Once Upon A Lie 2

Five:

Alina stayed in Inej's room that night. She lied, and told Aleksander that he was too injured to sleep with her. She didn't know if he was or not. But considering he'd just been dragged from a canal, she didn't think he was in the greatest shape ever. "Oh, Saints!" Alina said. "I can't believe I just went along with it. I should have told him. What if Zoya's found and she has her baby?"

Inej patted her on the shoulder. The two of them were sitting on her bed cross legged. Inej had given Alina a pair of hers so that she could sleep in something besides jeans and a t-shirt. "It's fine. Aleksander's been through a lot. We don't know what's going to affect his memory. You did the right thing."

"But he called me Mrs. Morozova. He thinks I'M his wife. But he married Zoya, and got her pregnant. We don't even know if Zoya is alive. What happens if she shows up and tells him the truth?"

"Here's another, terrible option," said Inej, "what if Aleksander killed her?"

Alina glanced at her. "Why on earth would you say that?"

Inej shrugged. "Aleksander's possessive, and his anger gets the better of him. Remember what happened when you were on the bleachers?"

Alina sighed. "Yeah. I do remember the bleachers."

"That was with you, and he's madly in love with you," said Inej, "and Aleksander hated Zoya. It's my guess that he was only with Zoya because he wanted to make sure that the baby wasn't a bastard. Aleksander's the kind of guy that's all about honor, right?"

"He's not so honorable," said Alina, "he was more than eager to fuck me before we were married."

Inej shot her a look. "You told me that was a mutual thing. You said there was nothing hotter than being in an opera house and getting fucked."

Alina blushed. "I did say that."

Inej patted her on the shoulder. "You'll tell him the truth when he's ready."

"He's going to hate me," said Alina, "and I'm never going to have him ever again."

"Do you want him?" Inej asked. "I thought you were done with him. I also thought you had spent the past several months galivanting around Kerch with Mal."

"Nothing happened!" Alina insisted. "We didn't even kiss."

"You didn't?" Inej eyes widened. "If I'd been left alone with Mal Oretsev for that long, I definitely would have. Don't tell Kaz though. He's got a jealousy problem."

She smiled at her. "Your secret is safe with me. Believe me, I get it. I almost came close and then...."

"Then what?" Inej asked.

"Kaz called and told me about Aleksander."

Inej sighed. "Oh."

"Yeah, OH. You know how it is. When I'm around him, I am completely lost. When I'm not with him, I am completely lost."

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Inej said.

"Awful," Alina replied, "horrible. Wonderful."

"That's love though, isn't it?"

"Yeah. That's love." Alina groaned. "It's terrible."

"Definitely."