Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Since this is the first time I’ve sat across from a child since Aleena was little, I’m stunned by the swiftness of the change in our conversation. I forgot anyone under the age of ten can go from heartbreak to euphoria in half a second.
“Once I am better, I’m going to learn to fly a helicopter like my dad. Then I won’t have to use my legs anymore. I can fly everywhere. I might even go see my mommy. Do you want to come with me?”
“Um. Sure. Do you think your mom will be okay with that?”
“I think so. She doesn’t get to do it very often, but she loves meeting new people.” I smile when he murmurs, “She looks a lot like you.” The fact Andrik picked Aleena from a selection of many pre-approved brides verifies he has a type, so I’m not surprised by Zakhar’s confession.
I can’t say the same when he continues. “Except she has lines here.” He drags his tiny finger over the corner of my eye before moving them to my forehead. “And here.” I laugh when he chokes out with a laugh, “And she has tinsel in her hair even when it’s not Christmas.” He chuckles so loud the monitors at the side of his bed sound an alarm. “She thinks they make her not pretty, but that isn’t true. She is very pretty. She is as beautiful as you.”
“Thank you, Zak,” I murmur when his cheeks inflame at the end of his underhanded compliment. “You’re very handsome as well. I bet your mommy tells you that all the time too.”
“She does,” he agrees, nodding softly. “But it doesn’t count when it comes from her. Mommies are biased.” He struggles over his last word.
“Sometimes they are,” I say, deepening the groove between his brows. “But your mom isn’t. You’re the most handsomest little boy I’ve ever seen.”
As the heat across his cheeks grows, he asks, “Does that mean you want to be my girlfriend?”
My heart thuds in my ears as I strive to think of a reply. “Ah…”
“I won’t be mad if you want to be my girlfriend, but I might have to check with Daddy first. He likes you more than he likes Anoushka.” Before I can correct him, he continues. “He’s just confused because everyone keeps saying bad things about you.” He folds his arms over his chest and sinks back. “I guess you were right. Not all mommies are biased. Yours isn’t very nice. She says bad things about you all the time, and she makes my mommy cry.”
I spread my hand over my chest. “My mom made your mom cry?”
Little tears nearly topple from his eyes when he nods. “She told her that she’s not a real mom. That she’s an incuemabator.”
I don’t need to correct him on his last word. The devastation in his eyes tells the story he’s desperate to share without the need for translation.
My first thought is to seek immediate answers to my mother’s involvement in his conception, but there’s something far more important demanding my focus right now.
“How many times has your mom told you she loves you, Zak?”
His face lights up. “At least a trillion times.”
“A trillion?” My mouth gapes and I adopt a shocked face. “I thought maybe a million, but a trillion? No way! That’s crazy.”
The pain in his eyes shifts to adoration. “That’s how much she loves me. She tells me all the time.”
“She must be the best mommy.”
“She is,” he agrees. “She is the best mommy in the entire world.”
“Because she is your mommy, Zak. That’s what makes her the best mommy.”
His smile makes my heart feel whole for the first time in years, and it will free me to exit his room minus the guilt that saw me entering it. I just need a little more time to relish his gooey goodness before instigating a battle hotter than hell.
“He is the sweetest.”
Anoushka smiles fondly at Zakhar while tracing my steps to the door. I was only meant to visit for thirty minutes. I spent the entire day with him. “He is. And he has certainly taken an instant liking to you. You have a fan for life.”
My chest sinks. “I doubt he’ll feel the same when he learns how badly I stuffed things up for him yesterday.”
Anoushka hands Zak’s care over to a pediatrician before guiding me into the hallway. “There is still time to fix that, Zoya.”
“How?” I ask, lost. “I married a man I’m meant to hate but don’t because I thought it was the right thing to do. It caused more issues.” I breathe out slowly. When it does little to weaken my confusion, I offload it onto Anoushka. “I’m sailing blind. I need help. Help Andrik doesn’t seem willing to give. Look at how he avoided Zak’s room today. He hates me so much he doesn’t even want to share the same air as me.”