Papa isn’t budging.
He still has me under house arrest and refuses to let me go out, except when I’m surrounded by a thousand and one guards. Vlad is on his side, too, so he’s ratcheting the security up a notch.
Rai tried to talk some sense into them, but neither was listening. She told me to be patient and said ambiguous words about how things are not what I think.
But that hardly gave me any hope. The only one who’s given me a sliver of it was Adrian when I overheard him tell Kirill he’ll convince Papa to take Knox’s offer for the Bratva’s and V Corp’s sake.
If there’s anyone I know who’d be able to change Papa’s mind, it’s him. However, he seems to be taking his sweet time with it and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle it any longer.
It’s been a week since Knox barged into our house as if he had every right to, as if he couldn’t care less about the scary painting in the entrance or the more terrifying people within this mansion’s walls.
If I were him, I would’ve run the other way as I’m used to. But Knox has never been the type to run away. He might have hidden for some time, but he didn’t run away. Not really.
The following day, when I didn’t contact him, I expected him to bulldoze through the door again and demand things from Papa.
But he didn’t.
That’s when the doubt started to creep in. Maybe he came to his senses and realized that he shouldn’t get involved with someone like me.
Surely, a fuck isn’t worth jeopardizing his life at the hands of the Bratva. Surely, anyone with logic would convince him that he shouldn’t be with me.
And while that’s all I’ve ever wanted since I left, a weight presses on my chest at the thought of losing him. And sometimes, like now, I can’t breathe. It doesn’t matter that ever since Papa gave me back access to my laptop, I’ve been creating more systems than should be healthy and spied on his and Dan’s social media accounts.
I know the right thing to do is to give up, to let him live his life as the hotshot lawyer and not drag him down with my shady family business. I should watch from afar and abide by Papa’s wishes, but the mere thought of another man besides Knox touching me brings nausea to my throat.
It’s even worse imagining him with another woman. It would eat me alive.
A knock sounds on the door and I murmur a “Come in” without breaking eye contact with the screen.
“Ana!” Rai’s uncharacteristically cheerful voice makes me stare at her.
She stands at the door with a hand on her growing belly and smiles so big, it would be contagious under any other circumstances.
“What it is, Rai?”
“Granduncle is asking for you in the dining room.”
“No…Rai…please stop him. He’s going to make me marry Kirill and you know how manipulative he is. He’ll swallow me alive and I can’t…I can’t just marry him when I have someone else in my heart—”
“Hey.” She’s by my side in a second. “There will be no marrying that cunning fox Kirill, not if I have to reveal his secret to stop it.”
“W-what secret?”
“You don’t have to worry about it. Just know that it’s not going to happen. Besides, I’m pretty sure that’s not the reason Granduncle is asking for you.”
I frown. “Then what is it?”
“You’ll know when you get there.” She gently yet firmly lifts me up, then smooths my hair that’s gathered in a bun.
I must look like shit in my PJs and makeup-free face, but my appearance is the last thing on my mind these days.
Rai intertwines her hand with mine and leads me downstairs. Papa’s guard stares at me funny and I chalk it up to my unflattering appearance.
When Rai opens the door, however, the reason behind everyone’s reaction materializes in front of me.
On Papa’s right, the place that’s reserved for Vlad, sits the last person I expected to ever be invited to our dining table.
He’s wearing a sharp brown suit that brings out the intense hazel color of his eyes with that golden ring I’ve been dreaming about lately.
It hasn’t been long since I last saw him, but he looks a bit different—broader, sharper, and with a face that’s oozing masculinity and charm.
Maturity, too, I realize. In the span of a week, he seems to have aged and become wiser. Or maybe I’m the one who has.
“Knox,” I whisper, unable to believe my eyes.
His lips pull in that charismatic smile that I could never resist. “Hey, beautiful.”
I stare between him and Papa, then at Rai, secretly blaming her for not making me a bit more presentable when she knew who was here.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Knox but stare at Papa, a bit scared that he’ll order his senior guard, who stands behind him like a wall, to off Knox.
“Sergei invited me.”
