Episode 9

Dimitri

A lot happened before I met Alexandra.

I was young, I had money, status, and no supervision, so I did a lot of things.

I went to a lot of sex parties and a few orgies.

So I can't say I'm necessarily straight. At some of those parties, I had men and women in my bed. It was a few times, and I didn't have a chance to explore that since I met Alexandra shortly after.

But having Malik here, sitting so close, touching my hands, and being so close to me, is starting to make me question my own sexuality.

I was lost in myself, looking at him, looking at the gentle way he held my hand, how focused he looked, trying his best on those silly bruises. I was so immersed in my pain, in my cloak of coldness, that it didn't allow me to see how kind, delicate, and innocent he is at times.

As I looked at him as if I had just met him, he looked up and met my eyes.

I don't know how long we stayed that way, just looking into each other's eyes. I was trying to understand myself while looking into his eyes.

At some point, he got nervous, blinked a little, lowered his eyes to my injured hand, and looked up again, but then he did the worst thing he could have done.

"So, Dimitri, I heard you were married. What was your wife like? I bet she was amazing."

Hearing him say her name broke all the charm, made me feel such pain, as if I were betraying her. It seemed so wrong for him to say her name, I was confused, and when I'm confused I don't know what to do, and that makes me angry, and when I'm angry I tend to scare people.

I stood up quickly, dropped a few things on the floor, grabbed the professor by the collar, and lifted him up to my forehead, pressing his forehead against my chin.

"It seems, professor, that I forgot to teach you the most important lesson of all."

I narrowed my eyes and spoke through clenched teeth, so much was my rage.

"Never talk about my wife, and especially don't touch her name. You can't, you don't even have the right to utter her name. Do you understand me?"

His eyes were wide with fear, and his thin body was shaking. When I released his shirt, he collapsed on the bed, and I simply left, slamming the door behind me. I could hear his soft crying before I stepped out the door.

Malik

My God, I was so scared, I thought I was going to die, I really thought that ogre was going to kill me.

It was all going so well, we joked around and relaxed a little in each other's presence, and then when we were looking into each other's eyes, I thought I had found a way to connect with him, and that scared me, scared of getting involved again.

So I decided to change the subject, and that was one of my worst mistakes.

How can I go on with this night? How can I pretend to be a loving husband when the mere thought of being next to him terrifies me and makes me tremble? I wish I could stay in this room until all this is over.

Shortly after Dimitri left, Tiago came to give me a message, and I asked him to keep me company. According to Tiago, Dimitri said that I should get ready, and he would send for me when it was time to show up.

Behind all that tough-guy possessiveness, Tiago was just a normal, cheerful, and fun guy that I learned to love. When we were together, he was at ease and himself, but as soon as Ivan appeared, he would change. He would change around the other men too, but with Ivan, it was different.

When Ivan left, I couldn't help myself and asked, "Ti, are you afraid of Ivan? Has he ever done anything to you?"

"What? No, of course not, are you crazy? Where did you get that from?"

"You always get weird and change completely when he shows up."

"And that's so obvious, isn't it?"

"Do you like him or not?"

"What does it matter? I already know how he treats me. He thinks I'm still a child."

"Have you loved him for a long time?"

"Since I was 18."

"You're 26, so that's a long time. Didn't you ever want to tell him?"

"No, I couldn't bear his rejection."

"But he might not reject you."

"You're new here, man, so you don't know. But everyone here knows that Ivan has had a secret lover for many years. He must really love this person because they've been together for a long time. Sometimes I'm around when this guy calls, his eyes light up, and it's the only time I see him smile. But I've already accepted that he'll never smile at me like that, he'll never look at me like that. I don't stand a chance, Malik, but you, you and the boss might."

"Never, Tiago, I told you what he did, I'm afraid of him, terrified."

"What exactly happened?"

When I told him, Tiago made a face like he knew it was going to go wrong.

"That explains it, Malik. You touched on the only forbidden subject in this house. That woman is like a deity here, she's revered and respected as if she were a saint."

"Tiago, do you know the story? Tell me?"

Tiago told me all about this Alexandra, and I was right, she was amazing, I wish I had met her. I felt empathy for Dimitri, he wasn't a person who would want to know that someone felt sorry for him, his pride wouldn't allow it. Even though I was very scared, I was able to understand that blonde, muscular puzzle a little better.

Did that change anything? Well, I can't say that yet.

The door opened again, and Ivan said that Dimitri was waiting for me. Tiago got up and held out his hand to me, smiling as always.

"Let's go, my friend, let's get you married!"

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