Episode 59

Gavril

I could see the anger in my wife’s eyes, but more so the confusion about what I had brought her into. I was going to have to explain my actions this morning. When I woke beside her, knowing what I had to do today, I had contemplated bringing her along.

She wanted to know who I was, to learn more about me. And this—Alyona and Kira—were part of who I was.

I didn’t know why it mattered so much to me. Those tender feelings that I thought would die after last night continued to rage on in my body, in the soul she had awoken. And now, I was sharing one of my secrets with her.

Only Ivan knew of my visits to the family, and that was because he drove me to their house once a month.

Otherwise, no one else knew, not even Anatoly. Yet here I was, sharing this deep secret with Naomi.

I still wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t regret it. “They are the daughters of one of my most loyal men,” I started out, masking my emotions. “He died saving my life.”

There were very few men that I tr