Mel - lmao! Does nice scare you this much?
Anyway, I’m doubting ‘the Irish’ at the moment. Is it going fine or going down hill?
I feel like I need a kick in my butt for some reason. I feel like screaming.
I don’t even know what I’m doing. Eh?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>
CHAPTER 26
The February snow had been falling for three days straight, covering every street in
white. A black Cadillac slowly rode past the main gates of the ranch and zoomed in to
park in front of the mansion. In a black, mink coat and a furry hat, Yulia got out of the
car and had to remind herself that there was no one to come and parked the car in the
back lawn for her now.
Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, she approached the doors and pushed in.
Thank God that Mr. Ellison hadn’t so quickly changed the keys. She just wanted to
have the last look at the place.
Most of the furniture was cleared out before the auction, except some curtains and
little things in the kitchen nobody bothered to look at yet. Mr. Ellison’s representative
would like to keep the broken Hellenistic statuette, and Yulia let him. She had sold
almost everything except a car and some of personal belongings.
Gliding up the spiral stairs to the second floor, Yulia pushed the door to her bedroom
opened. Without furniture, the room had never looked this large before. The curtains
were still there, and the soft carpet would be pulled out later on.
Drawing the curtains aside, Yulia walked to the balcony and looked out at the vast,
white land before her. The forest faraway used to be her brother’s favorite spot to ride
and hunt, although he was a rather armature hunter after years of practicing. Yulia
sighed, watching the whiteness that blended almost everything into nothingness.
Yulia looked around as she heard a neighing sound somewhere near. “Oh!” she
gasped, hands over her mouth. In disbelief, she looked down at the hooded figure
riding on a black horse. The horse turned at Yulia’s gasp and galloped around a bit as
Yulia watched the flow of red hair and the pale skin under the hood. The sight was
strangely surreal she thought it was a dream.
“Isn’t he beautiful? I had just bought him from a ranch about twelve miles south from
here.” Lena softly patted the horse’s neck. Chuckling, fumes of white breaths escaped
her parted, cherry lips. She looked amazingly relaxed and calm, unlike the Irish Yulia
had known
“I expected you’d be here an hour ago,” Lena said, and looked up again. But Yulia
had disappeared. Baffled, she looked around. Yulia sprinted from the back door to
stand right beside the horse.
“That was rather fast,” Lena commented, staring down at the blonde.
“Mm-mm.” Yulia tried to suppress her ragged breathing. She had run down the stairs
in one single breath, fearing that it all was just a fantasy her mind creating.
One hand on her hip, Yulia just shrugged, chin up a little. The other hand clutching
the robe, she tilted her head to the side slightly, letting the curly tips of her blonde hair
fall to one shoulder. It was the sexiest post available at the moment, imitating right
from Greta Garbo’s.
Lena bit her knuckle a bit as not to laugh aloud.
Yulia narrowed her eyes and stared at the gun in Lena’s hand, partially hidden
beneath the coat’s long sleeve but was pointing right at her face. Lena must have
drawn the gun as soon as she disappeared from the balcony. As much as she was in
awe of all that was the Irish, subtle or blatant, she didn’t know how a person could
constantly live in fear like this. Her father hadn’t come close; Dimitri would let his
men take care of everything. But it seemed that Lena just couldn’t trust anybody.
“I thought you were in New York… or somewhere faraway.” Yulia spoke,
unconsciously tightened her grip on the robe, afraid to let go.
“I came back just a day too late for the auction, and the price went up to 50 millions
overnight. But I wasn’t going to be ripped off by some businessman I don’t even
know his name. I purchased it three millions cheaper than the auction price.”
Yulia’s jaws dropped at the proud look on Lena’s face. “You bought it at thirty-two
millions!? How did you do it!?”
Lena bent down to whisper into Yulia’s ear. “I put a gun to his head and asked nicely
for a discount.” Lena extended one hand to pull Yulia up.
Giggling, Yulia climbed onto the horse and wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist. “I
take you have saved up enough to buy this horse. What’s his name?”
Lena raised her brows as Yulia helped brushing the snow off her shoulders. “Celia
once told me a story, and its main character had her horse named, ‘Trojan’.”
“I don’t recall Helen owning the horse!”
Lena shrugged. “It was some strange fantasy story Celia read to kill time. Any other
suggestion?”
Yulia grinned. “Call him ‘Trojan’ if you were to send him as a gift to Holden. Put a
grenade in his stomach! Oh, no, that is sickening!”
Lena chortled without the sound. The smile caught Yulia’s off-guard, and she
couldn’t help but staring.
