Awful Resemblance

XII

                                

Moscow, 12:45 PM.

Mikhail Smirnov wasn't one to believe in superstitions and yet, he stood there, wondering if that girl was some kind of witch. First, she stirred up Sasha's sympathy to the point where he wanted her to carry his family name just to protect her and now, it seemed like she had effortlessly gotten Matvei's friendship.

He greeted Matvei with a nod while his Asian friend was deliberately staring at the girl. The latter's smile dropped at their sight and she looked uncomfortable, but she hesitantly waved at them before taking a seat at the kitchen table, grabbing a fork and quietly eating her dish. Matvei raised an eyebrow and walked up to them to signal hem to follow him to the garden where they sat on the gravel surrounding the fountain.

"What brings you here?" He asked them in wonder.

Kirill turned to him with curiosity in his eyes.

"Is that girl the one that your father was talking about?" He inquired.

"Yeah," Matvei sighed. "And turns out that Rodion is behind her being shot." He continued with nonchalance.

Mikhail lowered his head while Kirill looked away. The predicament that Matvei was in seemed tight when really, it wasn't. Matvei was bound to Rodion by a deal that not even a hint of compassion for the girl could break and yet, Kirill couldn't help but ask:

"Will you hand her over to him if he asks you to?"

Matvei looked at Mikhail for a moment and reported his attention to Kirill.

"No." He replied.

Both of his friends frowned at the same moment and looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"What do you mean?" Kirill interjected.

Matvei kept silence for an instant, debating about whether or not he should respect her wish of getting to know her brother first before revealing their blood tie, but he concluded that it was now or never because her time could slip away at any moment.

"It's no longer just a matter between Sasha and Rodion, but Kazimir is now involved as well." He announced, getting up to face Mikhail.

"What does my father have to do with that?" Mikhail interrupted, furrowing his eyebrows.

"He will care once he knows that she is your twin sister." Matvei declared, looking at him dead in the eye.

Mikhail froze and he felt like his heart had just skipped a thousand of beats. He got up and took a few steps towards Matvei, leaving little distance between them.

"Are you sure of that?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"I am certain."

"She was dead, Mat." He retorted, but it seemed like he was talking to himself.

"There was no proof of that."

Mikhail scoffed with bitterness.

"Do you think that my father would have accepted her death if he lacked proof? He saw her corpse, Mat! He is the one who buried her!" He snapped.

Doubt started to cripple in and Matvei began to fear that he had made a huge mistake. Kirill swallowed his saliva, sensing that the situation would soon escalate.

"I don't know who that girl pretends to be, but she is a freaking impostor." Mikhail spat out of anger.

"She didn't know a thing, I am the one who told her that." Matvei said, running his hand through his hair.

"You did what?" Kirill interjected again, barely believing what he had heard.

"Well, good luck breaking her hopes." Mikhail let out, the veins on his forehead now visible.

Matvei's phone rang when the tension was increasing and he picked up with apprehension as he saw the name of the caller.

"Bring me Annika." Rodion demanded straight away.

Matvei made eye contact with Mikhail and saw the indifference in his eyes, proving that he was confident about his sister's death.

"Is she Esther's daughter?" Matvei still asked.

Silence settled until a chuckle resonated through the phone.

"Don't be silly, that baby has been dead for ages," He retorted, amused. "Why the concern, though? Do you have a soft spot for little Annika? I mean, she is your wife after all but I thought that finding out the identity of your mommy's killer mattered more." He added with mockery.

Matvei managed to control his wrath and looked away. He thought to himself that Rodion was right, that it was what mattered more. The fact that he had been mistaken about her affiliation with the Smirnov family made things a lot easier for him.

"Burdin Beach. You have until 3 PM or our deal is off." Rodion added before hanging up.

Matvei put the phone in his pocket and let out :

"He wants me to bring her to him."

"Well, that was quick." Kirill commented and then glanced at Mikhail. "So you guys really aren't related?"

The concerned sighed out of frustration.

"You are aware that any biracial girl you meet isn't automatically my dead sister, right?" He asked rhetorically, his voice filled with profound incredulity.

Kirill shrugged and turned to Matvei.

"Do I tell the guys to tie her up and put her in a car?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant in vain.

Matvei declined the offer and went inside of the house to come out with Annika a few minutes later. She looked confused but she still followed him in the driveway to his car. To Kirill's astonishment, he even bothered to open and close the door for her.

"The bastard." The latter huffed.

Annika had turned to look at them for a moment before she entered the car. Surprisingly, Matvei didn't get in. Instead, Roman walked to the vehicle and took the driver's seat while Matvei went back to his friends to clear up their confusion:

"I convinced her to go have some time for herself at Burdin Beach but my father has appointed Roman as her personal bodyguard," He paused and then instructed Kirill in a monotonous tone: "Kill him if he becomes a problem."

The Asian quietly nodded and joined the car, taking place in the back beside Annika. The car drove out of the villa and Mikhail took it as a sign to leave as well but he first let Matvei know:

"Just so we are clear, I am not mad at you but I don't think I can resist the urge to punch you for much longer."

He then left towards his white Bentley and drove off. Matvei stayed at the fountain for a while in order to try to get rid of his internal struggles and then rejoined his house to get ready for a business meeting.