My Russian Stepbrothers

by Tee, Marian

  Daniela gave him a small nod. “He promised me that he’d stay clean, but last night I caught him snorting whatever the newest thing is. I told him I’m leaving, and that’s when this happened. I managed to get away, but he’s been harassing me ever since, texting and calling.” She showed him her phone.

  Taking it, Vassi scrolled through her messages and shook his head at the threats the rocker had been sending to Daniela. As the elevator’s doors opened to their floor, he gave Daniela her phone back, saying quietly, “You should sue him for this.”

  As they walked side by side, she muttered, “I know I should. But I won’t.”

  He glanced at her in exasperation. “Because you love him?”

  “Yes.” He saw her unconsciously rub her bruised wrist as she spoke, almost as if she was trying to convince herself the damage wasn’t that bad.

  Daniela entered the recording studio first, and following her inside, the first thing he saw was, of course, Seri. Even after everything, the way he sensed her presence first and before everything else hadn’t changed, and for one moment he allowed himself the bittersweet pleasure of gazing at her.

  It had been almost a week since he had left her at Davey’s place, and a part of him had foolishly hoped that by the time they met again, he would see her with eyes that were no longer blinded by the past.

  But it wasn’t to be.

  She was still the most beautiful girl in his eyes, and he despised her as much as he still—-

  Vassi deliberately cut the thought off.

  Move on, Grachyov.

  No matter how much he wished, Seri was not the kind of girl he thought she was.

  As he and Daniela headed to their positions, the other actors started grinning and elbowing each other.

  “Did you two come to work together?”

  Daniela blinked. “What?” Then, as if realizing what their colleagues were hinting at, she gasped, “No.” When everyone kept grinning, she rolled her eyes, saying, “Oh, please. Grachyov’s not my type.”

  “Oh, please, back,” Malinda, the actress voicing the main female protagonist, scoffed. “Vassi Grachyov is every girl’s type.” She then added, “I’m a lesbian, and even I know that,” which caused everyone to laugh.

  As Vassi took his place beside Seri, he told Daniela solemnly, “Why don’t you just admit it? You’ve got the hots for me.”

  “Pleeeease.” Tiptoeing to catch Seri’s eye over Vassi’s shoulder, Daniela pleaded, “Tell me you’re siding with me on this.”

  Vassi heard Seri say sweetly, “I can’t. He’s my favorite brother, after all.” And then Seri was peering at him, asking, “Right?”

  They stared at each other.

  Seri struggled not to lose her smile. Seeing Vassi and Daniela arrive together was like a slap to the face, and even now, the pain lingered inside her, making it hard to breathe and think beyond the words she was doing her best not to cry out.

  Words like—-

  Is it so easy to forget me? To see someone else? Did you really love me?

  In front of her, Vassi’s lips curved in a smile. “Thank you for the vote of loyalty, leech – even if we both know your type of guy is someone more like Maximilian Rockford.”

  It was another slap in the face, but this one was completely unexpected.

  She searched his gaze for anger or bitterness – anything that would let her know saying the other man’s name had hurt him the slightest bit.

  But there was none.

  She wrenched her gaze away from him as her body started to tremble hard. Taking her script out, Seri began flipping through it, pretending she was looking for something even though all she really wanted was for anyone not to know that she was breaking into a thousand pieces inside.

  If it had been the other way around, she knew – she knew she wouldn’t have been able to so easily say Daniela’s name in connection to him.

  Because she loved him, and she would always love him.

  But Vassi—-

  She flipped the pages faster, trying to distract herself from the urge to cry.

  Was it different for him because he was better at hiding his pain – or was it different because he hadn’t actually loved her at all?

  “Morning, everyone.” Marshall’s voice boomed through the speakers. “Just a quick reminder – today’s our last day of rehearsal, we’ll have the press conference tomorrow, and then when we meet again, that’s when work officially starts.” As everyone cheered and clapped, Marshall finished, “That’s all, and break a leg.”

  Vassi joined in the celebration, clapping with everyone else, but inside him the feeling of hollowness only grew. If his life had been a movie, something dramatic could and would have happened by now.

  Something like him turning to Seri, kissing her and forcing her to see the truth, which was that she loved him more than she loved the security she could get with her fucking Plan B.

  Vassi’s grip on his script tightened.

  He could do that, but at what cost?

  Because that was the thing about movies.

  Actors and actresses were able to say whatever they wanted to say, do whatever they wanted to do, knowing that at the end of the day, the people in their real lives wouldn’t be hurt by it.

  In real life—-

  Some words cost too much to say, and it was why, five minutes later, Vassi found himself working side by side Seri like nothing had ever happened between them.

  Seri.

  The girl he had loved almost his entire life – and the girl who had only needed minutes to break his heart, over and over.

  “Good job, everyone,” Marshall said jovially at the end of rehearsals. “How about one last run?”

  Unsurprisingly, the question was met with tired groans. It was already ten in the evening, and they had only been given a thirty-minute break for lunch and then an hour-long break for dinner.

