Page 15 of Tormented Angel
Since Nazyr left, Emily has mainly been talking. I’ve found out everything from her being with Lom to having a daughter and another baby on the way, which will be here in only a short couple of months. I found out she worked in Atlanta for a short time, went to college there, and Ruslan—who is the eldest of the Umarova brothers—is her cousin’s husband. What a small world, but it isn’t really. Emily told me she met Lom through Amelia.
“So, I’m going to naturally assume that you’re from Ireland, given your lovely accent?” Emily prods me.
I laugh lightly. “Yeah, I’m from a small town called Westport, but I went to school in the city.”
“Okay, cool. What did you go to school for? I feel like I’ve been talking about myself for the last half an hour. I don’t really know much about you.”
I debate what to say to Emily, but I feel as though I can speak freely here. Sure, Nazyr is a dangerous man, but I don’t think that I need to bite my tongue. “Emily, we both know that isn’t true. I know Nazyr must’ve said something to you about my situation because I see the way you’ve been looking at me. I’m not an idiot by any means. You’ve been treating me with kid gloves this entire time. A woman who doesn’t know about my situation wouldn’t be doing that.” I cut the bullshit and wait for Emily to respond, which takes her a few moments. I’m sure she’s trying to figure out how to reply to me right now.
Should she be honest, or should she try to lie a bit?
The longer our silence becomes, the more unsure I am about which course of action she’ll choose to take.
“Nazyr told me a little bit about the situation you came from,” Emily answers, choosing honesty. If I’m here with Nazyr for some time, then I’m going to be seeing Emily a bit, I think. All week, I kept thinking that Nazyr seemed to be a family man. There are photographs of his family members hanging on the walls, and there’s even a calendar in the kitchen where “family dinner” is marked every week.
“What did Nazyr tell you?” I’m curious more than anything.
“He told me that you were with a client of the family for some time. He told me it looks like you were trafficked, and he isn’t sure if Duarte had a hand in it from the beginning or if he purchased you after someone else did the dirty work. He also told me about your children, your two little girls, and I’m terribly sorry that they’re still with him. Nazyr seems very determined to get them back for you, so I’m sure, at some time, he’ll make good on that promise.”
“So, you learned quite a bit about me, then?” I laugh lightly, trying to hide the pain in everything I’m feeling, but it’s hard.
“I did, but you’ll come to realize that you and I relate on a deeper level. When I was a teenager, I got pregnant. I entrusted my aunt to help find my daughter a good home. Unbeknownst to me, she had sold my daughter into child trafficking. I thought my daughter was going to have a good, loving life, but she didn’t. She hasn’t discussed what she was put through with Lom or me, but I have her in therapy to help her sort through all the horrible things I’m sure she endured.”
“Heavens, I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible.”
“Oh, it was. It was fucking horrid. I found out about my daughter not too long ago, and Lom helped me get her back. I guess it’s a common trait in these Umarova men—to help children who need them.”
I sure hope so because, without Nazyr’s assistance, I don’t know if I’ll ever see my little girls ever again. “Without Nazyr, I don’t know what I’ll do,” I admit, stating my internal thoughts aloud.
“Don’t worry too much about it. I have no doubt in my mind that Nazyr will end up helping you as much as he can. He made it seem like he made a promise to you, and he isn’t the kind of man who doesn’t follow through on his commitments.”
“So, Nazyr is a good man then?” I think this might be my first opportunity to understand more about him as a person, and even though we’re staying in the same house, I haven’t had any “deep” conversations with him. Emily could be my first bit of insight into understanding the man whose home I’m living in.
“That’s a loaded question. All the members of the Umarova family are good people who sometimes do bad things. I don’t think any one action makes us good or bad, but the actions as a whole. I think that’s what really matters. So, to answer your question, he is a good man. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have taken you out of that situation or even given a flying fuck about you. If he were a bad one, he likely would’ve left you there.”
I slowly absorb everything Emily tells me, and I think Nazyr must be a good man. Like she said, if he wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here in his home. I’d likely be dead already or locked up in a cage. “That’s reassuring, thank you.”
“Of course. Don’t worry. You’re safe now, and that’s what matters.” Emily smiles brightly at me again, making me truly believe I am safe.
“How is your daughter doing now that she’s with you and Lom?” I’m trying to make conversation here, but I figure if I learn more about her daughter, it will help me bond better with Emily.
“Sierra is okay. She was a bit untrusting in the beginning, but it wasn’t a surprise, given what she had likely been through. Now, she’s a normal child. She has nightmares some days, but they’re very seldom. I’m really proud of how far she’s come along. Lom’s been a huge help, and he’s an amazing stepfather to her. Better than I ever could’ve imagined, honestly.”
“I’m glad for you. It sounds like you have the whole package with him.”
“Oh, I do, and then some. I mean, he fucks up sometimes because men are absolute idiots, but it’s never something I can’t forgive him for.” Emily smiles and wraps her arm around her protruding belly.
I end up smirking at the statement she made about men as a whole because it’s true. When I was in college, I dated this guy for a while. He was decent to me, but he just did stupid shit that made me shake my head. I ended up dumping him before finals because it didn’t make sense for us to be with one another for the long term. He wanted to live off in the country, whereas I needed to be in the city to make any sort of decent money. Then, of course, life threw a pile of shit at me and screwed everything up for me.
“So, you said you went to college. Where did you go, and what did you major in?”
“I went to Trinity College, and I majored in business studies and Russian. It was a dual major. I figured being fluent in another language would make me more appealing to prospective workplaces.”
“Right on, I’m sure it did.”
“I never got the chance to find out. I was trafficked before my final grades were even submitted by my professors.” I glance down at the ground, struggling with the reality my life has turned out to be.
“God, I’m so sorry. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”