The snow started to fall heavier. The horse galloped towards the fence, heading out to
the forest.
“We’ll hunt for a deer today.”
“With your revolver?” Yulia darkly chuckled.
“You run faster than they do. Why don’t you catch them?”
Blushing, Yulia nudged Lena’s shoulder. After a while, Yulia’s gaze followed where
Lena’s was. The orange halo in the gray skies looked pale behind the fog and thick
clouds. The land was so white it reflected light all around, making it hard to believe
that it was already near dusk.
Yulia watched the sun slowly set, but her mind was somewhere much nearer. Lena
must have been spying on her to know that she was coming here. She couldn’t care
less though. She was ecstatic just to know that the Irish chose to show up to her before
she did anyone else.
Tightened the hold around Lena’s waist, Yulia rested her cheek against the shoulder
before her. Everything oddly seemed all right again.
“One ride, and take me home, will you?”
Without another word, Lena rode off on the white plane towards the sunset. Along
with everything else, they eventually faded into the light grayness of memories,
imprinted in a tired mind that desperately yearned to be put to rest.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>
CHAPTER 27
Resting my head on my palm, I was lying sideway on the couch, a blanket over me. I
watched the old woman in her seat, relaxed as she sipped her hot milk. The others
were crawling on the carpeted floor and other couches, blatant eagerness in their eyes.
“Did she give the ranch back to you?” Kate asked.
“This is
the ranch, right?” I said.
Volkova nodded. “Mm-mm, yes… She brought back my childhood, my pride… my
dreams…”
I sat up and looked out the window to the darkness outside. Volkova’s ranch was still
vast by today’s standard. There was a vast garden in the backyard. But beyond the
long trail of fences, the woods mentioned were now replaced by townhouses and
streets. The sight slapped me back to reality.
“But time has taken them all away,” Volkova said.
I turned to see the fresh wound in Volkova’s blue eyes as the old woman was staring
out the same window I just did. So many things had changed in her lifetime, and I
didn’t think I could ever fathom how much memories haunted her.
“Where is the Irish?” I asked out of the blue. I wanted to kick myself as soon as I saw
the stunned look in Volkova’s face. Was that the look of pain, or a look of
nothingness?
“Let me guess! She’s dead, right? A gal like her couldn’t have lived so long!”
Everyone shot their gazes at Kate, wanting to shut the girl up so fast.
“I wouldn’t know…” Volkova muttered, raising her brows. Her gaze fixed at the high
ceiling, she leaned back in her chair. “All I know is that she will return one day. She
has my promise…”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>
CHAPTER 28
The night had crept in at last. Lena rode to stop at the small cottage beside the
lighthouse, and climbed down the horse. She extended a hand to help Yulia.
“You could put him in the barn,” Yulia said.
“Where is the barn?” Lena looked around.
“I cannot believe that you bought this place without knowing that there is a small barn
behind the cottage. Does Roland approve of your way of spending?”
Lena paused at the mention of Roland’s first name. Things had changed in the month
she had been absent. “I do as I please,” Lena said almost curtly, looking away. “I
didn’t mean to keep it anyway.”
Yulia paused.
“It is yours.”
Yulia stood still, watching Lena for a long time. She then perked her chin up and led
the way, pulling the robe behind her. After they finished putting Trojan in the barn,
they headed back to the mansion.
Yulia leapt to open the doors for Lena and bowed. “Master, please.”
Lena pretended to nod and cleared her throat as she walked in. Yulia giggled and
followed suit to take Lena’s coat off for her.
“Are you expecting some tips? I only got two dollars in my pocket.”
Yulia playfully threw the coat over Lena’s head. “This was all I’d do for you then!
Will you cook tonight?”
“How do you cook without a stove? I can’t even have tea.”
“You can have me instead.” Yulia’s whisper came with an echoing laugh. She ran her
hand through Lena’s locks as she glided ahead.
At the invitation, Lena paused and looked down. The way Yulia said it was more like
a tease. It wasn’t such a wise idea to spend the night here. The place was unguarded,
not to mention that there was not a single bed or a blanket left now.
Lena looked up again to find that Yulia had disappeared. She heard footsteps echoing
from the main, spiral staircase. She walked from the back doors to the lobby in the
front.
“Yulia?”
She now heard nothing but faint giggles. She didn’t like this. She tried to catch the
sound of footsteps above. There were twenty-two rooms in this mansion, and she
didn’t want to think if Yulia wanted to play hide and seek.