  “Kidding, kidding. You all did great, and I’m counting on you all to impress tomorrow’s crowd. That’s it, pack up and go. See you at the press conference.”

  Vassi forced himself to turn to Seri. “You did a good job.”

  “You, too.”

  There was something in her eyes, something he knew he could decipher if he wanted to, but he deliberately ignored it, saying with a charming smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Something died in her eyes. “See you.” He watched her smile at someone behind him. “See you, Daniela.”

  “See you.” Daniela’s voice was cheerful enough, but because he had known the other girl for some time, he knew right away something was wrong. Turning his back on Seri, he asked Daniela without preamble, “What’s wrong?”

  She showed him her phone wordlessly.

  His gaze narrowed when he saw her boyfriend’s message about waiting for Daniela at her place.

  “You can’t go home.” His voice was flat.

  “I know. And I don’t want to go to any of my friends’ places. I don’t want to get them involved.”

  Vassi nodded even though half of his attention was still attuned to Seri. In the corner of his eye, he saw her head to the couch, where she had placed her bag and a couple of graphic novels.

  “Can I ask a favor, Grachyov?”

  As Daniela spoke, Seri looked up and he swiftly turned away before Seri realized he had been watching her.

  “What is it?”

  “Could I crash at your place tonight?”

  He saw Seri stumble almost right after Daniela’s question, and something inside of him felt...glad.

  Vassi heard himself say, “Sure.”

  Seri walked out of the recording studio in a daze. Had she heard them right? Had Daniela asked if she could stay at Vassi’s place, and had Vassi really said yes? Granted, she knew that Vassi was still staying in the family home, and that meant they wouldn’t even be alone.

  But even so—-

  It wasn’t like not being alone had ever mattered to Vassi, she thought numbly as she pressed the up button for
the elevator. Shelby was proof of that. Oh God, she herself was proof of that.

  Behind her, Seri heard Vassi and Daniela’s voices, and she quickly pressed the button again even knowing it wasn’t going to do any good. A few moments later, the doors finally opened, and she nearly threw herself in it. She reached for the down button—-

  Vassi suddenly appeared in front of her—-

  D’err mo.

  He grinned. “Hold it for us, will you?”

  Never. She grinned back at him. “Of course.”

  “Ladies first,” Vassi said as he turned towards Daniela.

  The other girl unceremoniously shoved him inside. “Stop pretending you’re a gentleman. It’s just making my skin crawl.”

  Vassi chuckled. “You always did have a way with words.”

  As the doors slid close, Daniela rolled her eyes. “No, Grachyov. It’s just that I’m the only girl who tells you the truth.”

  Seri stared hard at the elevator doors. Why couldn’t she have superpowers? Why? Why? Right now, she just needed something simple, like being super deaf, so she wouldn’t feel she was about to puke at Vassi and Daniela’s banter, which was oh so cute and witty.

  The elevator reached the lobby and she stepped out, but the two stayed behind.

  “Basement parking,” Daniela told her with a smile.

  I didn’t ask. She smiled back. “Oh.”

  “She’s driving me home,” Vassi added unnecessarily.

  Like I said, she wanted to scream, I DIDN’T ASK. But out loud all she said again was, “Oh.”

  Walking out of the building, she wasn’t surprised to see Max’s limousine already waiting for her.

  Max put his phone away as soon as Seri climbed inside the car. The door shut, and a moment later, the car was speeding steadily down the building’s driveway. He took one look at her face and asked sympathetically, “That bad again?”

  She managed a smile. “An understatement.”

  “I always have a shoulder for you to cry on if you want.”

  Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t want to cry anymore.” Wry humor flashed in her eyes. “I’m sure you’re sick of the sound of me crying, too.”

  Never, Max thought. What he did feel was anger – not at her, but at Vassi Grachyov for being so damn blind.

  He told her, “If my shoulder’s not what you need, then maybe this is?” He patted his lap, hoping to tease a smile out of her, but to his surprise, she inched closer towards him—-

  His eyebrows shot up.

  But instead of curling up in it, she put her legs up on the seat and laid her head on his lap.

  Her eyes closed.

  And then she whispered, “I really wish I could be smart enough to fall in love with you, Max.”

  Ah.

  “Unfortunately for both of us,” he told her evenly, “you’re an idiot.”

  She laughed and choked. “Oh, Max.”

  Slowly, he started to stroke her hair, knowing that it was what a friend would do, and – in spite of what she had said – they both knew a friend right now was also what she needed him to be.

  Chapter Nine

  Daniela tossed him the keys when they got to the hotel’s basement parking. “Your turn to drive.”

  Vassi caught it without a word and after pressing the unlock button, he wordlessly opened the passenger door for her.

  As she got in, Daniela blew him a kiss. “Thank you.”

  He closed the door shut.

  Fuck.

  How the hell had his world turned upside down in less than a day?

  When Vassi got inside the driver’s seat and started Daniela’s car, she told him with a giggle, “This is kind of exciting.”

  “Is it?”

  “Sneaking around, making sure no paparazzi sees us,” she said ruefully, “With Andrew, it felt sordid, but with you – it’s like an adventure.”

