Disclaimer: I don't own the Grisha Trilogy and its characters – it belongs to Leigh Bardugo. I do not own the Shadow & Bone TV series, which was developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix and based on Leigh Bardugo's books. Any recognisable dialogue is from the books or TV show – some lines may be included verbatim, others in an amended form.
This AU wouldn't leave me alone, so here's a second chapter from Elizaveta's POV.
For information:
(1) The first chapter (Leonid's POV) takes place in late October 2020, during Alina's last year at school.
(2) This chapter (Elizaveta's POV), ignoring the flashback section, starts when Elizaveta and Alina meet Aleksander in mid-December 2019 and runs until September 2021 (when Alina starts at university).
(3) Alina's birthday is at the beginning of December.
Elizaveta
Elizaveta Nikolayeva has never had problems meeting men.
The issue is getting them to stay.
She's seventeen when she gets pregnant, when her high school boyfriend freaks out and dumps her before the news is even fully out of her mouth.
Gives the baby up, sure it is for the best. Finishes high school a little later than planned and then finds a job at one of the city's big department stores.
Gets promoted quickly. Elizaveta has always had good people skills, knows what clothes flatter a woman and what they should avoid.
Meets a man at one of the training days she has to attend. They are married within two years, trying for kids soon after.
Children never come, though. She wonders if that baby in high school was her only chance. Can't bring herself to tell her husband, though.
Six years.
That's how long her marriage lasts.
Love and contentment fading into bitter resentment when the one thing they both want desperately – a family – never materialises.
Elizaveta suggests adoption, but he doesn't ever take to the idea. She thinks he wants a baby with his face, his smile, his genetic material. And she can't give him that.
The divorce is civilised enough, if horribly sad. They sell the house and she buys an apartment with her share.
Other dates follow.
She can't seem to make the relationships stick, though, as if her failed marriage has somehow sapped her ability to form a lasting connection.
She is thirty-one when she fosters eleven-year-old Alina Starkova.
Has always wanted a daughter. Imagines shopping trips and spa days and gossiping about boys.
Alina prefers galleries and museums, though, spends hours sketching and painting in her room, pours over old maps as Elizaveta tries to figure out just what she finds so interesting about them.
She's proud, of course. Alina gets a scholarship to a top school, always has exceptional grades and her Art teacher gushes about her talent.
Still, she feels a divide between them, knowing she can't understand Alina the way she wishes to.
Harder than ever to keep a man.
Goes on a series of dates, but they tend to back off when she tells them about Alina, too big a commitment for them.
Some stay longer, a few months. Nothing serious, however, nothing real.
Elizaveta meets Aleksander Morozov at the school's Winter Art Showcase, two weeks after Alina's seventeenth birthday.
She is there to support her foster daughter, who has two sketches and three paintings in the showcase.
He's standing in front of Alina's masterpiece, a painting titled simply Sun and Shadow. She doesn't know much about art, but everyone has been raving about Alina's use of colour, the dichotomy of light and dark, the careful and intricate brush-strokes.
He's tall, dark and handsome, this man, maybe a few years younger than she is. Definitely the sort of guy Elizaveta and her friends all swoon over.
Intimidatingly good looking, really, but his placement in front of Alina's work gives her courage.
"Do you like it?" she asks, stepping up beside him.
"Marvellous," he says, admiration clear, "really quite stunning work for a girl not even out of high school. Do you know the artist?"
And there is her opening.
"She's my foster daughter," Elizaveta confides.
His eyes widen, interest sparkling there, "you must be very proud, Mrs …?"
"Ms Nikolayeva," she emphasises the Ms, knowing she's being a bit obvious but wanting to be clear that she's absolutely available.
"Ms Nikolayeva," he repeats, mouth quirking upwards into a frankly sinful smile, "I'm Aleksander Morozov. Would you like to sit down, have a drink?"
