Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Yes, sweetie,” she agrees with a tight smile.
“Do you not want to witness Lena’s talent?” he asks her. Her gaze shifts to me, and I see the disappointment in her eyes.
“Yes, sure, of course. I left my schedule at home, but I’m sure when I check it, I’ll have availability,” she answers, and my father continues to eat.
I have lived a pretty clean and normal life. The only risks that I’ve ever really taken have been with Aleksandr.
That man was a bad choice.
But a very good one at the same time.
Right now, I wish I’d made a million mistakes so they could fault me for those instead. At least then I’d have done something truly worth their disappointment.
Or maybe I should really not give a fuck at some point.
“How did you get the money to afford those things in your apartment?” my mother asks. I know it’s been on the tip of her tongue since Archer made them come to my place for coffee before dinner.
“My job pays well.”
My mother scoffs. “Singing pays well?”
My father glances in her direction.
“Yes, very well,” I say. Thanks to my new contract, I’m earning double, and I haven’t even had to do any of the side work since things between Alek and I… ended.
“Not as much as being a doctor, though, I suppose,” my mother adds.
I nod and down the rest of my wine.
“Mom,” Archer chastises, and she simply shrugs as if she didn’t mean to offend me.
My father watches but says nothing.
They’re about to be really disappointed when I order another bottle of wine just for myself in order to get through fucking dessert.
“Lena.” The harshness of my name grabs my attention.
I look over my shoulder to find Anya behind me, River standing next her. She’s perfectly popped her hip, hand resting on it, as her watchful gaze glances around the table. When it lands on Archer, her eyes narrow, and I’m terrified he’s going to go up in flames just by the stare alone.
“Anya, great to see you. This is my brother and my parents.” I wave a hand around, quick to dispel any tension or hatred she might have for them. I certainly didn’t expect to see her at a middle-class Mexican restaurant, but it’s recently become my favorite.
She turns her gaze to me, and she offers me her version of a smile, which is quite forced but generous, considering who it’s coming from.
“I haven’t seen you around lately.” No hello. No “what’s been happening in your life.” Just pure Anya. But she does surprise me when she addresses my parents. “Your daughter truly knows how to sing, and I hate musicals,” she adds.
“It is an interesting hobby,” my mother says with a charming smile.
Anya’s perfectly manicured eyebrow perks up. “Hobby? I think if one cannot see clearly that singing is Lena’s calling and her purest form of joy, they’re narrow-minded or dim-witted. Potentially both.”
My mother’s jaw drops, and River bites his bottom lip.
“What my wife means to say is she’s very passionate about the arts and supportive of Lena’s performance,” River interjects.
My brother’s holding in a smug expression, and my mother seems flabbergasted.
Anya simply waves him off.
“No, they seem intelligent enough for the insult if they can so callously throw it at their own daughter. Pitiful, really.”
“These are the type of friends you make in New York?” my mother asks, shocked, as she points at Anya. And I realize she can’t even hold Anya’s gaze. If I had an older sister, I would definitely want it to be Anya.
The family beside us looks at my mother, and she shrinks back into her chair, running a hand over her dress indignantly.
“Tough crowd,” Anya says. “Lena, please call me when you’re done here. We have much to discuss.” And just like that, she walks off. River offers a polite smile and dips his head in goodbye.
“Who on earth was that?” my mother demands, and I can’t help but notice my father hides a small smirk.
I try not to mirror it.
“Investors,” I reply.
CHAPTER 34
Lena
My parents didn’t come to my show once in the remaining week that they stayed in the city. And I also never met with Anya after seeing her in the Mexican restaurant, which is probably why she’s sitting in the front row of the audience right now, staring at me as if she wants to kill me.
I give the performance of my life because it may very well be my last, but it’s also a testament to how professional I am that I could actually get through the entire show.
Once I walk backstage, I know it’ll only be a matter of minutes before she comes back here to find me. Everyone congratulates one another, as per usual, but the excitement of a good show has dulled over the months. We haven’t yet started practicing the new routines, but I think when we do, it’ll liven up the morale. I start pulling the bobby pins from my hair, letting my long brown locks fall around my face while I wait for her.