Page 70 of Love to Defy You
After hanging up the phone, she sets it down next to her on the loveseat, then elbows me hard in the ribs. “I can’t believe you let me panic all morning about calling him.”
Clutching my side, I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it. “Ouch. If you want to play rough,malishka,I’ll show you rough.”
She swings her leg over to straddle my lap, looping her arms around my neck for stability. “Shouldn’t we go finish opening the presents with Ana and Mikhail?”
I grab her waist and dig my fingers into her fleshy backside to grind her against me. “They can wait, but my cock can’t.”
The other guests leave a few days after New Year’s, but Alek, Ana, Mikhail, and I remain in St. Moritz for the remainder of January before returning to school for the spring term. Mikhail sits in the front passenger seat, but he’s unusually quiet with his arms folded, staring out the window. Ana sits in the back seat with Willow, but tears streak her mascara as she, too, stares out the window.
What’s with them? Is melancholy contagious?
I glance at Willow in the rearview mirror, and she mouths,Tell her.
I let out a breath. “Ana?”
“What?” she responds, her voice shaking.
“I spoke toMat’,“ I say.
Mikhail tenses beside me, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the window.
“I offered to increase her allowance if she’ll call off your engagement.”
Ana sits up straight, her blonde braid sliding off her shoulder and down her back. “Really? What did she say?”
“She told me she’d let me know.” I shrug. “But I imagine she’ll say yes once I deliver you safely home.”
My sister’s bottom lip quivers as she whispers, “Thank you.”
“I bought you a ticket back to Paris, so promise me you’ll get on the plane the moment I drop you off at the airport.”
She runs her arm against her eyes to wipe the tears away. “Okay. I promise.”
I trace my thumb over the stitching of the leather steering wheel. “Once you turn eighteen and she doesn’t have control over your finances anymore, I’ll help you get away from her. You can go to college to get a real education, not that finishing school bullshit she has you doing.”
Anastasia smiles. “Can I come live with you and Willow here in Switzerland?”
I smirk. “If you’re okay listening to Willow and me having sex all the time.”
Willow laughs, but Ana presses her hands over her ears. “On second thought, maybe I’ll live somewhere else.”
Mikhail’s shoulders relax as he lets out a long exhale.
The car ride is much more pleasant after that, and after saying our goodbyes to Ana at the airport in Zurich, Mikhail takes over the steering wheel and drops Willow and me off at home.
But when I open the door to our apartment, I freeze. We’ve been on holiday for a month, and I grew complacent in the knowledge that I was away from Weltner. After so much torment, at last, I felt some semblance of peace, even if it was precarious at best.
All it takes is a piece of paper to bring the anxiety and fear rushing back, erasing the false sense of security I found in St. Moritz.
Willow bumps into me from behind. “Ow! Why did you stop?”
A red envelope lies on the entry rug. Someone didn’t just slip it under the door—it was placed there with careful precision, which means someone still has access to our flat.
The Order of Apollo’s lyre symbol is embossed on the front with gold foiling.
Willow peers around me. “Oh, fuck.”
“Will I ever get a break from this madness?” I snatch up the envelope and rip it open, almost tearing the invitation in the process.
