CHAPTER 80: THE FROZEN POND


    NIKOLAI’S POV:


    I can’t believe Lily was still on about talking to my father.


    “Please… please”, She begged me with her big doe eyes that I can never say no to. I sighed and cussed in my head.


    “Okay”, I agreed. I looked at my father onest time, warning him with my eyes not to try anything stupid.


    I left the study room not without telling Mazhordom Sergei to leave the door a bit open, I would be on standby if anything was to happen but without eavesdropping.


    ***


    They have been in there for more than 20 minutes and Lily still hasn’te out.


    ‘What are they talking?’, I asked myself as I paced around the study room, holding myself back from going in there and pulling her out.


    “The audacity of you to be walking freely around this mansion after what you pulled offst night”, I heard someone say and I turned around, I saw my brother – thest person I wanted to see.


    My stomach twisted with anger and frustration, I felt like punching him in the gut. My jaw clenched and my fists tightened, ready for a fight. Our past arguments and hurt feelings hung in the air, making it hard to think clearly.


    I sighed and turned fully to him, wondering what new problem or insult he would bring up. He had a smirk on his bruises filled face, courtesy of me.


    “And the audacity of you walking around this mansion with your beaten up face”, I said with my own smirk. I saw his smirk morph to a re, he walked closer to me, his fist and jaw tighten.


    “You have suddenly gotten too brazen baby brother”, Roman uttered.


    “Are you not ashamed of getting your ass beaten by your ‘baby brother?''”, I said.


    If he thinks I’m still that little boy who was always scared of him, then he is crazy. I stared at the person I shared simr physical features with except that I was slightly taller.


    “You better watch your tone with me, you wouldn’t want something happening to your precious girlfriend… like what happened two decades ago, on the ice”, He said and I boiled with rage.


    “FUCKING BASTARD!!”, Iunched towards him with a punch but he dodged it, connecting his fist with my stomach, I groaned abit but immediately recovered. I came at him again and this time I didn’t miss, I hit him right in the partially healing bruise on his face. I held the cor of his shirt as I dug my knee into his stomach, twice.


    Roman is not to be underestimated when ites to physicalbat, he is strong and fast. He blocks my punch with his palm and grabbed my head by my hair, mming me on the nearest table and I almost ck out.


    “AAHHHHH!!!”, I heard my sister’s piercing scream.


    “Stop it you two!!”, My mother’s voice followed. I tried to look up to where they were when Roman pushed me to the floor, both his hands on my neck. I struggled, pushed and twisted, punching him by the sides but he didn’t flinch.


    “Stop please!”, Galina yelled, crying.


    I started to feel dizzy, loosing the air in my lungs. I sighted Lily from the side,ing out of my father’s study room and rushing to the scene.


    ‘She must be done with the conversation with father’, I said in my head,pletely forgetting that I was on my way to the afterlife.


    “I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU MYSELF IN THAT ICE!!”, Roman roared and my eyes closed, remembering what happened Christmas of 20 years ago.


    “GUARDS!!”, My father called out for help to separate us two.


    “Niki!”, It was Lily’s beautiful voice calling, I could hear her sobbing already and I didn’t like that.


    ‘I don’t like that noise she’s making’, I said to myself, suddenly feeling energetic. I grabbed Roman’s hands that were on my neck and twisted them.


    “FUCCKKK!!”, He yelled, letting my neck go, I struggled to stand, coughing and gasping for air. Roman tried toe at me again and so did I but the guards came in time to hold both of us, restraining us.


    “Come on brother, just me and you, huh? You scared you might die this time?!!”, Roman uttered.


    “The only thing I’m scared of is making mother loose her first born child!!”, I responded, struggling to go at him again.


    “ENOUGH!! THE BOTH OF YOU!… If you two barbarians feel the need to end each other’s lives so desperately, do it in a battle field and not IN MY HOUSE!!”, My father roared and just like magic, Roman and I quiet down. I went over to the shocked and sobbing Lily and put her in a tight hug.