She accepts immediately, lets him lead her to the little replica of a French café the school has created next to all the exhibits (private schools, she thinks, kind of crazy sometimes).
Half an hour passes by. Two glasses of wine, some fancy cheese and then delicious pastries.
He wants to know all about her, and it's a pleasant surprise to find a guy who doesn't try and talk about himself and his successes all the time.
She doesn't actually connect the man in front of her with the school's most prominent donor until Alina passes by and Elizaveta calls her over to introduce her.
"Mr Morozov?" Alina asks, "like, from our library?"
He nods, "and you must be the talented artist."
Alina brightens and takes the seat Aleksander gestures to. Elizaveta listens as they both speak animatedly about art and The Fold, a new gallery Aleksander is apparently a partner in.
And if Elizaveta feels briefly left out, unable to follow the conversation, it's alright really – after all, Aleksander spent plenty of time asking about her and it's sweet, really, that he's making an effort to be friendly with Alina.
They exchange numbers at the end of the evening, and Elizaveta hasn't felt this excited about a man in a long time.
She's got a good feeling about this one.
In the month that follows there's dinner at a restaurant with two Michelin stars, a romantic picnic one Saturday afternoon, a home-cooked meal in his gorgeous brownstone.
And the sex … the sex is certainly something to smile about.
Aleksander is charming and intelligent and never makes her feel lesser because of his wealth.
(she has a good job, a large apartment in a nice part of the city, a decent lifestyle. But Alina only goes to the school she does because of a scholarship. There are no weekend trips to Aspen or second homes or constant jet-setting holidays).
He's so brilliant about Alina too.
Never seems to consider her a burden or annoyance, even goes out of his way to take her on visits to museums and art galleries while Elizaveta goes out with her friends and shows off pictures of her handsome boyfriend.
"You're so lucky," her co-worker Vasilka tells her when Aleksander appears at the end of a hectic work day to whisk her off for a surprise spa weekend, "you've found the perfect man."
Elizaveta blushes and shrugs, trying not to be smug.
Aleksander really is the ideal guy.
When Aleksander insists on paying Alina's school fees, freeing up her scholarship for someone else, Elizaveta makes a token protest but is easily persuaded.
He's so philanthropic, after all, and he and Alina are such good friends.
"It must be getting serious," her friend Marya squeals excitedly. "do you think he's going to propose?"
Elizaveta shakes her head and laughs it off – they haven't been dating that long, really – but if she daydreams of diamond rings and a beautiful white dress then that's only natural.
No engagement ring appears, but soon enough Aleksander does ask them to move in with him.
His brownstone is so close to Elizaveta's work and Alina's school. His driver can save Alina from having to walk or take the bus or train. They can have dinner parties and she can invite all her friends over without worrying whether there will be enough seats.
"Keep your apartment," he suggests, "it's a good investment for you. Maybe you can rent it out?"
She does as he says, finds a newly married couple who are great tenants, no trouble at all.
Tries to give Aleksander money for groceries or bills but he only waves her off, laughs that he's got more than enough and she should spend her earnings on herself.
Family dinners become a thing.
The three of them sat down together, Aleksander at the head of the table, with Elizaveta and Alina either side.
Delicious meals, sometimes Aleksander's own work (he's an excellent cook) when he has the time, other days take-out from fancy restaurants she's fairly sure don't normally deliver.
Alina is oddly fidgety at some of these meals, shifting in her seat as if she can't stay still, cheeks flushed pink, giving only mumbling replies to questions.
Elizaveta shrugs and thinks she just isn't used to family meals, might be uncomfortable. They tended to eat separately for the most part, before Aleksander.
Slowly, the house becomes a home.
Most of Elizaveta and Alina's furniture stays back at the apartment, but their personal touches make themselves known in the brownstone.
Elizaveta's plants pop up all over, together with vases of her favourite roses in almost every room. Aleksander has a gardener, but Elizaveta puts her own mark there too, relishing in the chance to exercise her green thumb in a way she never managed to at the apartment.
