Forever Sinners, Anastasija N. [best color ereader .TXT] 📗

APOLLO & LILIANA: FOREVER SINNERS

first chapter. genesis

in the night, i hear ‘em talk // the coldest story ever told // somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul to a woman so heartless

how could you be so heartless? // oh, how could you be so heartless?

{ heartless, by kanye west }

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pulkovo airport, saint petersburg; russia – 7:30pm { august 3rd, 2015 }

When the plane rose and shot into the sky, the only thing left behind was dust and hot, dry air. It became smaller and smaller as it disappeared out of sight, and next thing you knew, another plane followed the trail up into the clouds.

It was a sight to mesmerize, the way those huge machines could stay in the air for hours. For a brief amount of time, Liliana allowed herself to remain standing in front of the windows. She couldn’t help but ponder over how it would feel if someday humans found out how to lift from the ground having no wings or other support attached to them.

It was a case of philosophy, she guessed, thinking about flying while watching planes take off. Nevertheless, Liliana would be one of the first ones to try out if humanity came up with such an idea.

The magic of the moment shattered when someone drove their elbow into her side, catching her off guard. She turned away from the huge windows decorating the concourse and threw an irritated look at the young man who didn’t even take notice of his doing. He hurried past her with his cell phone clearly attached to his ear and a large suitcase in his grip. Liliana huffed in annoyance, blowing a few strands of her dark hair away from her face. Taking her own suitcases to make her way through the crowd toward the exit, she struggled to have a good grip on them while keeping her purse from dropping.

Well, girl’s gotta have her necessities with her when traveling.

The crowdedness wasn’t unlikely for the Pulkovo airport, but for a moment Liliana actually wondered where all the people came from. It was almost impossible to not barge against someone. People hurried toward the check-in counters, others craned their necks to get a look over all the people, possibly searching for their friends or their family or whoever they were waiting for. A female voice announced something on the public address call, though Liliana couldn’t quite catch the words because of all those people shouting and speaking over her head.

To top it all off, it was incredibly hot. The air felt humid on her skin, and it didn’t help the surrounding people were clearly feeling it as well. She had already gotten herself a brochure from the information desk, but all the fanning already lost its help a few hours ago and her wrist was also hurting. If there was something Liliana seriously didn’t like, it was this – the airport. As much as she loved traveling and flying on a plane, she absolutely couldn’t stand the rush within the airport halls.

Barging her way through the crowd, Liliana felt a rush of relief inside her chest when she caught sight of the automatic exit doors. The crowd lessened the closer she got to freedom, and some people cleared the way when they saw her approaching.

She took a huge breath as the doors slid aside in front of her, fresh air stroking over her face in a gentle breeze. It was a comfortable heat, with an occasional pleasant puff of wind. The sun, even though already going down, hit her eyes in unexpected power, causing her to push the brown-tinted shades, which had sat comfortably on top of her head, down to her nose.

Hurrying across the parking lot, her suitcases rolling against the ground, Liliana saw the car waiting for her almost instantly. She could feel the beginnings of a smile starting to spread over her face when she recognized the figure of a small man sporting a bald head and a thin coat.

“Liliana,” Sergej, her bodyguard, said with a smile when he saw her approaching. “It's good to see you again, girl.”

“Well, it's good to be back,” she laughed, nodding her thanks when he took her suitcases and went to open the trunk of the black SUV, one of the company’s cars as she noticed.

Sergej didn’t respond, he just smiled slightly to himself.

Liliana didn’t feel aback by his uncommunicative way, it was something that shaped his personality. Truth be told, she was grateful for that as she wasn’t a person who liked to talk till doomsday, too, she rather listened and watched. She wouldn’t call herself an introvert, though. But she also wasn’t exactly what people understood by an extrovert. She supposed she fit somewhere along the line in the middle.

After Sergej had safely stored her bags, Liliana climbed into the backseat and sighed in contentment, knowing that she was on her way home now. As fun as Tokyo and its culture and people had been, there wasn’t anything like the feeling that came when you knew you were on your way home. She could almost hear the call of her amazingly comfortable bed and the warm shower waiting for her. The 12-hour flight, as well as sleeping in a plane seat, had been exhausting.

And I sure as hell need a shower, Liliana thought with a grimace as she ran her hand across her neck. The few strands of hair coming loose from her messy knot were sticking to the damp skin.

She slipped out of her fire-red pumps, nearly crying out in relief and happiness when the pressure she’d felt on her toes lessened, and stretched out her legs. Jesus, that felt too good to be true. Liliana still cursed herself that she’d chosen to wear pumps on the flight. She always decided so, just knowing her feet would hate her for it, but what wouldn’t a girl give to feel and look good.

