they walked further into the park. Knowing he was taking her to the bridge, she relaxed and took in the moment.

Still a bit ashamed she had forgotten, when they were standing at the top of the bridge as before, she grabbed both of his hands and looked into his eyes to show her sincerity.

“I’m sorry I forgot. It’s just…I’ve been so busy with work and everything- it didn’t click that-”

“Baby,” Dmitri interrupted. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I knew you had forgotten. I brought us here so you could remember. So you can realize we’ve been together for a full year despite everything that was tearing us apart. We made it. I didn’t bring you here for you to feel guilty; I wanted us to enjoy being together.”

Sasha smiled and impatiently wiped at the tears that had developed in her eyes.  Dmitri brought his hands up and cupped her cheeks in his palm. With his thumb, wiping the wetness gently away, she said through a watery smile, “I love you, Dmitri. And this has been the best year of my entire life. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Her smile slipped away. Looking around suspiciously, she realized the park was completely empty. And there had been several cars in the parking lot. “That’s weird,” she said to herself. “Where is everyone? Isn’t the festival supposed to be going on?”

“This section of the park is ours for the day.”

Sasha’s eyes widened at that. “W-what? How much did that cost? Dmitri! You don’t have to be so extravagant all the time. We’re going to have tons of anniversaries in the future. You know, I don’t need any of this- as long as I’m with you, I’m happy.”

Dmitri interrupted her speech with a fierce kiss. And just as quickly as her protests had begun, they stopped as she kissed him back just as passionately. His arms fell from her face and landed on her shoulders as he gently pulled her away. Reluctant to stop, she opened her eyes to protest. But instead, she fell silent as she watched Dmitri lower himself to the ground. Despite knowing what was about to come, her mind refused to believe it. She felt her mouth grow dry and her stomach quiver.

“I once told you that this park represents my undying love for you. It was here you finally ended my suffering. Merely one year ago, I felt like a man who had lost his sense of purpose and worth. All I knew was that I had destroyed what meant so much to me, and it killed me knowing I could never fix how much I hurt you.

“But when I brought you here, the moment I saw you smile was the moment I felt alive again. I knew I couldn’t live without you anymore because you were the first person ever to show me what type of person I
could
be. And I wanted to become that person more than anything else because I wanted to deserve your love again. Baby…” Dmitri reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have that silly perfect little family and come home to you every day for the rest of my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible and…” he chuckled slightly. “Will you marry me, Sasha? And make me the happiest man in the world?” As he asked, he opened the box.

And Sasha almost laughed. He knew her so well. Despite his penchant for extravagance, the ring while obviously expensive was simplistic in its beauty. Hating ostentation, she immediately loved it. And unable to speak beyond the gleeful sobs welling up, she threw herself into his arms, nearly toppling them both down onto the ground. Thankfully, Dmitri was able to get a good grasp on her waist and settle her onto his elevated thigh.

However, Sasha refused to let him go. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders as she sobbed into him,

“Yes…yes.”

Dmitri, unable to resist the wide-set grin that broke out at hearing her response, picked her up bridal style and settled her onto the wall of the bridge. For a moment, they simply looked into each other’s eyes. Still sniffling, Sasha ignored the tears that were now falling freely. Instead, she took in the moment that would mark the rest of their lives together. Reaching out, she caressed his cheek, feeling the light stubble from the shadow that perfectly accentuated his sharp bone structure.