“I believe so,” he nods.
My eyes drift over him, staring at him with intensity that reflects the whirlpool of emotions inside me. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t waste a second. He helped her without question.
Marlen smiles tightly at me, then returns to his breakfast, and I head inside to pack my bags. My heart is in turmoil. He really is a good man. I’ve seen it in so many things he does, but this leaves no room for doubt in my mind. It worries me to have such a dramatic shift in my thinking. I simply can’t view him as an enemy anymore, and that terrifies me. Because if he’s not my enemy… What is he?
A knock at my door pulls my attention, and I turn to see Marlen standing there.
“I’m going to check on the girl and her mother. Would you like to walk with me?”
“Yes, I would like that very much,” I answer without giving myself a chance to think about whether or not it’s a good idea to go with him.
We walk in silence to the village. There is a different kind of tension between us now. It’s not just a physical yearning for him, but something more. Something complicated.
Marlen follows the directions sent to him by the doctor and arrives at Aliah’s little wooden house. She welcomes us in when he knocks on the door.
Inside, there is one massive room—an open-plan living space with two beds pushed into one corner. In one of those beds is a little girl. The doctor is leaning over her.
We wait quietly while he works. Aliah stands, shifting nervously.
“Where is your husband?” Marlen asks.
“He is at work. He is a fisherman.” Her answer is short; she is focused on her daughter.
The doctor stands up and pulls his mouth tight. “We need to get her to the mainland. I have a boat available; I can take her now. It’s less than an hour in calm seas.”
“Oh, um, no, I cannot afford the mainland doctors. I can’t afford their fees. Please, there must be something you can do for her here?” she pleads with the doctor. But he simply shakes his head.
“Her fever is dangerously high. She has some kind of infection, and I’m assuming it’s from the cut on her foot,” he explains.
“She stepped on a sea urchin. We soaked it in salt water…”
“I understand you did your best, but she has been infected with some kind of toxin, and her body is not managing to fight it. I have to take her to the mainland.”
Aliah begins to cry and shake her head. “I can’t afford it,” she mumbles.
Marlen reaches out to touch her arm, turning her to face him. “Aliah, there will be no cost for you. I will cover all of the expenses. Let Doctor Thomas take your daughter. Go with them, look after her.”
“My work, my husband…”
“Doctor Thomas, please arrange for her husband to be collected from wherever he is, so he can also be brought to the mainland. Book them a hotel near the hospital, put it on my account linked to the resort. I assume the girl will need to be hospitalized for a few nights?”
“Yes, at least a few. She needs to be on a drip and monitored closely. She’s dangerously weak.”
Aliah looks relieved that her daughter can get the help she needs, but also still very worried, almost reluctant to go to the mainland with them.
Marlen turns to her again. “Aliah, I will have someone from the resort stop over here when you return from the mainland. He will bring you a month’s worth of pay for both you and your husband, so you can be with your daughter while she’s healing. You can both take some time off without worrying.”
Aliah bursts into tears and grabs Marlen in a tight embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she sobs against his shirt. “I don’t know how to repay you,” she cries.
He holds her for a moment, then gestures to the doctor. “I don’t want anything in return, Aliah. Take care of your little girl. You’d better get going,” he says.
Marlen leaves her home, and I follow him out into the bright, warm sunshine. I can’t believe how selfless he is. So generous. Truly kind and caring.
Biting my lip, I think about who he is at home. The man who leads a Bratva family. He is viewed as ruthless and dangerous. But now I see the real him. The person he can’t let others know about because they would take advantage of it, viewing it as a weakness in a world of violence and malice.
He isn’t the man they all think he is. He isn’t even the man I thought he was. There is no monster here, no enemy. The last threads of my doubt break away, and I see Marlen without the veil that he wears in public.
I see him.