Putting away the brochure she’d held the whole time into her purse, Liliana directed her gaze out of the window when Sergej started the car, pulling out of the parking lot. She could see the silhouette of a plane rising higher and higher into the clear-blue sky before disappearing in the shadow of white clouds.

For a brief moment, Liliana thought about how much different Saint Petersburg was from Tokyo. There, she’d had a feeling of safety, unlike in her hometown. It wasn’t as though she felt threatened or acted paranoid, it was more the knowledge there was danger lurking in the corners and alleys of Saint Petersburg, especially for someone like her. Although it was fairly easy to feel impressed and fascinated by the elegant flamboyance of her hometown, there was also something alluring about Tokyo’s friendly chaos. It was a place where you could become easily lost if you didn’t know the passages and alleys of the bustling streets. It was the second foreign city she’d visited, and Liliana didn’t intend to make it her last one.

Shortly before her eighteenth birthday, her father had agreed to let her go on trips on her own, just her all alone, no one else who had to watch over her. A few days after her birthday, she’d taken up on his promise and visited London, the old-fashioned charm of the city still conjuring a smile to her lips. After that, she’d booked a flight to Tokyo for three weeks a few months ago. Liliana considered herself to be pretty lucky having the chance to visit every place she wanted. She didn’t like to talk about the money on her hands, but if she had it ... then why not make her dreams come true?

With a quiet sigh, Liliana leaned back comfortably and smiled when she met Sergej’s gaze in the rearview mirror before taking out her cell phone and the ear buds coming with it. Sticking them into her ears, she pressed play and closed her eyes as she let the sultry lyrics of The Hills lull her into a daydream.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but when she felt the car coming to a full stop, she slowly opened her eyes, seeing that they had arrived at the manor. Putting her phone away, Liliana slipped back into her pumps and climbed out of the car, the gravel scrunching beneath her heels. She faltered for a brief moment as she stared at her family home, build in the Victorian style that was so typical for Russian houses and buildings.

Right under the sun, the manor looked like it came straight out of a fairytale book, ivy curling along the stones and the huge windows in intricate patterns. It looked like a painting created without paint. The carefully chopped and manicured flowers and the fountain decorating the driveway seemed to exist for the sole purpose of putting the cherry on the cake. It looked beyond imposing, but Liliana knew at night the manor could very well be the thing horror stories were made of.

“Missed it, eh?” Sergej asked as he took her suitcases from the trunk.

“Yes,” Liliana sighed softly, turning away from the imposing picture to look at her bodyguard, “Kind of.”

Following Sergej, who was carrying her bags, to the doorway, Liliana tried not to grin at the height difference between them. She was definitely on the small scale with her mere five foot two, but with her heels on, she towered over her own bodyguard by at least three inches. Despite that fact, the strength of the small man shouldn’t be underestimated. Her father hadn’t appointed Sergej as her bodyguard for nothing; and without the advantage of heels she was shorter, though not by much.

“Where is everyone?” Liliana asked when they entered the manor, a small frown appearing on her face. The foyer was eerily quiet. The only sound came from the old grandfather clock.

She slipped out of her pumps as she went further into the foyer where the large staircase found its beginning. The places hit by the occasional light ray of sunshine had dust particles spinning in the air.

Sergej set the suitcases down. “As far as I know, Sonja’s in the kitchen right now. Pawel’s in the garden, I think.” He glanced down at the watch around his wrist. “By the way, your father told me to let you know he would be awaiting you in his office when you arrive.”

Liliana gave him a confused look. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No, I don’t think so,” her bodyguard chuckled before nodding to her bags. “I’ll take them up to your room’s door.”

“Sure, thank you.”

After Sergej had gone upstairs with her suitcases, Liliana straightened the pristine white blouse and the black skinny jeans she was wearing, and started for her father’s office that was on the first floor. These days, even his bedroom was situated there.

Upon knocking on the oak door leading into the office, she heard a faint rustling of paper before the voice of her father sounded, allowing her to enter the room. He was sitting behind his heavy mahogany desk whose surface was littered with papers and opened books. The room itself mostly had mahogany furniture, from the large bookshelf covering the right side of the office to the polished window handles. It smelled of coffee, whiskey, tobacco, and old books, and Liliana couldn’t help the frown of disapproval when she caught side of the pipe at the corner of her father’s mouth.

She sat down on one of the two leather armchairs in front of the desk and folded her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for her father to finish whatever he was doing. As it was, he probably didn’t even notice her sitting down before him.

Liliana wiped her palms on her thighs as she