The Don and His Russian Bride

XI

Trigger Warning. End of chapter contains themes of sexual assault.

"When do you think he'll be back?" I asked Carlotta. After washing all of the dishes from lunch, I demanded she take a break with me. We were sitting on the sofa in the living room together. My feet rested on top of the coffee table and a bowl of ice cream sat in my hands.

    "I don't know. He doesn't usually notify me when he will return from business trips. Did he tell you what time to expect him to be back?"

    "He said he would be gone for a few days. He should be back by now."

    Nearly a week had passed since Luciano left the mansion. His business had seemed urgent, and perhaps it was taking longer to settle because he ran into trouble. However, it occurred to me that if anything happened to him while he was away, I didn't even have a cellphone for him to contact me. The bastard wouldn't let me have any communication with the outside world and now I had no way of knowing if he was okay.

    Carlotta leaned forward with interest. Her elbows descended onto her knees as she placed her chin in her hands. "Does that concern you? I thought you enjoyed spending your time here without him."

    I huffed. For the past week I had been able to hang out with Carlotta for the majority of each day. One thing I learned in all our time together was that Carlotta hopes I will soon catch feelings for Luciano. Each comment she makes about our nonexistent relationship, I remind her why I could never fall in love with him.

    "I do. Just because I want to know when he will return, doesn't mean I'm excited about it."

    "Of course it doesn't."

    I rolled my eyes at her attempt to humor me. "I'm going back to my room now."

    "Have fun. You know where I'll be if you need anything."

    I thanked her as I walked out of the living room. While Carlotta and I were two very different people, I loved having her around to talk to every day. Her friendship was one of the few bright sides that came from this god awful marriage. Back home, the only person I considered a friend was Dmitri. But while I enjoyed our time together working out, eating, and watching movies, I could never have a heart to heart with him like I could with Carlotta. She understood the one thing that he would never— girl talk.

    Carlotta was a total gossip. She told me stories about her rebellious teenage years and how she came to be a cook for Luciano's father. And while I don't know many of the maids personally, I could name all the girls who were single and who weren't. I even learned more about Luciano through the small details she would share with me from time to time. For instance, the man is so OCD about his food that he will refuse to eat a meal if one type of food mixes with another on his plate.

    I meandered down the hallways with intentions to walk straight to my room. However, I paused when I reached the entrance of the dark hallway leading up to Luciano's office. My feet moved of their own accord towards the closed door. Since Luciano's departure from the mansion, this area of the house remained untouched.

    Standing in front of the office door, I reached out my hand to twist the handle. It began to turn before coming to an abrupt stop. Did Luciano lock it, suspecting I would try to go in without him here? He may have been right, but I would've liked him to have more faith in me. I considered picking the lock before realizing whatever confidential information he kept in there made no real difference to me. Besides, guards still swarmed the house— both to protect me from intruders and keep me in line.

    I couldn't get into his office, but he wouldn't have locked every other room.

    I surveyed each hallway as I moved. Each one came across just as empty as the next, as if the house belonged to ghosts. I continued on my previous path to my room. Except when I arrived, I turned towards the opposite door.