King of Mine: Book 1 In the King Of Mine Series)

CHAPTER 38

The room had grown cold...then hot...then cold, or so Katya was feeling as her body temperature chaotically switched from hot to cold.

One minute she felt shivers, then the next, a sudden flare of heat that produced sweat all through her body. To the less vigilant, it would have been suggested that Katya was going through menopause.

But how could she have at just twenty four?

Yes indeed, it could have been argued that some women approach menopause earlier than others.

But to the vigilant eye, it would have been deduced and rightfully so, that her body was running riot because of the situation she had found herself in.

In the midst of strangers, most of whom she didn't know by name, she was being judged for an offense that wasn't hers; looking like someone they used to know.

"Pay no attention to Joshua....," Joshua's father had a plastic smile, as he tried to make light of what his son had just said, the same thing that had made the entire atmosphere of the room, acidic to say the least. "Sometimes his mouth runs faster than his brain."

Katya tried to smile it away, but her lips wouldn't curve into a smile. How could it when even at this instant all eyes were centered on her, as though she was the menu they were supposed to scrutinize for lunch.

The brunette next to Katya chirped rather most unexpectedly, her smile broad and kind, "Yes, Josh is right. You really look like Tara, well, except for the hair colour and accent. Tara was completely Aussie through and through."

"I've been told that I look like her," Katya said stiffly, not liking the fact that she was being interrogated, even though the interrogation was done rather diplomatically. She looked at Damien King from the corner of her eyes, and he, just like her seemed uncomfortable, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Such a lively soul, our Tara..." Joshua's mother reminisced, speaking up for the first time, as her eyes danced around the room as though trying to capture the image of Tara.

Jane, please! Let's not bring up painful memories," her husband said solemnly, as he took his wife's hand and squeezed on it.

"That's rather hard to do Patrick when her spitting image is here, don't you think?" Jane shot back, rolling her eyes as she did. "Where are you from dear?" Jane asked Katya, ignoring her husband.

"I'm..."

"She's British,' Damien King said, rather sullenly.

"Oh! Are you sure you don't have any relatives that reside in Australia, you know, maybe some distant relatives that your parents haven't told you about and..."

"That's quite enough! You are all making her uncomfortable. I invited Katya to eat not to be interrogated," Damien King sneered, pushing aside his bowl of soup.

Oh dear..." Jane placed one hand on her chest, as her eyes widened, '... I don't mean to."

"But Jane is right. It seems surreal for two people to look alike like this. It is possible that Tara and Katya might be distant relatives," Shannon blurted out, both hands cupping her round face with her elbows on the table.

"Well... my parents have never mentioned any relatives of ours that reside in Australia," Katya said, knowing that at some point she would need to answer a question or two.

"Katya, you really don't have to answer any question if you don't want to," the brunette sitting next to Katya butted in, with a smile

"It's alright. I am happy to answer whatever questions you all may have," Katya lied. How could she be happy when she was in the middle of fire?