Simi beams, already believing him and building a dream of how wonderful tomorrow will be in that innocent mind of hers.
Fear crawls through me because Georgi shouldn’t make promises to my child unless he means to keep them. Simi has known too much disappointment already.
If he gives her this dream and takes it away, it will break her heart.
Simi chatters about the giant bear and the castle she wants to see, while new worries fill my mind.
Up until now, Simi has been deprived of a lot, but what if Georgi’s tactic is to taunt her, letting her see things she can never have?
God, I know you’ve forsaken me, but please, she’s an innocent child. Don’t do this to her.
The prayer feels empty, as if it doesn’t float past the roof of the SUV but falls flat on the carpeted floor where it will be trampled by Georgi’s leather loafers.
I don’t take notice of our surroundings anymore, and when the vehicle stops, it feels like we’ve arrived at a prison.
Georgi climbs out, and I can’t keep hold of Simi as she squirms out of my arms and scurries across the seat to get to him.
“Wait for me!” she says, her voice pitched with excitement.
He hooks his large hands beneath her armpits and lifts her off the seat.
I quickly get out, and as I aim to dart around the back of the SUV to get to Simi, Raya steps in front of me.
No!
She smiles as if we are friends, and as her lips part, I hear nothing of what she says. Santino comes to stand behind Raya, probably ready to stop me if I try anything, while Georgi walks away with Simi.
They’re taking Simi from me!
Raya lifts her hand, and expecting her to hit me, I jump back. My heart thunders in my ears, my breaths desperate gasps.
Suddenly, Georgi comes back, hard lines cut into his face as he hands my precious child to his sister, who once again carries her away from me.
Knowing this is how things are going to be, and that I’ll at least get to see Simi for two hours a day, my breathing slows dramatically.
I lower my head, training my eyes on the ground.
At least I had the past twenty-four hours with her.
I feel hands on the sides of my head, and waiting for the pain, I stand like a robot. Then I’m yanked against a solid body, my face pressing into warm silk.
Slowly, the darkness around me shifts until I hear Georgi’s deep voice above my head. “Shh…You’re safe.”
When the worst of the shock fades and I forcefully make peace with the fact that I am once again separated from my child, my instinct to obey every rule and do as I’m told takes over.
Don’t risk the short two hours you’ll get with Simi.
Georgi’s body folds around me. When his lips brush against my forehead, it feels deceivingly like he’s sheltering me.
I know what he wants.
No use in fighting the inevitable.
I tilt my head back, but the moment my lips brush against his, he yanks completely away from me as if I burned him like fire.
Georgi puts a safe distance between us, a very disturbed expression darkening his face. “No, Nina.” He shakes his head hard, then anger carves lines into his features. “Why did you check out of reality?” He lifts his hand to rub the muscles behind his neck. “Did you have flashbacks to what happened in the basement?”
I shake my head.