“Tell me, dear husband, why have you been lying to me?”
He gasps in shock and releases Valentin's collar. His cousin takesthe opportunity to scramble backwards, away from Art. His face is bloodied and swollen, his lip split, blood staining his white shirt, whereas Art look as unruffled as ever.
When his mismatched eyes flicker to mine, I see that beneath his calm facade, he’s scrambling. He hasn’t got an excuse for this. He didn’t think I’d find out.
“Looks like you have something more important to deal with,” says Valentin, dusting himself off. Neither of us pay him any attention.
The door clicks shut as he leaves.
With the light from the hallway gone, we’re bathed in a dim, blue light, the moon outside the only illumination.
“Nenoka, why are you threatening to stab me again?”
“Because you lied to me.”
“About what?”
“Wrong fucking question.” I pressed the letter opener against his neck until it draws a shallow stream of blood. “If there are so many things you’re lying to me about, why don’t you guess which one?”
He falls silent. That’s wise.
“Go on.”
Art takes a deep breath, his throat bobbing. The blade of the letter opener nicks his throat again.
“You’re clearly mad about something.”
“True. Well done, Einstein.” I don’t move an inch.
“Why don’t we talk about this calmly?”
“Oh, I’m very calm. In the perfect headspace for a conversation, actually.”
It’s satisfying, watching Art’s throat bob. Making him nervous for once.
“Want to give me a clue what’s set you off?”
“Maybe I was curious about why my husband was angry that his cousin was marrying one of his closest friends.”
“You asked Karolina.”
“I did.”
I feel Art tense, but I don’t release him. I leave him trapped there, the letter opener pressed against the back of his neck.
“And she told you about Vanya’s birthday.“
“Yes.” I drop the knife from his neck and walk around to face Artyom. He gets to his feet, slowly, his eyes still on the knife in my hand. “Tell me, husband. Is that why you decided you wanted to be a part of mine and Ava’s life? So you could win some kind of rivalry with your cousins?”
“It’s not like that.”
“It seems exactly like that.”
Art falls silent.
“If you can’t explain this to me, I don’t think I can do this. Because right now it seems like I’ve been left in the dark about the reason you married me.”
30
