Heart of Stone - Stone and Fire #1 [17+] (REWRITING)

Chapter 15

HEYY YALLLLLL

BEEN TOO LONG

enjoy mwah 😘

Adriana's POV

I stared at the burnt pancake in the bottom of the sink.

"Ah, fuck." My nose twisted as the stench traveled up my nostrils and smoke filled the kitchen. I'd been on edge the whole time, waiting for the fire alarm to go off, until realizing smoking was a norm in this household, so it must've been disabled.

I flipped open the silver tap and the pan sizzled as hot water spread across it, a few splatters hitting my bare arms in the process. One hit the column of my neck, right on that one spot that gives me shivers.

I guess it was good that Nikolas was barely home. That way he wouldn't have to see how much of a dumbass he was tying ties with- and how she had the cooking skills like that of a newborn out of the womb. You know what, scratch that. At least babies knew when to let the tears out. Feeling numb was, in fact, one of my strengths. 

A shadow crossed my feet.

"Gospodi, day mne sil." Lord, give me strength.

I looked up at the Russian-speaking figure. It was a woman, who looked to be in her early forties. She had thick, black hair, tied back into a braided bun, and a very put-together outfit of white trousers and a button down shirt. 

In other words, the prime example of what I would be if it weren't for being eluded into a broken marriage I only intended to fulfill for revenge. I stared at her from my spot down on the floor.

"I'm sorry?"

 A stern eyebrow rose as she scanned me and my flour-dusted pajamas, and I think that's one of the few times in my life I've gone red as Aurora does the moment she spies Maximus Donatello on our home cable.

The suspicion in her eyes rocked me to my core, so even without questioning if she could speak English, I opened my mouth.

"I'm his fiancée." I enunciated each word, making sure she understood.

She sighed, glancing into the sink behind me. "I'm bilingual, voron."

"Sorry?" My attention peaked at the name rather than her- I will admit, astounding skillset. Cooking and knowing how to act and speak foreign? Certainly something I wish I could do.

She rolled up her sleeves, crossed the few steps to my left, and started working on the pan. Guilt pooled inside of me.

"Black haired was a surprise, I'll admit. Especially when he's so keen on the pale ones."

Oh.

I leaned my elbows back on the counter. "So you're saying he's.. fornicated before?" If anything, this opportunity was up for grabs. I knew next to nothing about Nikolas other than his preceding reputation, and part of me wished to know what his past was like. What demons he had to exorcise to become so.. shell-like.

She paused, giving me another full-length glance. "I saw him come out of his mother's womb. I've seen him do far worse than fornicate."

My ears perked. It was known that the Volkov family had been ripped a part what seemed to be like a millennia ago. That's what gave Nikolas his power. His fame. The fact that after everything, he led him and his brother to an empire worth millions. From what? That was for me to find out. No matter how much of a restricted zone this was. 

If anything, he'd catch me. And then what? He'd back me up into the wall and demand that I shut the fuck up? Hm. Doesn't sound too bad. Especially the backing me up into the wall part. And shutting up- that was easy. That was perfect. I could spend a lifetime in my room, scrolling on my phone endlessly and mix-matching thousands of outfits while pressing order on whatever new bag was out. At least I'd have my own company, which, I learnt over the years, was better than anyone else's.