"Adrianna." He paused, looking so deep into my eyes that I was afraid of what would come out of his mouth next. "She has not slept in my bed in over a month." My lips parted in absolute shock. Yeah, I definitely hadn’t been expecting that admission. "She uses the guest room with the yellow blanket."
Christ on a fucking stick. That was the last thing I had expected, and honestly, I'd rather not know. But now I was curious. I wanted so badly to ask what happened, and the look in his eyes told me he wanted me to because it would be an opening for him to explain his actions. But I couldn't. Not yet at least. Not when I felt so fragile. His words were draining and they sucked so much energy from me half the time. I wasn't sure I had the power to stay strong and not break down right now. His truth and confessions needed to wait until I was ready.
Instead, all I could do was nod and take the keys.
"Make yourself comfortable. Eat whatever you want, but make sure you call your doctor first before you do anything."
"When will Katja be back?"
"Not until the end of the week. You have nothing to worry about. Just get some rest."
"Okay. Thank you for doing this. I really didn't want to be alone anymore."
Kova stepped back and I slid off his desk. I adjusted my shorts, then looked for my duffle bag. I smiled inside. I couldn't believe I was actually looking forward to getting rest.
"I should be home soon," he said. "I will bring you dinner."
I didn't plan to stay for dinner, just long enough to fill the loneliness in my chest. He was my lifeline, and it was frightening how much I needed him.
"Is there an alarm on your home?"
"No. Adrianna, promise me you will call your doctor as soon as you get to my house."
Nodding, I picked up my duffle bag. "I will."
He called my name when I got to the door of his office, and I glanced over my shoulder. "You know how I know you are not well?" I frowned. "There is no fight in you. Your fire is missing. Go home. I will see you soon."
It didn't escape me that he had said the word home, as if his home was one we shared.
* * *
Maybe Kova was right. Maybe there was something wrong with me, I thought as I unlocked his front door and stepped over the threshold.
I was alone. In Kova's home. The one he shared with his wife.
I set the keys on the table in his foyer so I wouldn't lose them and walked down one of the halls, looking for the room with the yellow blanket. I wanted to see if he had been lying to me.
My heartbeat increased with each step I took that brought me farther into his personal space. The first door on the right was closed, so I opened it, and saw that it was a bathroom with a massive claw foot bathtub and lots of blurry and pixelated windows. The walls were pure white, as was the furniture. So sterile looking and not an ounce of color. Like a mental hospital.
I closed the door and walked to the next room. It was a spare bedroom, but not the one I was looking for. The last door in the hallway was on the left. Walking to it, I realized it was already cracked open.
My heart dropped at the sight of yellow. This was the room. I pushed it open slowly. Even though I knew Katja wasn't there, I was still nervous I'd get caught snooping.
I stepped inside and was immediately hit with a familiar scent that I recalled Kova saying was Katja’s special body wash that she ordered from Russia. I needed to find the bottle. Not because I wanted to smell like her—that would be creepy—but I just really liked it and was curious what the hell was in it.
I glanced around. Everything was tidy and neat, but with no ounce of life. The curtains were drawn and there was a chill in the room. I'd been in other parts of Kova's home before, but they didn't feel like this. Like a bland and frigid museum. The bed was made with a hideous, buttercup yellow, overstuffed comforter, and too many pillows. The nightstands were empty except for a single white lamp on each one. There were even fresh vacuum marks on the white rug. God. What was with all the white? It didn't look like anyone lived in this room. My stomach knotted, and I was quick to call Kova a liar until I looked at the dresser and saw two picture frames that were turned face down. I frowned and walked over and picked them up. With everything so meticulous, I knew that wasn't an accident.
Turning one over, I saw that inside the frame was a photo of Kova and Katja. They were smiling and appeared to be so in love. Kova stood behind Katja with his arms wrapped around her shoulders while he kissed the side of her head through a grin. I felt bad as I stared at the image of the seemingly happy—and now married—couple and wondered what had happened between them.
Swallowing, I placed the frame back how I found it, face down, and picked up the other one. It was another image of Kova and Katja. They were walking hand in hand on a beach where the sand was a pale pink and the water a crystal-clear blue. There weren’t many places in the world with pink sand, so this told me they had been on vacation somewhere, probably the Bahamas. Both of them trim and in shape, looking like the ideal couple everyone wanted to be. I glowered at Katja's flawless body and the bikini she wore that only a Victoria’s Secret model could pull off. I wasn't a jealous person, but it annoyed me how perfect she was from head to toe. Perfectly sized boobs I didn't have, wide hips I didn't have that gave way to a sexy thigh gap, and long, lean legs. Of course Kova was looking at her, smirking with black sunglasses, a black backwards hat, and black board shorts that sat extremely low on his trim waist. Kova was too attractive for his own good, and he looked like he wanted to devour every inch of her body.
Scowling, I flipped the frame back down a little too hard and heard the glass splinter. I froze, sucked in a breath, and panicked. I carefully lifted the frame and looked at the glass, and saw I had cracked it in a few places. Fuck! I placed it back down and prayed no one found it, or that Katja would blame Kova for it.
Before I left, I pulled open the drawers and snooped. If Katja was staying in here, then there had to be something of hers…and there was.
Relief coursed through me and the pressure in my chest eased. I let out a long sigh. Each of the six drawers had woman's clothes in them. Lastly, I checked the closet and found tons of designer garments and shoes and purses. Making sure I left everything how I had found it, I left Katja's room and left the door cracked, just as it had been before I entered.
My phone pinged and I jumped at the sound. God, I felt so guilty for sneaking around. Glancing down, I saw a text from Kova.