Of all the boys in Bulgaria, why did Katherine choose him?! They were all at her feet... so why him?! Seriously, why is Nadia's father my best friend's brother?! Why is it the one I've been arguing with since I was four years old?! The one who most often makes me want to commit murder...
Aleko Dragonov, I hate you! Even without meaning to, you drive me insane! Couldn't you just... I don't know... move to another continent, for example? Anywhere, as long as it's far away from me!
"This is impossible! Katherine slept with Aleko! But why me?!" I screamed, pulling at my hair.
"It's strange... Aleko isn't the type to not take responsibility... even if Katherine is an ulichnitsa! (Slut.) Seriously, she's slept with almost every boy in the village! I could never have been friends with that... Grr... I can't believe she dared to sleep with my brother knowing she'd already been in so many other beds. Anyway, Aleko would have asked her to marry him if that were the case..." Liliya fumed in turn.
It's true, it's odd. I can't imagine Aleko not taking responsibility, not with me or even with Katherine... It's just not like him, unless... Katherine lied to him. Or maybe Katherine herself didn't even know who the father was. This situation is such a headache...
But why him? At least now I know Nadia won't be born... There's no way I'll sleep with Aleko. Not in this lifetime. Sorry, Nadia, but it's just not happening! Aleko, I swear if I run into you today, I'm going to unishtozhi (destroy) you, pulverize you, and make you bite prakh! (dust.)
Katherine, you have no taste in men! Aleko Dragonov... you couldn't have done worse! Well, okay, he's not ugly... He has nice dark brown hair, piercing dark eyes, and lips... Anyway, you get the idea... but his personality is unbearable! Worse than that, he's monumentally arrogant. Next to him, Michael Jordan would seem like a Good Samaritan... Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little...
Too preoccupied with my murderous thoughts toward the oh-so-wonderful person known as Aleko Dragonov, I didn't notice another flashback beginning...
This one showed Aleko riding out on horseback with other boys from the village, armed with weapons and rifles. Then it showed him falling to his death from his horse.
Aleko would die before Katherine even learned about her pregnancy... which explains why Katherine ended up being banished from Bulgaria.
"Aleko... is going to die... This... this can't be... not him... no, not him... It has to be a mistake... I must have gotten the spell wrong... it has to be! Aleko... not you..." Liliya sobbed, collapsing to the ground.
I immediately pulled her into my arms, trying to calm her and offer some comfort.
But another flashback appeared. Liliya, too shaken by the previous one, didn't even look at it, letting me hold her as she cried.
The flashback showed Liliya slapping Katherine upon learning that she had been with other men besides her brother. Then, another flashback revealed Liliya's reaction to the news of Aleko's death. Devastated, she went to the lake and let herself sink into it, ending her own life as well.
Tears streamed down my cheeks now. I had believed that Liliya would live for years, even if I followed in Katherine's footsteps. But now, I was faced with a bitter truth.
Even my best friend and her brother would die, and this time, it had nothing to do with Klaus this time…
"I need to go see Aleko… I have to talk to him…" Liliya said as she pulled away from me.
For a moment, panic surged through me. I was terrified she might do something reckless… Watching her end her life in that flashback had hit me harder than I realized.
"Don't worry, Kate'. I'll be back… I just need to see my big brother. Seeing him die reminded me that life isn't eternal... Don't worry, I won't say a word about Erika or anything we just saw. It'll stay between us. See you tomorrow?"
"Yes! We'll find a way to save him… I swear it."
I hugged her tightly one last time before letting her go to Aleko. I didn't think things could get any worse than they already were… Now, I risk losing not only Mama, Tatko, and Natalia but Aleko—even if he's not my favorite person—and Liliya as well. I need to hurry and figure out how to protect them all.
The clock is ticking faster and faster… At this rate, I'll run out of time to save everyone.
Wait a second… What did Liliya just call me? I must've misheard… Nicknames are pretty common in the 21st century, whether it's among family or friends, but in the 15th century? That's unheard of.
No one's ever given me a nickname. To be fair, coming up with a nickname for Erika is kind of a mission impossible. My old family definitely wouldn't have bothered with one either.
It's crazy how something as simple as a nickname, given so casually, can shift my mood so suddenly. Maybe I'm a little bipolar too… That would explain why Katherine decided to sleep with that bokluk (trash). I know I should stop calling him every name under the sun, but the thought of having to sleep with that jerk for Nadia to exist? It doesn't sit well with me.
Quite the opposite, actually.
Why him?!
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