The rug she found when she was visiting Ahmrat Jen ten years ago now sits in the spare study. The hand-painted bowl she made during her short stint at a pottery class decorates the kitchen counter. Her romance novels sit next to Aleksander's classics on the bookshelf.
There are a dozen new paintings throughout the house, many of them Alina's own work. Sun and Shadow has pride of place in the living room.
Elizaveta loves it. The brownstone may be Aleksander's but it's starting to feel more like theirs.
Aleksander is generous with his money, taking them places and buying them gifts.
Elizaveta is grateful and effusive in her thanks.
Alina is quiet, maybe not quite sure what to make of so many presents, a hang-up from her days in the group home, but it's clear to Elizaveta that she finds it impossible to turn down a lifetime membership to Os Alta Art Gallery, or a private tour of the Kribirsk Museum (which holds an impressive collection of maps, some of which are thousands of years old), or one of the spare rooms at the brownstone being turned into an art studio for her.
At first a little skittish and reserved with Aleksander, Alina starts to come out of her shell a bit as the weeks pass by.
Soon enough, her foster daughter feels safe to tease Aleksander, to push her boundaries a little bit the way most teenagers are prone to.
Aleksander proves to be quite the overprotective menace when it comes to Alina's boyfriend Mal. Insisting on curfews and demanding to know exactly where they are going.
Elizaveta doesn't really see the need for it. Alina is far more sensible than Elizaveta had been at her age, not likely to act out in any particularly dramatic fashion. Still, there's no harm in ensuring she gets back home at a decent time, and it makes sense for them to know where she'll be, just in case.
"10," Aleksander insists.
"11," Alina counters.
"10.30," Aleksander suggests reluctantly.
"Yes, sir," Alina gives him a wink and mock salute, and Elizaveta muffles her laughter by pretending to cough.
Aleksander's eyes seem to darken briefly, "behave, Alinochka," he warns.
"We're only going to dinner," Alina says, "it'll be fine."
Aleksander still seems irritated, glaring at Mal when he arrives. Elizaveta finds it endearing, how he's insistent on looking out for Alina's wellbeing.
She is a little more irritated as the evening goes by and his mood does not improve. He glances at his watch constantly, as if preparing to send out a search party if Alina is even one minute late.
He snaps at her when she tries to distract him, his anger baffling her, but barely a second later he's all apologies.
"Sorry, darling, it's been a long day at work," he says, kissing her softly, "now, why don't you tell me about your day."
He's as attentive as always when she narrates a few funny little incidents from her day at work, and her confused irritation melts away.
Still, he doesn't quite relax until Alina arrives home at 10.29 exactly.
Elizaveta comes home early from work one day and hears noises coming from Alina's room.
High, breathy female moans not accompanied by any matching male sounds.
Well, masturbation is a perfectly natural thing, she thinks to herself as she heads back downstairs, especially if you are a teenager and think you're alone in the house.
Five minutes later, Aleksander joins her in the living room.
She hadn't heard the door but she's got the television on so she just assumes she didn't notice.
He's in casual clothes, looking a little sweaty.
"I thought you were out at a meeting," she says, remembering his earlier grumbling about financial reviews.
"Finished early," he explains, "I came home and then went out for a run. Just got back. Since I'm done sooner than expected, shall I make dinner tonight? Italian?"
"Mmm, sounds great," Elizaveta smiles.
She really does have such a wonderful boyfriend.
For her birthday, Aleksander surprises Elizaveta with a two-week trip to Bali.
He is incredibly apologetic that he can't go with her, a work emergency coming up that requires his presence in the office.
Still, he insists she go and enjoy herself, that she take Marya and Vasilka with her and have the relaxing, sun-soaked holiday she deserves.
She worries about Alina, but Aleksander assures her that he'll keep an eye on the girl as much as he can. Alina isn't one to stay out late partying, anyway.
