His Flower

Chapter Nine

The whip drops from his hand and he makes his way towards us. I take notice that he has the man's blood all over him and a crazed look in his eyes. His hands have different layers of blood some dried and others fresh. His shirt is soaked as well and torn on the sides. Gemini looks as if he was in the line of fire with blood splatters all over his body and face. Both of them have their hair tied up into buns, Alexei's is messy from him beating the poor man. He doesn't look like himself, or maybe this is the real him. Either way I've been fooled and lied too. Gemini rushes over to Lia and leads her back up the stairs. Alexei's eyes soften at the sight of my tears and terror, he reaches out to touch me but I don't let him. I step back until my I bump into the banister of the stairs. How could he possibly think I'd want him to touch me when I just saw him torture someone in our home. Suddenly his eyes harden once again as he realizes I have defied him.

    He grabs my hand and tugs me up the stairs and into an office where Lia and Gemini are. Lia is sitting in a chair facing the desk and Gemini is leaning on a bookcase on the left side of the room. Alexei drags me to the seat next to Lia and lets go. He sits in the chair at the desk and sighs loudly while leaning back into his seat. He leans back up and slams his right fist onto the desk making Lia and I flinch. My tears still run down my cheeks, soaking my shirt and Lia is doing no better. I play with my finger as I wait for him to speak.

"I'm going to ask you this once and I expect an answer. I remember clearly communicating that you are not allowed in this wing of our home. Lia, I know Gemini also had this talk with you. I also remember you telling me you understood multiple times. So, I cannot come up with a reason we are in this situation. You both knew the boundary and knowingly crossed that line. Then, you have the nerve to sit in these chairs and cry?!" I don't respond and continue to sob along with Lia who has folded in on herself. "Why did you defy us?" I look at the ground as I wipe my tears and clear my throat. I find it hard to vocalize my thoughts. I have never met this side of Alexei and I'm terrified.

"I didn't understand why you kept this wing so closed off and protected. I knew you were hiding something from me and I thought I deserved to know. If you want to live together you need to be honest with me. It's not fair that you kept this secret from us." I start to grow angry and speak with confidence. "You should've told us the truth so that we could have made a informed decision. You had no right to keep this from us, did you ever plan on telling us or did you just think we were stupid enough to never ask questions?!" Alexei flinches as I raise my voice at him. He raises from his chair and I do the same. I will not let him intimidate me into submission. He rounds the desk and stands in front of me. He gazes into my eyes with a soft expression. He tries to hug me and I flinch. He jumps back some in surprise and frowns deeply. I fear him and have no trust in him anymore. He lied to me and tricked me. I step back a few paces far away from him and look around the room for an exit. My gaze lands on Gemini who is frowning at the scene he's witnessing.

"Why were you hurting that man Alexei. What the hell could he have done to deserve that treatment and why were those men watching?" I wrap my arms around myself seeking comfort. He doesn't answer and I scowl at him as he tries to inch closer. "Answer me! What did he do that made you think whipping him half to death was measurable?!" I shout at him. He holds his hands up in surrender and his gazes falls from my face and lands on the carpet under our feet.

"He used to work for me. He was my accountant and over the last couple of months my books weren't matching up to what my most trusted men recorded. I launched a silent investigation, I found that he has been wiring thousands of dollars from my account to his. I paid him very well for his services so for him to steal my money, I was angry he betrayed me."  I shake my head, not wanting to hear any of this, his excuses for beating this man.

"What is it that you do other than your legal business?" I void my face of any emotion, trying to appear stronger than I feel. His frown deepens when he notices I've closed myself off from him. He doesn't deserve access to me, he lied to me. This man lied to me when I was showing him the real me. I trusted him. I fell for him, damn it!