She stood at the bottom step of the spiral stairway and looked up. It was dark in the
hallway up there, and suddenly, the guests from the bloody Christmas party
stampeding down the stairs towards her. She could hear their hysterical screams,
Yulia’s giggles in the background. She kept walking up, trying not to pay attention to
anything but the marble steps before her.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw patches of blood around on the flawless,
smooth floor of the second floor. She had her gun drawn again, but she didn’t know
how to kill the ghosts of fear.
“Yulia…” She turned around. “YULIA!”
A moment of silence. Lena looked ahead into the hallway and caught a glimpse of the
blonde-haired woman in front of one of the many doors. Gripping the gun so hard, she
marched towards the only reality in this place.
Yulia froze. Lena’s fierce roar and heavy footsteps seemed to chain her to the spot.
As soon as Lena approached Yulia, she pushed the woman back into the room with
the gun glued in her hand. Sweats in her cold palms.
Yulia swirled around by the force. She did nothing to resist it. It could break her if she
fought it. The spinning stopped as she hit the window. It was her mother’s dressing
room, three huge, empty closets at her right. A lantern fixed on the ceiling.
“What happened?” Yulia asked, breathing heavily.
Lena could see fear in the blue eyes. She didn’t know what was going on. She had
been dreaming of the murderous nights ever since she was shot. She saw Mason’s son
killed multiple times, and each time, she screamed louder at the blood splattered back
at her own face. Mason endlessly begged for his family’s life, his bloodied face and
hands clinging at her feet. Frederick rose from where he had fallen in the ballroom
and began to chase her down the dark hallway.
Lena…! Lena, help…!
Lena spun around at the little girl’s voice calling in her head.
“Lena! What is it!?”
At Yulia’s shout, Lena was pulled out of her thoughts. Her hand started to hurt as a
result from gripping the gun so hard. She fiercely turned away, but Yulia grabbed her
arm.
“What is it…?” Yulia asked, eyes-widened. She rushed to turn the switch on, but
electricity was cut off ever since the auction.
Lena stopped to glance around.
“I’ll find some candles in the kitchen,” Yulia said softly and walked towards the door,
meaning to get out to the hallway.
“Get down,” Lena said quietly.
At the whisper, Yulia froze for a second and threw herself on the floor. She quickly
crawled into one of the closets.
Holding the gun up, Lena carefully moved out into the hallway. She swore she heard
something coming from downstairs. It was already night time and whoever it was
could be an unwelcome guest. She was practically the owner of the ranch now and
had the right to shoot any intruder without hesitation. For once, she could befriend
with laws.
Lena caught a set of shadows coming up the spiral stairs. She immediately moved into
a room, pressing her back against the wall and listening to the footsteps entering the
hallway. The intruder was oddly daring, not caring that he had caused noises.
In the dark, Lena could see the shadow of a huge man walking deeper into the
hallway, approaching the room where Yulia was hiding in. Lena swiftly moved out
into the hallway, pressing the gun behind the intruder’s back.
The man swiftly turned. Lena had only a fraction of a second, deciding not to shoot
him. She smacked the gun at his face instead, knocking him out cold. At the heavy
sound of thudding, Yulia scurried out of the room, running towards Lena.
“Are you all right!?” Yulia asked.
Lena waved Yulia to stay put, but it seemed pointless since Yulia rushed to stand next
to her, clinging to her arm.
“Oh, my God, it’s Mitch! What is he doing here!?”
Lena looked around for a few moments, making sure there was no one else. “That’s a
good question. Let’s move him into the room.”
>>>
The main stairway was lighted up with a few candles the maids had stored up in the
kitchen. With a gun in one hand, Lena made her way to the mahogany, front doors
and locked them up. Yulia followed Lena every step, a candle in her hands.
“I told you to stay with Mitch,” Lena said.
“Why should I be with him? He’s still unconscious. Besides, there aren’t enough
candles around. I’m afraid you might shoot the wrong person.”
Lena opened her mouth, but stopped short and chuckled instead.
“What do you find funny, Ms. Cohen?” Yulia perked her chin up, holding the candle
up to see Lena’s face clearer.
Lena carefully picked a strand of hair around Yulia’s shoulder and pulled it.
“Ouch! What’s the meaning of this!?” Yulia yelped.
Shaking her head, Lena walked back up the stairs.
Yulia picked up the strand of frizzled hair on the floor, eyes-widened. “I burnt my
own hair!?”
