Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Zenovia

Maksimillian started kissing me as his arms went around my waist while we were entering my apartment.

It was already around nine in the evening, after we had dinner out. After the flight, we went straight to my apartment to deposit our luggage, as he wanted to stay with me instead of checking in to a hotel, where he could be more comfortable—in my opinion.

But there was no stopping him. He said it’d be better, and he preferred to be with me, since that was the essence of his stay in Iași. I just rolled my eyes then.

I moaned softly as I kissed him back. He nibbled my lower lip and…

“Zenovia!”

I tore my lips away from Maksimillian, eyes widening. “Mămică!” I was surprised to see my own mother in my apartment.

And she was not alone. Căcat!

I was totally betrayed by Antonia, who was grinning and ogling Maksimillian, who was also caught off guard. We didn’t expect there was someone else, or rather elses, in my apartment. There was absolutely no other soul when we left earlier this afternoon to watch a movie first before having dinner.

Heat readily crept up to my cheeks. I was absolutely caught red handed!

My mother’s oval face lit up with such a teasing look that I never saw in her. I thought she lost weight but in a good way. I heard she did a healthy lifestyle routine, like jog everyday and eat a healthy diet. She probably lost a good amount of ten kilograms from her one hundred something. She also cut her hair shorter, up to her shoulders, which was always way past down her back.

I started to wonder when was the last time I saw her that it was truly noticeable the way she looked.

“Antonia here told me we should drop by to have dinner with you. We even prepared the food for you… two.” My mother’s eyes also settled on Maksimillian, who was actually blushing up to his ears.

I suppressed a giggle, thinking he was so adorable right now. It was the first time I saw him like this. But I just hid my lips and regarded my mother with round eyes.

“What? But it’s so late already! Hadn’t you even taken the hint and just… left instead of waiting for me, or us? What if I didn’t come home?”

My mother and Antonia exchanged glances and beamed at each other. Okay, what I said was kind of suggestive, but it was too late now. The words came out of my mouth.

I barely took notice of my friend’s sleeveless reddish brown sundress and high heels and my mother’s plain jeans and blouse paired with black flat shoes.

“You see? She’s got a man now, Mămică,” Antonia teased, calling my mother playfully like her own.

“I’m Maksimillian Usmanov. Nice to meet you,” he introduced himself, making my mother and friend turn to look at him again. He stepped forward and extended a hand to shake their hands like a gentleman.

“That’s my mum and Antonia,” I said even though it was a no-brainer who was who, and he shook their hands each, smiling charmingly.

“We are so delighted to meet you at last!” Antonia spoke eagerly as she shook Maksimillian’s hand.

“Antonia, can I talk to you for a bit?” But I almost dragged her to my room, while leaving Maksimillian to face my mother.

“Hey! You brought him home!” Antonia exclaimed excitedly when I closed the door and turned the LED lights on. These lights were round ones, and there were four of them on the white ceiling.

“It wasn’t my plan, but…” I let it trail off, letting my eyes slip to the built-in mirror of my cabinet that was to my right. For some reason, I found myself like a stranger in a blue dress and white shoes that Maksimillian bought for me. “But hey! How did you know I was with him?” I squinted my eyes at my friend.

“I was going to surprise you when you told me you’re coming back home! But then, I thought it’d be better to have a chat with your mum, the three of us… so I kind of opened the curtain for you. She has your apartment key, so I knew there’s no problem with it. And then, she started to explore your apartment and guess what? She saw an unfamiliar luggage, which she opened, thinking it was your present for us. And guess what again? She found out a guy’s essentials instead!” She wore a huge smile while narrating it.

My mouth gaped open. “She what? She opened Maks’ luggage?” My eyes almost bulged even.

She laughed, thinking it was hilarious. “Hey, she didn’t mean it. She was just curious since it’s your apartment.”

I blew my face, averting my eyes. “He’s just staying for… a few days.”

“Hmm.”

“Really. He’s going back to Russia!” I hissed.

She quirked an eyebrow. “And you’ll just let him slip away?”

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I just cleared my throat, noting that I needed to change the light yellow bedsheet of my bed that was pushed to the light green wall on one side. And the floral curtains that were drawn at the window to my left would need the same fate. Crap! I had to clean up my apartment after being absent here for two weeks.

“Zen, I think he’s head over heels in love with you!”

My eyebrows rose to my hairline, and then I laughed. “Antonia, that’s not possible. He likes me, yes. But love? We just know each other two weeks! Or less than that since he went to Finland.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you know you’re into him, too. Otherwise, you won’t be bringing home a man for goodness’ sakes!” she added.

I scowled upon hearing her words. “No, of course not! I’m not into him!” I denied strongly, heart beating fast and heat crawling on my face.

She looked at me intently. “Okay, if you say so. But I can clearly see that you just won’t admit it. At least, you’re not ready to face it, and I totally understand,” she spoke gently with a gesture of her hands in the air. “It’s your first time, and you want to end it before it becomes deeper. But, Zen, I think he’s really perfect for you.”

I shook my head. “No. No, Antonia. Definitely not this guy. We just… you know…” I shrugged.

“Make a baby?” she supplied in a whisper.

I took a deep breath and let it out heavily. “Just don’t tell Mămică about my plan. You owe me!” I gave her a warning stare.

She grimaced. “What’s wrong with bringing your mum here?”

I rolled my eyes. “I have to rescue Maksimillian. She must be interviewing him by now.”

She chortled. “Leave her be,” she suggested, holding me by the arm. “You still owe me a little bit of details about your making up with your dad.”

I didn’t need to ask how she knew since she was friends with Mihai on social media, and my brother must have posted something about it already.

“Oh! T-that’s because of… Maksimillian. He deliberately set me up with Tati, and we talked. I’m not going to tell you it was kind of… intense,” I told her.

“Aww…” She gave me a praising look and hugged me. “I’m so proud of you. You finally forgave your dad! It must be so good to feel that you don’t hate him anymore. But I do and did understand what you’ve been through. Believe me, Zen.”

I nodded and smiled at her. “Yes… It’s a good feeling that we’re okay now, thanks to Maks.”

“You see? He’s a keeper!”

I just scrunched up my nose, making her eyes grow bigger in frustration.