    “It’s all over, it’s okay”, I whispered to her and kissed her hair.


    Galina was crying while consoling my crying mother, I sighed and tighten the hug.


    ***


    Lily and I are both back in thefort of our room and she has stopped crying but she still was in shock.


    I went over to the table and grabbed her a ss of water and she down all the content.


    “More?”, I asked and she shook her head. I kept the ss cup and sat with her on the bed, her eyes were on me as if waiting for me to exin things but I can’t. Not like I didn’t want to, I just don’t know how to say it.


    “So?”, She said when my mouth didn’t move. I sighed, knowing what she wants from me.


    “Lily–“, I tried to avoid the conversation but she was ahead of me.


    “Don’t. You need to tell me what the hell happened there!”, She demanded and I knew I couldn’t avoid things now.


    “I-I can’t… it’s really ha-hard for me–“, I stuttered and I never stutter, that is the effect Roman has on me.


    “Please Niki… he almost killed you back there and… and he said something about killing you when he had the chance…”, Lily pleaded, holding my hands, “Please tell me what happened, how did things get this ugly”, she continued.


    I knew I was trapped with no way of escaping, but I had to, I don’t want to keep any secrets from Lily.


    I sighed and pulled her with me to the bed, we got under the nket and I had hery on my chest while I faced the ceiling.


    “It… it was 20 years ago. I almost died in a frozen pond”, I said.


    “What?! how did that happen?!”, Lily asked, concern written over her face.


    “It was Christmas day and I suggested for me and Roman to go skating outside the mansion. My parents where busy with visitors and that was a perfect sneak out opportunity…”, I narrated as my memory did a shback to what happened…


    “I’m so excited to skate on this frozen pond!”, I said, happy that my big brother was here to skate with me. My eyes were fixed on the inviting ice even though it was a bit scary.


    I started skating, going round and round,ughing.


    “Come Roman,e!”, I called happily to Roman and he joined me and we skated together.


    “Can you go deeper?”, Roman suddenly ask me. I furrowed my brows and looked at where he pointed.


    “Mother said never to go there!”, I said. The ice on that side was thin and would break with one step, even for someone my age.


    “You are just scared”, Romanughed at me and I didn’t like it. I have been told from a very young age that fear is a weakness and The dimir doesn’t have any weakness.


    “No, I’m not!!”, I refused, angry that I was beingughed at by my brother.


    “Then go ahead Niki, show me you are not a scaredy-cat”, Roman taunts me.


    I took a step forward and then another, I started to rx as nothing happen, then my boots slipping on the ice. Suddenly, I’m falling, the world spinning around me.


    I try to scream but my voice is muffled by the sound of cracking ice.


    “No! no-“, Fear consuming me.


    I find myself underwater, my lungs burning. I try to swim up but it’s hard!.


    Roman’s face is above me and I was relieved for a short time, ‘He’s going to save me’, I said to myself.


    Roman starts yelling and waving his arms for help, like he was scared and I was slowly loosing consciousness, I couldn’t feel anything as the water was so cold.


    “ROMAN!! Roman please help me!! Don’t let me die here!”, I struggled to say once I found the energy to get my head above the water.


    “Uh– Niko I-I’m sorry I can’t h-help you, I have to go call for help!”, Roman said, he paced around in fear, not knowing what to do. I struggled to get out of the bone freezing pond but I couldn’t, I tried to find air but I was slowly sinking.From N?velDrama.Org.


    I couldn’t move anymore and I was sinking down.


    “Niki, I’m sorry but you have to die. You are such a pest”, I heard Roman say. Why is Roman saying that? Doesn’t he love me? I try to kick and swim up again, but it’s too hard. Just when I think I’m going to run out of air, I heard the voice of Mazhordom Sergei, our butler.


    “It’s young master Niki!!! Guards!!”, He yelled and in no time I felt something or someone pulling me up… then I cked out.


    “OH MY GOODNESS!”, Lily gasped in shock, tears visible in her eyes.