𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

58

"Shest," I repeated unsurely. Was that six or seven?

His mother's booming voice appeared behind that. "What is that in English, Mikhail?"

We both jumped.

Guiltily, Mikhail exclaimed, "Six!"

I chuckled. "Good boy, Mikhail!" Then, I turned to Lavinia, smiling. "She's beautiful, Lavinia."

The woman smiled back, warmth seeping into her stern expression. "She was named after her father," she said wistfully.

"Viktor?" I guessed. Damn, that name was common here.

"Да, Viktor Ilyich Ivanov," she told me proudly.

My jaw dropped. "Is that...?"

Laughing at my expression, she stroked the child's hair. "Yes, Dimitri's older brother."

Curiosity stabbed at my tongue, but I held it. Instead I returned my attention to the bubbly girl.

Lavinia broke the silence with amusement in her voice. "I do not, er, mind if you ask."

A flush crept up my neck. Was I that obvious?

Without waiting for my questions, she began, "I knew Viktor from our childhood. We would play together in the fields because there was no other child our age in the village. Then, after the death of his mother and grandfather, he left. And I didn't see him again for twenty years."

Sombrely, I listened.

"My father was poor when we were forced to sell our land to the rich men from the city. To earn a living, he was forced to work a servant for the people who lived in the new buildings. I helped my mother wash their clothes. I was 25 when I met Mikhail's father. He was poor like us but I believed his love was more than I needed. It was for a while until money became a problem. He began to hit me when Mikhail was barely one."

Absentmindedly, my fists had clenched. I realised it when Lavinia's warm, calloused hand came over it gently.

"Then, one day, large vehicles came to demolish the tall buildings. I could barely recognise Viktor when I saw him. But he seemed to recognise me. He knocked at the door when my husband had just finished with his belt. Mikhail was crying. It wasn't a good time. But something told me I had to open that door. So I did. He took one look at my bruised face and then before I knew it, he was beating my husband. I begged him not to create a scene. I was fine. I could deal with it. Viktor did not listen."

"I feared he would get in trouble for what he did. Mikhail's father never came back but I thought he would gather the village men and return one day for us. I lived with that fear until Viktor confessed that he had my husband murdered. I was shocked. He was no longer the innocent boy I knew from childhood. After my experience with my husband, I grew scared of him. I asked him to leave and he did. But the next day, he was back. And the next day and the day after that. He played with Mikhail sometimes and talked to me about his new life and how Dimitri was getting on. Little did I know that I was slowly falling in love again."

"Every now and then, Viktor had to return to the city. Sometimes he was gone for months without visiting. When he finally did return, he was drunk and mad. He was getting married. I swallowed my feelings and congratulated him. But Viktor was furious. He said he couldn't get married. There was a woman he loved. At the time, not knowing that woman was me, it hurt. I kicked him out and told him to bring his wife along next time he visited."

At the mention of the wife, my stomach rolled.

"I didn't think he actually would. I was angry when he showed up with the beautiful woman at his arm. Milena was beautiful and soft - nothing like me, after working all my life. I was jealous. But I hid those emotions and welcomed them into my home. I made them tea and asked politely questions about the wedding. His wife played with Mikhail and talked about having her own children. Finally, the left and I found a vodka bottle in the kitchen. That night, Viktor returned but alone. He was angry that I was drunk when Mikhail was still awake. He put my boy to sleep and took me to my room. I hadn't drunken that much. I remember exactly what he did to me that night."

Each of Lavinia's words was spoken with fondness. She truly loved Viktor. Even after his death, she continued to love him.

"I knew it was wrong. And I felt guilty but I couldn't refuse every time he came back. This went on for months. Last year, as we lay in the dark, he said he would be gone for a long time. There was some important business he had to do. I said I would miss him. He kissed my head and in the morning, he was gone. I waited for weeks, even after the swell on my stomach began to show because I knew he would be ecstatic."

She sighed sadly. "He never found out."

Tears sprung to my eyes and I squeezed her hand. "Lavinia, you don't have to..."

The woman looked at me with her own glassy eyes and shook her head with a smile.

"Dimitri came to me bearing the bad news when I was seven months along. I didn't cry until Viktoria was born. He would never forgive me if I harmed our child. When Dimitri came, he said he was going to take us with him, back to the house because that's what Viktor would have wanted. But I couldn't live with his widow, knowing I had the child she so desperately wanted. So I refused. Before he left, he gave me a document. It was Viktor's will. He had changed it a few weeks after he came back to the village. It said half of his wealth would go to his son, Mikhail Ivanov."

That's when her voice broke. We crumpled to the ground, holding each other. I sobbed quietly, as I felt her tears soak my shirt. An overwhelming sense of love and protectiveness encompassed me. So this was what Ilya meant by family.

A few moments later, Lavinia muttered, "Thank you, Phoenix. I needed that."

NOTE:
OMFG IM CRYING TOOOO!!! Damn, it had to be done. Lavinia will be a very important character in the sequel.
Yes, there will be an RP2 because that's what you guys wanted!!
Merry Christmas!! Shit, did I ruin your Christmas with this depressing chapter? Sorryyyyyyy! Wait, I'll put a warning up so you guys know, k?
Love you, happy Xmas, xo, Rosavi