  He didn’t answer, but she didn’t seem to mind as Daniela only smiled at him, saying, “That reminds me. Have I told you how handsome you are?”

  You have, Vassi thought as he drove out of the basement. Six times in the past five minutes, and he was counting every instance not because he was egotistical but because it was almost like a total stranger had taken over Daniela’s body. From a colleague who had been mildly entertaining, she had somehow transformed overnight into an incomprehensibly clingy woman who didn’t know when to shut up.

  She chatted almost nonstop throughout the ride, but Vassi nonetheless bided his time. When she finally paused for breath, he said right away, “We need to talk about last night.”

  Daniela squeezed his arm, saying teasingly, “You were great, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  No. It wasn’t. What did worry the hell out of him was the fact that he remembered nothing at all, and he couldn’t remember being this wasted since the night Seri turned eighteen and he had forced himself to hurt her.

  Daniela peered at him. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Good question, and one he could answer better if he could just remember the most salient facts.

  His fingers tightening around the shift stick, Vassi tried to recall what he could of yesterday’s events. The time he spent at work was clear enough.

  But after that—-

  He remembered calling his driver to let him know he was no longer needed, remembered getting inside Daniela’s car. He remembered the two of them talking, and when they realized that they could be putting his own family in danger by taking her home with him, they had mutually decided that it was better for her to check in at a hotel instead.

  He remembered having dinner in her suite, followed by drinks—-

  And then nothing.

  His lips tightened.

  Daniela’s smile faded at the look on his face. “What is it?”

  He said tautly, “I don’t remember anything happening between us.” Daniela fell silent, and he cursed under his breath. “I know that came out wrong, and—-”

  “Vassi. I’m five-foot-five, and I weigh one hundred and ten. Do you really think I could have carried you all the way to the bedroom and have my wicked way with you?”

  Vassi had no answer to that.

  “We had some drinks last night, and clearly it was more than what was right for you, if you can’t remember anything that happened—-” She broke off all of a sudden, and when he saw hurt flashing in her eyes, he knew he only had himself to blame.

  “I’m sorry,” he forced himself to say. “None of this is your fault—-”

  She said in a small voice, “I didn’t ever think it was.”

  He stilled.

  “I’ve always liked you, Vassi. I just didn’t let you know because I thought I never had a chance, and it’s why I keep dating bad boys. I was trying to look for someone like you.”

  Vassi forced his face to stay expressionless even as her words made him feel sick inside. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Looking at her now, he knew every word she spoke was true, just as he knew that all these years, he had only deliberately blinded himself to it.

  “Last night...you kissed me, and it was the happiest moment of my life.”

  Fuck.

  She raised her gaze to his, saying sadly, “But it’s not the same for you, is it? You still love Seri, don’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Vassi, it’s just the two of us in the car. There’s no need to lie.” Her voice shook as she said, “You don’t love me. You can’t because it’s Seri you love—-”

  “Daniela.” She was right. It was just the two of them in the car, and seeing how much it had cost Daniela to say the words, guilt made Vassi say, “It’s not what you think.” Inhaling sharply, he forced himself to continue, saying, “You’re right. I don’t love you. But I don’t love her either.”

  “I don’t believe you—-”

  “Have I ever lied to you?”

  Her gaze turned uncertain. “No.”

  “Then believe me when I say I don’t love her. I might have thought
I had, but I no longer do.”

  “But I’ve seen the way you stare at her when you think she’s not looking—-”

  “If you’ve seen me staring at her,” he grated out, “it was because I couldn’t understand why I could fall for someone like her. That’s all.”

  Daniela looked down. “I see.”

  Vassi tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice all these years, D.”

  Lifting her gaze to meet his, she said with a strained smile, “T-that’s not your fault either.”

  Silence reigned, tense and painful, for the remainder of the ride. When they made it to the hotel, Vassi went around to open the car door for her, but he was too late.

  Daniela had already stepped out, and she was smiling brightly at him. “No need,” she told him with false cheer. “You never used to open doors for me before.”

  Feeling even guiltier at the way she was obviously forcing herself, he said curtly, “Nothing happened between us then.”

  She waited for him to finish signing the slip for valet service before muttering fiercely, “I just want you to stop giving me unnecessary hope. Okay?”

  Ah.

  He said with a sigh, “I’m sorry, D.” It was unlike him to commit one mistake after another.

  As they walked inside the lobby, members of the media tried to rush towards them before being quickly held back by security.

  He pulled her close to him immediately, not wanting Daniela accidentally jostled or shoved.

  As she burrowed into his chest, he heard her say, “Can I ask a favor?”

  “Another one?” he managed to say lightly as he led them towards the function hall where the press conference was being held.

  “Don’t treat me differently. Please. I know you can’t ever love me, but we can at least stay friends, right?”

  His arm around her shoulders tightened at the request. “Right.”

  They entered the function hall through the back door then, and waiting production assistants immediately escorted them up the stage. The rest of the cast was already seated, together with the sound and art directors.