She stared at him, eyes sharp. He didn’t look away.
“So what’s your brilliant plan, then?” she snapped.
“Make peace with your daddy.”
“Impossible.”
“Why? You’re his daughter. He won’t abandon you.”
“He’s got better things to do than worry about me,” she said bitterly.
Spartacus studied her for a moment, then sighed and lowered his head.
“Then you need to make him worry about you.”
“What, hang myself? Leave a suicide note that says ‘It’s all Daddy’s fault’? Actually, not a bad idea. Thanks for suggesting it.”
“I suggested what now? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“I don’t know… Maybe he just needs time,” Spartacus said, voice softer. “No matter who he’s got in his life, he won’t completely abandon his own child. You saw how fast he found you?”
He flashed her a crooked smile. “Didn’t I tell you? And I’m telling you now too—listen to me.”
Nadya just shrugged and rested her head on her arms.
After a pause, Spartacus said calmly, “I’ve got to get to work.” He reached out and handed her passport back. “If you run off, I’m screwed. I’ll end up in jail.”
Nadya had come to accept her fate and continued playing the role of a loving, obedient wife to a village guy—hoping her father would soon soften and take his rebellious daughter back. Or at the very least, restore the comforts she once had.
For now, she endured her new life with surprising grit. At twenty-six, she was learning everything a woman in the countryside was expected to know. Household chores felt like divine punishment for disobeying her father. Sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she'd grab a broom or a mop and get to work.
But it didn’t end with cleaning the house—her mother-in-law dragged her out to the barn with the cows and goats. The stench of manure and who-knew-what-else nearly drove her mad. The first time, she vomited. Styopa found it hilarious and shadowed her like a puppy—until she started assigning him tasks. Then he’d vanish as quickly as he came. Eventually, he stopped getting in her way altogether.
Katerina Alexandrovna, Spartacus’s mother, slowly began to warm up to Nadya. Despite her early stubbornness and delicate hands, the girl grew on her. Soon enough, Nadya started receiving gifts and going on visits with her mother-in-law. The woman boasted about her daughter-in-law to every neighbor, especially to the young women she used to chase away from her son.