She does get a little surprise when, a few days before the holiday, Alina comes to her and says she's going onto birth control, just in case.
Still, Elizaveta grins conspiratorially and asks how her relationship with Mal is going.
Alina plays it cool, but Elizaveta knows how teenagers are, never wanting to let on about their feelings.
She hasn't seen Mal in a while, not since the evening he came to pick Alina up for dinner, but she imagines that he and Alina will take advantage of the mostly-empty brownstone for the next two weeks.
Elizaveta knows she can count on Alina to be sensible, but she makes sure her foster daughter's bathroom has a box of condoms, to be on the safe side. Birth control isn't always effective, after all, and Elizaveta is a living example of a cautionary tale.
As she's leaving Alina's room, she finds a half-finished sketch of a naked torso inside a book Alina has left open on her desk.
She thinks with a smile that the girl must have been admiring her boyfriend's body rather thoroughly.
After a second glance, she muses that the torso looks oddly familiar, but shakes off the feeling that she's missing something.
She's got a lot of packing to do, after all, and a wonderful holiday to enjoy.
Since Alina plans to apply to The Little Palace, Aleksander kindly introduces her to a number of students already attending, so that she can get a feel for the university.
Genya, David, Zoya and Nina are in and out of the brownstone all summer, sometimes with even more people in tow, like Nina's boyfriend Matthias (a Fjerdan exchange student) and Governor Lantsov's son Nikolai.
Elizaveta is pleased to see them all, having worried that Alina was beginning to isolate herself (her old school friends never seem to come over and she's seen Mal less and less recently).
"I'm glad to see Alina having some fun," she confides to Aleksander one evening, "she's seemed quiet lately. I hope there's nothing wrong between her and Mal."
"She's growing up," he says, "it sometimes means letting go of things that aren't working any more, finding something better. I like these new friends far more than those girls she used to talk about."
Of course he likes Alina's new friends, Elizaveta thinks, he's the one who introduced her to them. Polite and clever, all high fliers and from prominent families.
She's never seen anything wrong with Alina's old friends, or with Mal. Maybe they aren't as academic as Alina but they are all decent young people.
It's Alina's choice, though, in the end.
Aleksander and Alina come in from a visit to The Fold Gallery, their third one this month.
"I thought you were going to be back three hours ago," she says, trying not to sound hurt, "we were going to get lunch."
Alina vanishes up to her room, bags from the art supply shop looped around her wrists, and Aleksander looks apologetic.
"I've been neglecting you, darling," he bends his head to press his lips to hers briefly, "we got a little caught up talking about a painting that we've just started displaying at The Fold and then I remembered Alina really needs some new brushes and paint. I'm afraid lunch went completely out of my head."
Elizaveta looks down, a mix of emotions swirling inside of her.
Aleksander really is a fantastic boyfriend. She shouldn't be so upset about him missing one lunch.
Still, she finds herself oddly jealous. Of Alina, for having so much in common with Aleksander that they seem to have something new to do together each week. Of Aleksander, for forging a connection with her foster daughter that Elizaveta has never managed herself. Alina loves her, she knows, but they aren't the best friends or the inseparable mother and daughter pair that Elizaveta had once hoped for.
Maybe she's just asking for too much, though.
Everyone always tells her how insanely lucky she is.
It seems wrong to complain when she has as much as she does.
"How is Mal?" Elizaveta asks during dinner one day.
"We broke up," Alina replies.
Her foster daughter seems perfectly calm. No hysterics, no signs of earlier crying, no real emotion about it at all.
"Are you ok?"
Alina shrugs, "it just wasn't working. He didn't accept me for who I am, constantly teasing me about reading so many books, telling me only brainy freaks go to The Little Palace.
Elizaveta frowns. And Mal had always seemed so nice.
"I always thought that boy was an idiot," is all Aleksander offers.
