Page 63 of Cruel Russian Pakhan
“Thank you,” I croaked, throat tight.
“Come, let’s get you both inside.”
She released my hands, and we followed her into the house. It felt cozy, lived-in and warm. After pouring us each a cup of coffee, she settled into an armchair across from Lev and me, who sat side by side on the couch.
“Your mother, Stephanie, loved you.”
“Then why did she abandon me?” The words escaped before I could stop them.
Mrs. Roxburg’s gaze softened with sadness. “Your mother met Grigori during her last year of college. Life was hard back then, and he offered help. He treated her like a queen—romantic dates and sweet gestures. She fell hard. She truly believed he was her forever. After graduation, she found out she was pregnant and planned to tell him. She was sure he’d be thrilled. But then she discovered he was married.”
My breath hitched.
“She was devastated. Realized she was the other woman all along. She didn’t want to be seen as a homewrecker, didn’t know how his wife or children might treat you if he decided to be involved, or if he took you away from her completely. So, she walked away to protect you from her mistake.”
Mrs. Roxburg paused, her voice emotional.
“Stephanie didn’t want to give you up. But she had no financial support, and only me to lean on. We had no job, no money to take care of a baby. She thought someone else could give you a better life than she could on her own. Giving you up shattered her. She spiraled after that, and…five years later, she died in a crash.”
My chest ached. She loved me. She gave me up to protect me.
“All this time, I thought she hated me,” I whispered.
A few tears slipped from Martha’s eyes. “You were the best thing that ever happened to her.”
Martha stood and walked to the mantel, opening a small jewelry box. She pulled out a delicate silver chain with a locket and came to sit beside me.
“This was your mother’s,” she said, placing it into my hand.
I opened it slowly. Inside was a photo of a blonde woman smiling down at a baby.
“She took that the day she left the hospital with you.”
I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say so many things, but the lump in my throat made it impossible to speak. Lev gently took the locket and clipped it around my neck. I placed my hand over it, holding it against my chest.
“Thank you,” I said between sobs. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“And you don’t know how long I’ve waited to meet you,” she said, smiling through tears. “I’ve always hoped I’d get the chance to tell your mother’s side of the story. To tell you she loved you, to tell you how sorry she was.”
I leaned into Lev, his arm slipping around my shoulder as Mrs. Roxburg began sharing stories of her and my mother. Stories that made my mother come alive in my mind.
At one point, Lev chuckled. “Your mother sounds just like a blonde, blue-eyed goddess I know.”
We spent over two hours with her, soaking in memories. When we finally stood to leave, we promised to visit again soon and let her enjoy the rest of her day.
As we got to the car, I turned to Lev. My heart felt full in a way I had never known.
“What you gave me today…I don’t even have the right words to thank you,” I said. “Pieces of my life were missing for so long, and today you helped put them back together.”
Oh God. Why was I crying again?
Lev brushed my tears away with his thumbs.
“Thank you…for everything.”
“I’d give anything to see you happy, Katya. Anything.”
My heart fluttered as I looked up at him. Lev stepped closer, pressing me against the car. His lips met mine in a kiss so full of passion and tenderness I forgot the world around us. I kissed him back, just as fiercely, lost in him. His body pressed into mine, and I couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped my throat as his erection hardened against me.
