-recap-
my hand sat on the doorknob as i pulled it open
my body suddenly froze, terror washing over me.
The air was trapped in my throat and i found myself gasping, like i was drowning. the same feeling i felt all those years ago. tears brimmed my eyes as my stomach churned and tightened at the sight before me.
My voice came out quiet and high, the one of a child "mama?..."
...
my mother's once brunette hair was a mix of silver, similar to my father's, and it now reached her shoulders.
my father had grown a line of stubble along his jaw while small and short wrinkles stretched around his eyes.
to me, they still looked the same, even buried underneath all of the apparent aging.
The dim light of the foyer caused my mother's tearing eyes to shine as they trailed over me.
"oh my baby girl" she whispered, her Russian accent still as present as it was when I was a child. She enveloped me in a hug but my arms remained pinned to my sides. i glanced over her shoulder at my father who nodded to me, a small smile curling his lips.
my mother finally released me but I stayed frozen in place, still trying to comprehend the past 10 minutes.
Due to my confusion, i never noticed them push past me further into the house.
i shook myself out of my daze at the sound of their voices. i spun around, closing the door as i did.
my father had his head tilted to the ceiling, admiring the golden chandelier above us. "don't you think, my dear, that it resembles ours in the house back in Poland?" he said, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"oh yes, very much, my darling" my mother answered with certainty.
i opened my mouth to speak, but all that emerged was a small murmur. however, this still caught their attention.
"is something wrong, Maria?" my father asked.
i stared at him dumfounded for a moment "you've been pretending to be dead for the last 15 years, something is very wrong! how are you even alive ?"
a smirk darkened my father's face and it caused worry to lie heavily in my gut.
he moved his blazer to the side slightly and through his shirt I noticed the outline of a bullet-proof vest "I never go anywhere without one"
I felt winded. I dragged a hand down my face as my scoff faded into a bitter chuckle. I stared my father dead in the eye. my mother's skin paled slightly "are you fucking kidding me?" I whispered.
"maria" my mother hissed. i placed my hand up to silence her, still holding my father's gaze.
"are you fucking kidding me?" i yelled, the underside of my hand crossed over my lips to try and distract it from shaking. He kept that smug look on his face which made a fury rise inside me so high i thought i would kill him where he stood.
"that's right, yell at us! let it all out"
"oh trust me, i want to do more than yell at you right now" i seethed, digging my nails into my palms as i balled my fits tighter.
"please can we try to keep this civ-" my mother's attempts at calming the situation were futile.
"just please, answer me one thing" i exhaled a heavy breath through my nose "why did you do it?"
my father's gaze noticeably softened "i was protecting my family. i was protecting you"
"protecting me?" i mocked
he nodded "we sacrificed everything for you and your sister, and to do what we did meant we could escape"
"so you purposely left me for dead? very nice, what a very fucking nice reunion this is"
i saw a flame spark in my father's eyes at my words. he let out a low grumble "that wasn't supposed to happen. when we came to get you you were gone"
"what bullshit! you have no idea what i went through when i was taken after your little stunt. how dare you come into my house and try to tell me otherwise"
"Maria please!" my mother cried "we knew you were safe. throughout all of these years we made sure you weren't in any danger"
"and you think that makes up for it!?" silence fell upon us as I heaved large gulps of air back into my lungs "where is diana"
"we don't know" they both directed their gaze down to the floor.
"don't you lie to me. Where the fuck is she!"
"I have had enough of this tone from you" my father glared at me.
I scoffed, slowly approaching him "I wish they finished the job in killing you that night"
It was almost as if everything went in slow-motion after that.
My father raised his hand to slap me when we were suddenly interrupted by the safety of a gun being switched off.
"step away from my wife"
Elijah was stood on the last step of the staircase behind my father with a gun in his hand, the end of the barrel pressed to the back of my father's head.
Elijah looked to be seeing crimson until he glanced at me and his gaze softened. i felt relief wash over me at the reassurance in his eyes.
"if you ever touch her again I won't hesitate to blow your brain out" Elijah snarled "whatever is left of it at least, seeing as though you had the audacity to even think of laying a hand on her"
My father slowly raised his hands with a bitter chuckle "The great, Elijah volcov. i have heard your name being spoken under the title 'the devil'. i never thought i'd have the pleasure"
"this meeting is not in the slightest pleasurable, now get the fuck out of our house, or you'll find out exactly why they call me 'the devil'"
the gun was lowered and my father spun around to meet elijah's eyes. from where i was stood, there was nothing but darkness clouding them, like a portal to hell. it had been a while since i had seen that in him.
it would be enough to make Satan shudder.
My father turned, a tight lipped smile now replacing his cocky smirk from earlier.
"i could not be more disappointed in you" he mumbled as he passed, walking into the night with his tail between his legs.
my mother was still stood in the foyer, her hands holding themselves as she stared at me. her eyes had dried and her lips were drawn into a thin line. however, beneath her solemn expression was regret. i could almost sympathize for her.
she slowly made her way over to me, placing her hand gently on my arm as her emerald green eyes bored into mine.
"i'm so sorry, maria. this wasn't how i wanted things to turn out"
"how else was it supposed to?" i whispered, pushing down the emotion that was clawing it's way up my throat.
my mother slowly nodded, turning towards Elijah "i must apologise for my husband's behaviour, and thank you for taking care of my daughter. enjoy your night"
she left without another word. i waited until i heard the shriek of their car grow fainter and fainter before the tears flooded my gaze.
my hand against my lips trapped my sobs as my mind tried to fight off the years of trauma i had buried that was now rising.
i collapsed, taking my sorrows with me. elijah caught me before i hit the floor, curling my body into his as he carefully rested me in his lap.
he kissed the top of my head as i sobbed uncontrollably.
" il mio bellissimo amore" elijah whispered softly into my ear.
[my beautiful love]
We sat there in each others embrace until I fell asleep, my eyes sealed with dried tears.
...
Hallo meine lieben ❤️
This is what I have been working on for a while so I hope you enjoyed <3