"Isn't he your cousin or something," Alina says slyly, "he said something about it a few weeks ago."
Aleksander scowls darkly, "distant cousin, through his mother. I've never met her and I'm not sure I'd want to, given what her son is like."
And then the two of them are bickering about something Elizaveta can't quite follow and she suddenly feels sad because Alina hadn't come to her weeping about her heartbreak, hadn't confided in her at all until she specifically asked about Mal.
Some part of her feels like she's losing her foster daughter.
When Elizaveta is offered an opportunity to travel to the Wandering Isle for two weeks for a big training conference, she hesitates before agreeing to go.
"I'm just a little concerned about Alina," she tells Aleksander, "she seems to be doing fine but what if her breakup with Mal starts to cause problems in school?"
"I'll keep an eye on her," he promises, "although I'm not sure the school will speak with me if there are any issues."
"Oh, that's fine," Elizaveta says, "there's a form for everything these days. Since I'm going away, I'll ask them to add you as an approved contact."
"Then there's nothing to worry about," he smiles at her, "you go to the conference. Try and find some time for sightseeing in between all those dull training seminars."
Two days before her flight leaves, Aleksander slides a box across the table to Alina during dinner, "Happy Birthday, Alinochka."
"It's not for another month and a half," her foster daughter reminds Aleksander.
Aleksander shrugs, "I couldn't wait. It was simply too perfect."
Alina opens the box to reveal a gold pendant shaped like the sun and studded with maybe two dozen small diamonds, "ohh, it's beautiful."
It really is. Not Elizaveta's taste at all, but exactly right for Alina.
"You spoil her," she chides her boyfriend.
He'd given Alina a gold necklace in the shape of antlers (by a designer her foster daughter admires for her "visionary and artistic designs") at the end of the summer when one of her paintings had won a national competition, and then a shimmering bracelet only a month ago after a top score in one of her Shu exams. It really was far too much for a seventeen-year-old.
Aleksander only shrugs, "what use is money if I can't spend it on my two favourite girls?"
Elizaveta looks down at her own wrist, the tennis bracelet Aleksander had presented her with about six months ago sparkling on her wrist. There are boxes in their bedroom filled with glittering earrings and necklaces and bracelets that he has purchased for her.
They are all lovely, every single one of them. And yet, none of them seem quite as personal as those three pieces given to Alina.
Saints, she thinks, now I sound like a spoiled brat.
And so, Elizaveta smiles, admires the necklace after Aleksander helps Alina put it on and reminds herself that she's wearing a bracelet that Marya insists is worth upwards of $45,000.
There is no reason for her to feel left out.
At the beginning of December, they celebrate Alina's eighteenth birthday with a meal out and a trip to the theatre.
Her main gift is a one-to-one workshop in Os Kervo the next Saturday with an acclaimed artist known only as Volcra. Elizaveta has a work wellness retreat she can't get out of, but Aleksander is driving Alina to Os Kervo – he's got a few business meetings there that he needs to take care of and they can both stay at the little manor house he owns near the sea.
It's a relief, really, to know he's going too. Alina is eighteen now and fairly independent, but she rarely leaves Os Alta and Elizaveta worries about her traipsing around a new city all on her own.
Aleksander's driver Tomek takes Elizaveta to her wellness retreat. He is quiet and reserved, the consummate professional.
She's seen him laughing with Alina, has heard her foster daughter ask after his wife and two small children.
He never talks to Elizaveta, though, never offers anything but a polite greeting.
It's probably because he takes Alina to and from school so often, whereas Elizaveta is usually with Aleksander whenever she uses the car.
Still, it really is a bit of a pattern with Aleksander's staff. Alina chats with the housekeeper about the best way to get paint out of clothes, discusses financial markets with Aleksander's intimidating employee Ivan, and plays intense games of chess with Ivan's husband Fedyor. In contrast, they are all perfectly pleasant to Elizaveta, but they never invite conversation.
