Wiping his mouth, he placed the jar back in the far corner of his stash of treats and closed the door. Immediately, she stood up, out of breath and flushed.
In his robe, he walked over to her and sat down on a stool by the island. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that either her mother had died, or Anatoly had struck. Based upon the mere rage in her eyes, he knew that it had something to do with the latter.
"Brigitte, what is the matter?" he asked in a tranquil, soothing voice.
She wiped her face quickly, embarrassed by her display of horrid, raw emotion. "Excuse me, sir, for my outburst. I thought I was alone," she explained between sniffs.
"You are not," he said, reached over to the large bowl to take out a few cherries. "Would you like one?"
"No," she said, blinking fast to stop the tears. "I'm sorry, sir."
"It's alright. I have wife and daughter. I see tears more than any other man in the world, besides maybe a pediatrician."
She laughed.
"So, what is wrong? Has your mother passed?"
"No." She sighed. "Thank God. She still fights every single day." Forced to smile at her mothers strength, she finally stood up straight and smoothed out her wrinkled uniform.
"Then what would make your cry so badly at dawn?"
"Your son." She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. "I'm afraid that I am just not good enough for him or bad enough."
Dmitry smiled. His beautiful features were laced with old wisdom. He popped the cherry seed out of his mouth into his hand and grabbed a napkin. "Did he tell you that, or did you assume it?"
"How can I assume anything different? He broke up with me," she lamented.
"Brigitte, you are good girl. I assume he did it, because he cares for you, and he is not yet ready for responsibility of caring for such a good woman."
"You Medlov men use the term „good girl a lot." She nodded at him then looked up at the ceiling as she bit her lip. "But you offer no explanation as to why good is bad for you."
Dmitry raised his brow. "I think you know. Everyone who works for us knows. We are not men of respectable character. It is a curse to have a good woman at your side and find her hurt because of your misdeeds. The safest thing is to not allow her to be at your side."
"I've heard the stories. I do not care," she began to cry. "I would do anything to be with him."
"Why?"
"Because I love him."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just do. And I was hoping that someday he would love me back."
"And because he knows that that someday will never come, he would no longer lead you on." He pushed the bowl down to her and watched her pull out a few cherries for herself. "This is sad that you have found yourself in love with someone who does not love you, but it is good also."
"How?" She wiped the tears from her mouth.
"Because you leave yourself open to find someone who does love you and will stand by you. Do not look at it as a negative. It is simply Gods way of leading you to right person."
"Of course, you can speak like this when you have a woman like Mistress Medlov to love. She is strong and beautiful, and she loves you more than even herself." Brigitte feared she had said too much but could not stop.
"Your words are kind. To know that you have known this since before our reconciliation makes me… happy. But do you see how pained she has been for years?"
"Yes."
"It is because of me. And Anatoly will not see you pained in same way. For that, I am proud of him and happy for you. Trust me, your feelings for him will dull in months if not weeks. After all, he has never properly presented you in public. Every woman deserves to be presented, whether the man is poor or rich has nothing to do with his pride in his selection. When you find man who treats you like queen, regardless of his status in world, you have found the man you should spend rest of your life with… not a man who will have you in is bed but not in his life."
Dmitry's words were sobering and broken. His English was always worse when he first woke up, when no one was around to correct him, namely Royal. But his words caused her to sit up straighter and feel better about herself.
She nodded at him with a brighter smile in her cloudy eyes.
"Thank you, Master Medlov."
"It is my pleasure," he said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
He had been around enough young vulnerable women for the week. He had no intention of being accused being with Anatoly's maid.
"Yes, sir," she said as he walked pass. She watched him as he left, moving with ease through the world, comfortable in his own skin, knowledgeable, wise and beautiful. It made her ask herself why she couldn't have a man like him. Then she thought of Royal and how absolutely irrefutable she was in everyway. Maybe that’s why, she said to herself.
* * *
Anatoly parked his car in the garage and grabbed the grocery bags out of the trunk. He headed up the stairs and entered into the condo to smells of food burning on the stove. After turning off the alarm, he set the bags down on the kitchen table and turned off the asparagus burning in the skillet.
"Oh, shit. I was coming to get that," Victoria said, rounding the corner. She looked up at him and smiled as she walked pass.
Again, he caught a whiff her intoxicating cologne. He
