Awful Resemblance

IX

                               

Valdai, 7:17 AM.

Annika was woken up by the uncomfortable sensation of being watched. She groaned as she turned around on the bed and slowly opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her was that of a tall man with fluffy brown hair who was nonchalantly sitting on the couch to the right of her bed. He wore black polo pants and a long-sleeved black top that showed off his muscles and large chest. He was scrutinizing her with an undescribable gaze but what shocked Annika was the difference in color between his eyes.

The right one was green while the other one was grey. He had heterochromia. For a moment, he looked strangely familiar to her.

"How are you feeling?" He inquired in a low tone.

His voice was as attractive as his face.

"Better." She blurted out. "Sorry but who are you?"

"I am Matvei Zharkov," He said. "Your husband." He added with hesitation, as if it was the strangest thing he had ever said.

Annika refrained from making a sound as she felt her heart sinking. She wanted to let him know her thoughts, but she couldn't bring herself to say them out loud.

"For how long have you been here?" She asked instead.

"I spent the night." He confessed, getting up from the couch.

He took a white tote bag that was at his feet and put it on her bedside.

"Get changed, we are about to leave."

She nodded and tried to get up by herself despite her painful thigh but Matvei held her by the forearm and walked her carefully to the bathroom, taking the bag with them. She thanked him as he gave her the bag and closed the door. She opened the tote bag to discover a flared blue dress that could barely hide her bandage and got rid of the hospital robe to put it on. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she arranged her hair with her fingers and exited the bathroom.

Matvei had left the room so she made the bed and went after him. He was paying for the hospital fees at the reception before turning around to face Annika. She walked up to him and noticed his glance at her bandaged thigh so she lowered her dress and looked away.

"Oh! The fees have already been paid." The receptionist noticed, looking at his computer.

"By whom?" Matvei asked, conserving his wallet in his pocket.

"Her friend, Karol Volkov." He replied.

Annika raised her eyebrow out of confusion while Matvei's gaze darkened. He simply nodded and walked towards the exit, quietly followed by Annika. When they arrived at the parking lot, she was astonished to see him entering a black Rolls-Royce. She carefully opened the car door and sat on the passenger seat, not without groaning of pain because of her wound. The doors were automatically closed and he started the car.

Annika enjoyed the fresh scent of the vehicle's interior as he drove and her shoulders relaxed. For a moment, she wanted to allow herself to feel safe.

"I am sorry." She whispered. "I am sorry for the fact that you have to suffer the consequences of a stranger's problems."

Matvei didn't reply and silence settled in, soon interrupted by him.

"It's not your fault." He sighed, leaving Annika at a loss for words. "At first, I believed it was but it's not. There is not point in blaming you for trying to survive."

A weight was lifted from her shoulders.

"When all of this is over, I promise to leave as quickly as I came." She said, which earned her a bitter smile.

"It never ends, Annika." He explained.

That's the answer she feared. Lost in her somber memories, a thought suddenly surged in: She liked the way he pronounced her name.

"My father is not a compassionate man. I am certain that he chose to help you because he has something to gain in return so whatever you're hiding, know that he has already found out." Matvei warned her, briefly analyzing her.

Although she had closed her eyes to that possibility, she knew that the chances of Sasha not suspecting a thing were extremely low. She decided to be honest with Matvei.

"I can't tell you why these people are after me because I don't trust you yet." She admitted with her head down.

"Don't you mind my father knowing?" He asked, perplexed.

"If he knew, he would have done something about it." Annika retorted.

She wasn't convinced of her own words but considering the fact that she had been attacked by two men in just a week because of her identity, she guessed that Sasha wouldn't have been so indifferent.

"Though, I find unfair that we are supposed to be in a marriage of convenience and yet, there is nothing of convenience that I get out of it." Matvei pointed out.

Annika remained still in her seat, apprehensive of the turn that the situation was going to take.

"Do you plan to make this marriage convenient for me as well?" He simply asked.

Her worry slowly turned into quiet disgust as she got her idea of what he was implying.

"I will fulfill my duties as a wife." She replied, which made her want to puke.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you mean by that but that's not convenient enough."

"Then what do you want, exactly?" She groaned.

She had the impression that the atmosphere turned heavy as Matvei got silent but he didn't seem offended at all.

"I am sorry." She mumbled in an inaudible voice.

"Your father is as rich as Croesus, did you know that?" He lightly inquired. "I bet you didn't. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here right now."

She was baffled by his terrible attempts at making conversation.

"What are you talking about? My dad is not rich."

"Not Gavril." He precised.

She sealed her lips.

"Come on, it's not hard to tell that Esther is your mother when you're mixed and people want to kill you," He shrugged, seeing her shaken. "Your brothers are dense for not putting the pieces together."

She immediately turned to him.

"Brothers?"

Matvei's eyebrows furrowed and he remained quiet for a moment.

"Wait a second," He paused. "You... don't know?" He said, emphasizing on the “don't”.

She shook her head negatively.

"I am completely clueless." She confessed with worry.

Matvei's grasp on the wheel got tighter and he met her gaze once again, not hiding his surprise.

"Oh well." He muttered under his breath.