They probably feel more comfortable with Alina than with Elizaveta.
Elizaveta, who might one day be Aleksander's wife.
He's never spoken about marriage to her, but surely it must be something he's considered. They've been living together for over six months, and an engagement doesn't mean they'd need to get married straight away.
Perhaps she's skipping ahead too fast, though. Aleksander is a few years younger than she is. It's possible he doesn't feel ready to take that next step yet.
And she's happy with how things are now. She really is.
A few months later, they're at the school for the opening of the new art studio, a project funded almost entirely by Aleksander's generosity.
Alina is beaming, excited at the thought of all new facilities she'll be able to take advantage during the rest of the school year.
Elizaveta loses track of how many people come up to shake Aleksander's hand, thanking him for his contribution to the school, often as they try and steer the conversation to one of their own projects that they want help funding.
An hour or so into the event, a slightly nervous-looking man comes up to them.
Alina smiles politely at him, "hi, Mr Stepanov."
Ah, must be one of the school staff then.
Aleksander turns to her, "Mr Stepanov is one of the school counsellors. I met him when I popped in on some business when you were away on your trip to the Wandering Isle. He was checking up on Alina, making sure everything was alright after her break-up with the Oretsev boy."
"So kind of you," Elizaveta thanks Mr Stepanov with a sincere smile, "I was a little concerned but she seemed to take it all in her stride."
"Err … yes," the man stutters out, looking slightly nervously at Aleksander.
Aleksander is admittedly intimidating at first glance, but so caring underneath, the perfect boyfriend, and she wishes she could tell Mr Stepanov that he doesn't need to be worried.
"It's nice to meet you," she shakes Mr Stepanov's hand and wonders why he looks at her like he feels sorry for her.
It's unusual, really. People are generally envious of her – because of the ease at which she excels at her job, or the amazing boyfriend she has, or her smart and talented foster daughter.
This school counsellor, on the other hand, is staring at her with a level of sympathy usually reserved for people who have just experienced some sort of personal trauma.
Aleksander takes her arm then and leads her away to speak with the Principal.
Elizaveta is glad. The way Mr Stepanov is looking at her is making her uncomfortable.
Like she's lost someone and she doesn't even know it yet.
Time passes and things are good.
It's only …
Sometimes, she feels like her relationship with Aleksander is in a rut.
The kisses, the sex, the outings, the gifts. They're all still there, but at times Aleksander only seems half-present.
As polite and charming as ever, but there isn't any substance to their interactions.
Occasionally, she wonders if there ever was.
For the month before Alina's exams start, Elizaveta barely ever sees her foster daughter.
The girl spends all her time in her room, studying and revising and finalising any essays she needs to hand in.
Aleksander takes dinner up to her every evening and then returns to the table so he and Elizaveta can eat together. Their meals are quiet, perfunctory enquiries about each other's work days followed by an uncomfortable silence as they both grasp for a topic to speak about.
Alina and Aleksander spend a whole two weeks speaking only in Shu with each other, to help Alina prepare for her upcoming exam.
Elizaveta had taken Fjerdan for a while in high school, but her grasp of that language is rudimentary at best. As for Shu – she can translate a few words and that's about it.
It probably shouldn't frustrate her as much as it does that she has no idea what they say to each other, cannot fathom what makes Alina laugh so loudly and freely, or causes Aleksander to give Alina such fond looks.
As they exams draw closer, Alina takes to sitting up late, Aleksander quizzing her on History and Art.
Elizaveta tries to help, but her boyfriend has a far better grasp of the material and she tends to go up to bed early. She reads a few chapters of a book, falls asleep with the lamp still on and only wakes up an hour or two later, when Aleksander slips into the bed next to her.
They haven't had sex in about three weeks, and they barely get the chance to exchange kisses.
It's a busy time, though. Things will get better when Alina's exams are over.
