Chapter 150

Layla

As soon as we were unpacked, Eva put in an order for Chinese food while Stasia gave a quick tour around the place. The place had four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. The place had a full kitchen, a breakfast nook, a dining room that could seat eight, and a large backyard that had the perfect view of the ocean.

“This place is absolutely gorgeous,” I said breathlessly. “If I owned the place, I’d be here every summer.”

“It is beautiful,” Stasia confirmed. “Makes me think that perhaps Eva and I should come out to the East Coast more often.”

“Why don’t you?” I asked her.

I noticed the way Stasia’s expression dulled. She briefly squeezed her eyes shut as though she were trying to ward off unpleasant memories.

“Dmitri used to spend a lot of time with Gavriil when we were younger. Sometimes, it’s really difficult to be around him and Irena for long periods of time before Eva and I become overwhelmed by the memories.”

I still had a hard time comprehending how their own Stepfather could do something so terrible. How could he, or anyone, think to poison a pregnant woman? It was so utterly despicable that it made me nauseous.

“How did Eva manage to come out of her dark place?” I asked. “I know that, naturally, you and her come from a much darker world...But losing her own baby...I don’t know how anyone could come back from something like that.”

Stasia’s expression shifted to that of deep contemplation. “Tell me, when your darker persona took over, what were its sole motivators?”

“Revenge,” I admitted coolly. “I wanted to make Vanessa pay for what she did. I went as far as to try to ensure that no one from her family would ever try to hurt me or the people I cared about again.”

Stasia nodded her head. “Eva too. She was determined to make sure that Gavriil never hurt anyone ever again.”

Part of me was seriously debating about asking this next question. But we both knew that it was practically hanging in the air between us.

“What happened to Gavriil?”

She raised a single brow and tilted her chin down. “Eva killed him.”

My heart dropped in my chest as I failed to hide my shock.

It shouldn’t have surprised me, considering that Eva was the one who’d been attacked. I just found the whole matter hard to digest in general. I mean, granted, the man was a complete monster—he was still their Stepfather.

But, there again, perhaps there was never any real emotional or familial connection between him and the twins.

“Gavriil was nothing but a tyrant. Trust me, what Eva did to him was a hell of a lot more merciful than what I had planned in store for him.”

“I believe you,” I said. “I wasn’t able to go through with my plans. While I don’t like knowing that Vanessa and the rest of the Rossettis are still out there, I don’t know how I’d feel if I’d actually gone through with it.”

“That’s where you and Eva differ. She was glad. We both were. There were no regrets. However, it would never be enough to level out the pain of what she lost. Killing Gavriil didn’t bring her own child back in the end.”

I blew out a long breath and gently shook my head. “It’s why I can’t comprehend how she managed to overcome it all.”

“It took a lot of time. But while she was sorting through her feelings, I made sure that she was kept busy. She and I tore down the Morozov Patriarchy and did away with everything it stood for. And in the meantime, Eva was able to rebuild herself,” Stasia explained.

“I see,” I commented.

“Come. I’ll show you to your room.”

It wasn’t too long after that we heard Eva come back with dinner.

The following morning, I’d gotten up early and made my way down to the kitchen. I prepped the coffee maker and made a mental note to hit up the grocery store at some point. As good as the Chinese food was last night, I had no intention of living on take-out for the remainder of the trip.

“Good morning,” Eva greeted softly from the doorway.

“Hey, care for some coffee?”

“Yes, please,” she said enthusiastically. “So, today, we’re going to head into town and look around.”

Wait, what? Go into town?

“Shouldn’t I be...I don’t know, meditating or something? Shouldn’t I be spending my time reflecting on my life and figuring out how I’m going to move forward?”

Eva took a long sip of her coffee. “Yes, which is why we’re going to spend the day in town. Today, you’re not Layla Marcello, nor are you Layla Bennett. You are just Layla. Here, no one knows who you are. Today, you are a normal person.”

“Wow,” I croaked. “Alright.”

“Don’t worry. Throughout the day, I’m going to be asking several deep questions that are going to make you think. Starting with this one—What does Layla value most in her life?”

Just as I opened my mouth, Eva shot her hand out to silence me.

“Nope. Don’t tell me. Not now, at least,” she said with a grin. “Think about it. That’s the point of today’s exercise. I’ll ask the questions and you’re going to think long and hard about the answers.”

Once the three of us were ready, we left the house where we were able to get a closer look at the quaint charm of the town. The first place that drew my attention was an arts and crafts store. My mind instantly went to Eli.

Eva and Stasia were busy looking through some of the painted canvases on display at the front while I curled my way through the aisle in search of some decent graphite sketching pencils.

I found numerous kits that would be perfect for Eli along with a handmade leather-bound blank journal. As I searched through the various types of journals, the whole body went still.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. An eerie, unsettling feeling started to break over me.

Someone’s watching me.

I knew it wasn’t Eva or Stasia. The two were currently locked in a conversation over some picture they found. I aimlessly glanced around me, trying to appear as casual as possible. The last thing I needed was to show that I was aware I was being watched.

Unfortunately, it was a feeling I’d become accustomed to.

From where I was standing, the place didn’t seem to have that many people in it. But I knew I wasn’t mistaken.

Calmly, I gathered up my items and headed to the register. The elderly woman behind the counter offered me a smile and rang up my purchase.

I nearly snatched the bag out of her in order to get out of the store as quickly as possible.

Right as I made it outside, I felt better. The weight of whoever was watching me had lessened. For the moment, neither Eva nor Stasia thought anything was wrong.

We continued down the street, eager to find the next hidden gem that awaited us. But not before long, that feeling returned.

I knew for a fact that someone was keeping their eyes on me, even from a distance.