I nearly choke on my own spit. Did he just say Papa invited him? Also, please tell me he didn’t just call him by his first name. Only the leaders of the Bratva are allowed to do that and never to his face.
Jeez, even Rai’s husband, a complete rebel, has never done it.
My attention flies to Papa, expecting him to shoot Knox, but he remains in his element, not even looking offended.
“You invited him?” I whisper.
“Yes. He’s a business partner now.”
I’m unable to process that, so I just stare, dumbfounded. Does this mean Papa accepts him?
“And?” Knox asks with a mischievous grin.
“A possible son-in-law,” Papa says.
“Hey, not “possible.” Definite. You’re the one who said I’ll have to marry into your family.”
Papa clears his throat and Rai chuckles by my side.
They…didn’t just say what I think they said, right?
I don’t get a chance to process it further before Papa stands up and heads toward me, his guard in tow behind him.
When he’s within touching distance, he reaches a hand out and pats my head. And for just a second, I feel like that little girl again, the one who came out from beneath the table when he killed my stepfather. He patted my head then, too, before offering me his hand, and even though it was bloody, I took it.
Because he’s my father.
No matter how monstrous the world views him, he’ll always be the god who saved me from a life of abuse.
“You deserve much more than I can offer you, Nastyusha,” he tells me. “But if he hurts you in any way, I’ll make a lesson out of him.”
“Papa…” I choke on my tears, then take his free hand and kiss its back. “Thank you. Thank you.”
He strokes my hair for a few more seconds, then releases me and leaves with his guard. Rai winks at me before she jogs after him. “Wait for me.”
Papa grabs her by the arm. “No running or you’ll hurt the baby.”
She grins at that and I smile a little, but it soon falls when I feel hot breaths at my neck.
I abruptly turn around and my air gets caught in my throat when I’m face to face with those golden hazel eyes.
He reaches around me and closes the door. I swear I can hear its resounding sound in my chest.
“Miss me, beautiful?”
“What happened?” It’s hard to breathe let alone speak when his body is a few inches from mine and his warmth is flooding me. “How come Papa agreed?”
“I’ve been meeting with him ever since the first time he caught me coming out of your room. It took a lot of convincing, but he was being difficult about something we both wanted. He knows you’re better off away from his world and that I’m the one who can offer you that life. So he suggested we get married.”
“Y-you don’t have to do that just for Papa. I can speak to him—”
“What are you talking about? You think I wouldn’t want to marry you?”
My lips part and I fumble for words. “You want to?”
“What type of question is that? Of course, I want to. We might have started with my fucking your brains out, but over time, you became the woman I can’t imagine my life without. You became my woman, Anastasia, and I intend to keep you.”
I sniffle, the onslaught of emotions ricocheting in my chest. “Even though I hid my identity from you?”
“Even then. That’s when I knew you were mine, and there’s no fucking changing that.”
“But my family—”
“I couldn’t give a fuck about your family. You’re the only one I care about. Besides, I have a big family as well and they’re more than ready to accept you as a member. We can be a little crazy, just so you’re warned.”
“Oh, Knox…I love you.”
He pauses, a gleam shining deep in his eyes. “You do?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve been falling in love with you since the first time I saw you.”
“I’ve been obsessed with you for just as long. I didn’t realize the nature of these feelings growing inside me at first, but I do now. They’re stronger than love, beautiful, they’re even more powerful than anything I’ve ever experienced and I’d be a fool to ignore them. You taught me to not ignore the ugly parts of myself. Hell, you even liked them and made me the better version of myself.”
“You made me the best version of myself, too. You helped me find my own strength and I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“You’ve always been strong. Just because it was simmering under the surface doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”
“And just because you had a traumatic past, doesn’t mean you can’t rise above it.” I stroke his face. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“You sure as fuck will.”
“You’ll really have me?”
“The real question should be, will you have me, beautiful?”
“For the rest of my life, Knox.”
“Good, because I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” He opens his arms and I dive right in.
I dive into the place that makes me feel wanted, safe, and alive.
The place I’ll never leave.
