I froze the moment I laid eyes on him. I couldn't even introduce myself to them, as my nanny had instructed. The last time I tried, I felt a lump in my throat, but I can't.
"Her name is Zavia," Nanny introduced me to the parents of her siblings' adopted daughter. Blair's mother approached me and extended her hand for a handshake. "The one I'm referring to."
"Finally, I've met you," she said, shaking my hand as she praised me for everything I'd done for Nanny while holding my hands.
"I simply love the nanny like she's my own mother," I answered flatly, taking back my hand.
My nanny then takes my arm in hers. As we stood next to Blair, she began telling me that Blair enjoys hearing her stories about me and that she looks up to me despite the fact that I am younger than her. Nanny brags about Blair a lot more. I don't mind her enthusiasm for me, but of all the adulation I've heard, this is the only one I dislike.
"Blair wanted to be like you if she wasn't sick," Nanny said, adding that she, too, desired to be a golden kid.
"You don't have to be like me to copy and obtain the things I have," I added sarcastically, looking her in the eyes with a smile. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but knowing and hearing "She wanted to be like you" irritates me. My life isn't as glamorous as it appears on television.
"This is Aleksei," I say as Nanny begins to introduce him as Blair's boyfriend. That the two had been childhood sweethearts. Nobody informed me about them, and Aleksei never told me either. "We'll simply wait for him to propose to Blair," she says, which makes me laugh inside.
"Is that so?"
"He'll probably do it after Blair recovers, right?" Nanny questioned Aleksei, and I avoided looking at him when he replied.
"Yes," a single word that shattered my heart.
"Zavia, don't they look great together? I hope Aleksei won't be like your spouse, who squandered a valuable jewel like you."
"He prefers inexpensive stuff these days. It's also my soon-to-be ex-husband, nanny." I corrected her and gave her a phoney grin, and she chuckled.
"Can you repeat his name? I had forgotten."
Oh, that's why I was thinking, why aren't you puzzled that they have the same name? Is it because I always refer to Aleksei's name as "My husband"? I was ready to respond when the doctors and nurses came, and I glanced at them as they stopped when they saw me and lowered their heads.
"Good morning, Mrs. Valentin," they said, and I simply stared at them. "We didn't know you'd be here."
"Does the president of this hospital need to mention when she'll be visiting? Do I need to notify you?" They didn't respond and bent their heads before I glanced at Nanny. "To answer your question, nanny, his name is Aleksei. He's Aleksei Valentin." The room becomes quiet, and my nanny's expression becomes surprised. "I am now known as Mrs. Valentin. Zavia Valentin."
As I mentioned, I introduced myself officially this time, staring at Blair. No one dared say anything as Blair avoided my gaze and I looked at her parents. They couldn't even look at me now. Even the physicians I've told about this look down. They work for me, but I know they get money from Aleksei to keep their mouths shut and this issue away from me. They did, however, succeed. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't come here.
Did I come across as foolish in their eyes? They understood how much I loved him, despite the fact that he'd been here with his other woman without my knowing. These ideas made me feel like I was about to weep again, and I needed to get out of there before I did.
"I'll get going now, nanny," I replied, hugging her before moving out of the way and leaving the room.
As my tears began to pour, I hurried quickly to the door and avoided looking at it on the other side. My chest is heaving. It had been a while since I'd seen them together, but I tried to soak it all in. And seeing them saddens me, especially as I see Aleksei's worry and care in his eyes and the way he looks at her. He used to look at me like that every time I needed him too, before.
"Zavia-"
*SLAP!*
"Do you have this all prepared, Aleksei?" I said, but he did not respond. Instead, he lowered his head. "So you've been going behind my back the whole time? You're being a husband to me and a boyfriend to her. What is this: once we divorce, you're proposing to her? Is that your plan? Ahh, why am I even asking? I have no rights, right? We're only married by contract... and you never loved me at all."
"That's not the case, Zavia."
"What's the case then?" I said, moving closer to him as I dried my eyes. "If that's not it, then what?"
If it isn't, what is it? I waited for his response, his explanation. I wanted to hear them all, but we're already drawing attention from other people, and I don't believe he'll respond at all. I turned around and went quickly out of here, to my car, where I wept even more.
Why does the world appear so small?
My father used to tell me how huge the world is and how it would take years to tour it and meet individuals we didn't expect to meet. I had no desire to meet Blair. I had no desire to watch her with Aleksei. But I only met her today and saw her with him. But, as a result, I can understand what Aleksei likes about her and why what he told me was correct.
Blair appears to be kind and sweet. That is what Aleksei appreciates about her. Then there's her lovely face. She has such an exquisite face, and Aleksei smiles when he tells me that his sort of female is a little older than him. I could never become his ideal type. I don't look nice, I wasn't polite, and everyone is scared of my eyes and the fact that I'm younger than Aleksei. The polar opposite.
I don't have anything he loves, even in his preferred type. He's exactly my type when he's with me. I adore his entire being, including his imperfections, which I believe make him amazing. He is everything I wished for. However, the sun and the moon can never be together.
Aleksei must be everything to me, but I am not for him.