Read Online A Bride for Kolovsky by Carol Marinelli - Free Book Online Page A

tender reunion with my family .’ His lips sneered the word. ‘Aleksi I have respect for. The rest of you…’
    â€˜We didn’t know.’
    â€˜You didn’t want to know,’ Zakahr said, but Iosef shook his head.
    â€˜We are all devastated by this, Riminic…’ And Iosef could have kicked himself. He had spent the morning hearing his mother wailing and crying the name of the baby she had abandoned, and now he stood before the man who loathed his past so much he had wiped it clean and changed his name. ‘Zakahr…’
    â€˜Get out.’ Zakahr did not shout it, but it was non-negotiable. Just hearing the name Riminic made the bile churn in his stomach.
    Riminic Ivan Kolovsky.
    Riminic, son of Ivan.
    He could feel the sweat on his forehead as the name played over and over. All Riminic had done, all Riminic had endured.
    He never wanted to hear that name again.
    Nina could die screaming it, but he never wanted to hear it.
    Riminic was gone, Ivan was gone, and if he had his way so too would be the House of Kolovksy.
    â€˜Zakahr!’ Lavinia’s voice came over the intercom and he pressed his fingers together and to his lips. The light breeze of her voice hauled him from the eye of the storm. ‘I need to pop out for an hour.’
    â€˜Another appointment?’
    â€˜Actually, yes.’ She hesitated before continuing, ‘Then I’ve got to get my hair done, and I’m meeting Katina back here at five to sort out my outfit for tonight…’
    â€˜Your point is…?’
    â€˜I won’t be back this afternoon. You’ll have to manage without me.’
    There was the crackle of the intercom, an unseenblush, a call to flirt, an inappropriate response there for the taking. She willed him not to, and thankfully Zakahr obliged.
    â€˜Fine.’
    Â 
    â€˜How?’ Ms Hewitt asked for the twentieth time, and the answer was, as always, impossible.
    In an effort to look more presentable on paper, Lavinia had officially promoted herself to PA, but Ms Hewitt was now questioning how she could hold down such a responsible job and be a full-time carer for Rachael.
    â€˜I’m sure I won’t be the first single working mum.’
    â€˜Rachael will need a lot of attention,’ Ms Hewitt said.
    â€˜Then I’ll go part-time,’ Lavinia said. But even that didn’t appease the case worker. Not that anything Lavinia could say was going to convince Ms Hewitt that Lavinia was a responsible adult—she still saw Lavinia as the angry, troubled girl she had been all those years ago.
    â€˜Have you really thought this through at all, Lavinia?’
    â€˜I’ve thought of nothing else,’ Lavinia said.
    This whole hour had been pointless. Now the clock was edging towards four. She had her hair appointment soon, then the dinner to get ready for—not that she could tell Ms Hewitt that .
    â€˜How long till you reach your decision?’
    â€˜Lavinia, it’s not a cut and dried decision. We’re about keeping families together, not pulling them apart.’
    â€˜I am her family,’ Lavinia attempted again, but itfell on deaf ears. ‘Can I at least see her—it’s nearly a week now!’
    â€˜You can see her tomorrow afternoon for an hour—but, Lavinia, Rachael needs calm. She doesn’t need to know that the adults in her life are fighting over her. When you see her, just keep things light.’
    â€˜I can’t tell her I want her?’
    â€˜Her father wants her.’ Ms Hewitt’s words were abrupt. ‘She has a family that wants her. Yes, it’s a family that might need extended support…’ Lavinia opened her mouth to argue, but Ms Hewitt overrode her. ‘But making false promises to Rachael isn’t going to help matters. Try to keep things even.’
    God, why was she being made to feel like the bad guy?
    It took every ounce of will-power to stay calm and