>>>
In the master bedroom, which was used to be Mr. Volkov and his wife’s, Lena sat
herself in a corner, where she could see the entrance very well, but not in the position
that an intruder could first see. Playing with the gun in her hands, Lena watched
Mitch sitting up on the carpeted floor, grumbling about his broken nose.
Standing up a candle on a piece of broken glass, Yulia put the small source of light in
the middle of the large room.
“If I could get some more candles, wouldn’t that be nice?” Yulia said, grinning.
“Are you trying to conjure some voodoo curse on Holden?”
Yulia turned, glaring at the red-haired woman in the corner. “Would it be too much to
put that gun away for a minute?”
BANG!
“MARY!”
“HEAVENS!”
Yulia’s scream mixed horribly with Mitch’s. The bullet had flown right into the small
flame, putting the light out. Lena laughed aloud and tossed a matchbox to the
bewildered Yulia.
Yulia grabbed it and threw it back at Lena’s face. “That wasn’t funny!”
“Were you trying to scare us, Ma’am!?” Mitch added.
Lena crawled to Yulia and lit up the candle again. The soft yellow light glowing upon
their faces somehow toned down Yulia’s glare. Lena’s gaze eventually left the blonde
woman and stopped at the injured man. Everything became quiet.
“You could have shot me dead, ain’t that right?” Mitch finally said, scoffing.
“I could have,” Lena said quietly, her gaze empty. Mitch should know that the Irish
had intentionally spared him at the dual on that Christmas night.
“I had a job to do,” Mitch said.
Lena caught the slight tremble in his voice. “So did I.”
Yulia gently put her hand on Lena’s arm. “He didn’t know it was you.”
“He would have shot me even if he did.” Lena felt anger burning inside her but was
able to suppress it. It wasn’t Mitch’s fault. She was mad at herself for sparing him and
endangering herself in return.
“It was Frederick. It was because he tried to kill you,” Yulia said, sternly looking down.
Lena softened when she heard Yulia’s troubled tone. The thought of Frederick must
have triggered Yulia’s worry for her father again. Lena felt Mitch’s stare right where
Yulia’s hand on her arm, so she pulled away, not wanting the attention.
“What are you here for?” Lena stared at Mitch.
In the dimmed light, Mitch glanced at his boss’ daughter. “I heard Yulia was going to
visit the ranch without Mr. Myer. I was worried about her safety.”
“Oh, Mitch! I am a grown up now, and I have no business with Holden Young! I
don’t need twenty-four-hours protection!”
“I’m worried even more now that you still plan on meeting up with Ms. Cohen!”
Mitch was now fully taking the vacant role of Yulia’s guardian.
“We didn’t plan to meet! She—stalked me!”
“May I remind you that you were the one broken into my ranch?” Lena deadpanned.
Yulia inhaled deeply before she spat. “Oh, right! You dirty mafia bought your way
around, threatening and taking advantage from poor little citizens!
Your ranch!”
Lena just raised her brows. Yulia had spoken as if her father was nothing but an
ordinary businessman.
“What am I missing here? Is this your ranch now, Ma’am!?” Mitch looked utterly baffled.
Lena lazily rubbed her neck. “Do you have sources at all, or Russian mafias prefer to
learn the bad news from daily newspaper?”
“Well, Ms. Cohen, we’re busy covering up somebody’s mess. We’re lacking the
luxury of time to spy on someone’s property.”
“There will be no more mess. I’ll arrange a meeting with Holden Young as soon as
possible. I’m not going to risk anyone else’s life by coming back here.”
“A meeting with Holden! Please save your one-man show I don’t think I can take it
again so soon!”
“I know what I’m doing,” Lena said in annoyance.
Grumbling, Yulia crossly looked away.
In the few moments of silence among them, Lena noticed the way Mitch was
watching them. “Let’s get you patch up, Mitch.” She then turned to Yulia. “It’s the
time we’re heading back?”
In her knee-length skirt, Yulia carefully stood up, and to her surprise, Lena gave her a
hand, pulling her up. Looking down, Yulia tucked her blonde hair behind her ears.
“Roland will be so please to see you again.”
Buttoning up her coat, Lena stood, Roland’s name echoing in her ears. She couldn’t
seem to push away the thought of how close Roland and Yulia had become.
“Wait. Wait.” Yulia took liberty to turn the collar of Lena’s coat up. Frowning, Lena
stuffed her hands into her pocket, the gun still firmly in one hand. Yulia couldn’t help
but smiled at the gentleness only she could see beneath that tough exterior. “I might
get tired over saying this one day, but… Welcome back, Lena.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
sorry for the typos and all. too lazy to check.