Alina sails through her exams, to no one's surprise.
She's already received an early acceptance to The Little Palace. Now Genya, David, Zoya, Nina, Matthias and Nikolai are once again all over the brownstone, helping Alina choose her classes, telling her who the best professors are, promising to invite her to all the coolest parties.
Elizaveta expects to have more time with Aleksander.
Strangely, though, she seems to get less.
Four or five times their plans to go away for a long weekend are cancelled because of an emergency at Aleksander's work.
She suggests he delegate, but he only shakes his head, apologises and says it is just something he has to deal with.
Elizaveta gets offered a promotion. Better money (not that she really needs it, living with Aleksander, never allowed to make a contribution towards the bills), extra responsibility, even more travelling.
Six months ago, she would have turned it down, would have wanted to make sure she still had time for her boyfriend, might have cherished a secret little hope that maybe one day soon there would be a miracle baby with Aleksander.
Now, though, she finds she wants something to fill the empty hours. There is no housework for her to do, Alina doesn't need any looking after, and her outings with Aleksander have dwindled.
She accepts the promotion, keeps a smile on her face when Aleksander doesn't protest, only congratulates her on her success with a brief kiss.
It's now been about two months since they last had sex.
Elizaveta has to work on the day Alina moves into her accommodation, ready for her first year at The Little Palace, but promises she'll come and visit soon.
Her foster daughter looks distressed for a moment before her face clears.
It must be nerves about moving out, starting a new adventure.
She just needs a little time.
When Elizaveta arrives home that evening, a text from Alina confirming she is comfortably settled, Aleksander is waiting for her.
Serious expression, sad eyes.
"We need to talk," he says.
Somehow, she thinks she's been waiting for him to say those words for most of their relationship.
"I'll have to tell Alina," Elizaveta murmurs half an hour later, wincing at the thought.
Her foster daughter will be devastated. Aleksander is the only one of Elizaveta's boyfriends that she has ever liked.
"I can talk to her," he suggests, expression far more shuttered and remote than she is used to.
"Yes," she nods, "maybe that's for the best."
Really, Elizaveta should be the one to speak with Alina, but she's always gotten along well with Aleksander, an ease that comes from shared interests and which Elizaveta does not share in.
Aleksander will be fair, she knows, will ensure Alina understands that this break-up isn't anyone's fault, just one of those things.
Sometimes people just aren't right for each other.
Elizaveta goes with dignity, accepts what he says about how they've been drifting apart, that it isn't fair on either of them to carry on like this.
And she pretends it doesn't hurt.
Three weeks later.
Elizaveta almost misses them sitting there outside a café, laughing together.
Aleksander and Alina.
For a moment, she feels something like bittersweet pleasure. At least Alina can keep him in her life, still has someone who understands art and history in a way Elizaveta never will.
But then …
They're sitting too close together. His hand on her knee, rubbing circles on bare skin and then inching higher than is really decent in public.
The way Aleksander is looking at Alina, like she's the sun.
He never looked at Elizaveta like that.
Suddenly, she remembers a hundred little things that, alone, gave her no cause for concern. Taken together, however …
She wants to think Aleksander wouldn't do that to her, that Alina would never hurt her this way.
She wants desperately to believe that this is some insane whirlwind relationship that has sprung up in the last few days.
(did Alina ever move into student accommodation? she wonders, or did she spend a night in a hotel and then move right back into the brownstone I had just vacated?).
Elizaveta isn't stupid.
Maybe she's been oblivious. Perhaps she's ignored all the signs. But it is clear that what is between her ex and her foster daughter has been going on for some time.
Elizaveta really doesn't want to think about how long.
For a few seconds, she contemplates storming over.
Causing a scene. Screaming. Crying. Cursing. Calling them both all the names running through her head right now.
Asking why. Why? Why? Why would they do this to her?
Instead, she takes a breath, walks away.
Manages to turn the corner before the first tears fall.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.