Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Because from that moment on, he was different with me. That last conversation with his father must’ve brought all the pain of Ksenia’s revelations to the surface, and it bled over into our relationship without either of us fully realizing it.
As my walls were coming down, his were going up.
Right when I embraced my feelings, he began to guard against his.
I don’t answer his question. Not directly. Instead, I place his hand on my chest, letting him feel the beating of my heart through the thin material of his shirt. “I’m sorry,” I say, holding his gaze. “Alexei, I’m so, so sorry about Ksenia and what she went through. And… what you and Ruslan went through when she died and you found her diary. And I’m even more sorry about what my family did to yours by stealing Slava. It was wrong of us to take him like that, even if Nikolai is his biological father—and I’m beyond sorry that I played a role in it.”
His dark eyes widen, but I don’t let him speak. Not yet. I need to tell him everything while I have the courage to do so.
“I’m also sorry that I ran from you,” I say, my voice steady despite the cold. “I was terrified of ending up like my mother… or so I told myself. But that wasn’t the truth. Not the whole truth, at least. I think a part of me was always afraid that I was like him. My father. That I was so drawn to you because there was something dark and twisted in me, something I couldn’t face or acknowledge.” I drag in a breath. “And you know what? Maybe there is. I killed Bocelli, and I’m able to sleep at night. Does that make me a monster?”
“It makes you a woman who knows how to defend herself,” Alexei says, his gaze boring into me. “You are nothing like your father.”
“Neither are you like your father. Or mine.”
“Are you sure about that?” His mouth twists sardonically. “Don’t you consider me a monster for what I’ve done to you? Tying you to me when you were barely fifteen, stalking you until you had no choice but to give in and marry me? Impregnating you against your will?”
“Do you regret any of that?”
His eyes glitter darkly. “Only the last part.”
Of course. What else did I expect? A personality transplant?
I open my mouth to tell him that I love him regardless when he adds grimly, “And I’d do it all over again. I’d do anything to get you… and keep you. You should know that, Alinyonok. I’m never letting you go.”
He means that last bit as a warning, but I hear something else: a promise of a future with him, one in which he’ll stand by my side in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, through joy and through pain.
Through love so intense it can destroy as easily as it can heal.
I don’t need the words from him, I realize. He’s shown me how he feels all along. But he needs them from me. So I lay my palm over his jaw, feeling the scratchiness of his stubble, and whisper, “I love you, Alexei. And I’d do anything to keep you too.”
When our lips come together again, the kiss tastes of snow and ash, of grief and absolution.
Of hope for a better tomorrow.
Alina
Two Years Later
The air smells of diamonds and expensive perfume as Alexei and I move through the glittering hotel ballroom, mingling with friends and foes alike, establishing new connections while strengthening old ones.
When we’re done with obligatory rounds, we stop by the refreshment table, where we run into a pair of Japanese businessmen who want to talk my ear off about my new videogaming venture.
I wasn’t expecting much when I released my game for free six months ago. I was hoping some people would enjoy it, of course, but I knew that the story was too simple, the graphics too basic to have a broad appeal.
I was wrong.
The game took off.
Immediately.
Apparently, something about it—maybe its very simplicity—evoked nostalgia in gamers old and young alike. In posts that quickly went viral, reviewers raved about how it was simultaneously like Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong, and Doom, with a dash of The Legend of Zelda.
True, I was inspired by all of those, but I didn’t think my game was anywhere near the same level.
At Alexei’s urging, I made a few small upgrades and released a paid version. People bought it. Lots of people. And that’s when the big guys took an interest in my one-woman venture.
Offers poured in.
With the help of Alexei and my brothers, I evaluated them all and decided to do it on my own, so I hired a small team and am developing a sequel that will be released next year on all the major platforms.