Chapter 18
Alina
I wake up sore, satisfied, and happier than I can recall being in years. Only a faint echo of a headache pulses behind my temples when I open my eyes and stretch, feeling like a well-fucked cat.
Or a woman who’s been told she’ll live, and whose husband demonstrated several times yesterday exactly how much he still wants her.
It’s insane how much better I feel this morning.
Maybe it’s the orgasms, all five or six of them, or maybe I just slept better here than at the clinic, but the strange emotions of yesterday and my illogical response to the good news are muted, more of a memory than something that currently weighs on me.
I can actually feel the joy and relief that I should’ve experienced when the doctor told me I’m in remission, even if a part of me is still afraid the cancer will return.
I don’t know if that fear will ever go away, but I can live with it.
Because the treatment worked, and I’m going to live.
Grinning from ear to ear, I leap out of bed—only to wince at the pulling soreness deep inside.
Yeah, okay, there’s a chance I may have overdone it yesterday.
I mean, I all but forced Alexei to have sex with me again.
And again. And again. Not that there was much force involved—all I needed to do was touch him, and he took over from there—but still, that’s not something I ever imagined I’d do.
I’m still not ready to put a label on the way I feel about the man who’d manipulated my life for a decade and forced me into marriage, but it’s no longer as simple as resentment and hate.
Maybe it never was.
I grab a robe and am about to head to the bathroom when my gaze falls upon a phone.
And a laptop.
Both are sitting pretty on the nightstand, right there within my reach.
What the hell?
Cautiously, I pick up the phone. It’s the latest Samsung model, with a nice, big screen.
A screen that’s locked, of course.
Only, as I stare at it, it unlocks itself.
“It’s for you,” Alexei’s deep voice says, and I jump a foot into the air, nearly dropping the phone as my heartbeat leaps through the roof.
When the fuck did he come in?
I whirl around to see his tall, dark figure standing in the doorway, an inscrutable smile on his face.
Is this a trick? A test? “Um… thank you?”
“You’re welcome.” He comes deeper into the room.
Unlike me, he’s already dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark T-shirt that exposes the tattoos on his powerful arms. “Your brothers have been on my case to get you a phone of your own so they can get a hold of you whenever, but I didn’t want them bothering you during treatment. ”
Or, more likely, until he decided I wouldn’t coordinate an escape plan with them.
Is that what this is? A gesture of trust? Does he think I’ve accepted our marriage?
My heart picks up pace again.
Have I accepted it? Do I actually want to stay with him now?
“The laptop has the game you started on it,” he continues before I can answer myself. “I’ve loaded our latest AI model on it, in case you’d like to use it to help you with the coding process.”
I blink. Did I hear that right? “You’re developing a proprietary AI?”
Alexei nods. “One of our companies is, yes.”
Huh. Do my brothers know that? Probably. I bet Konstantin’s team is already working on something similar or even more advanced.
“Thank you,” I say sincerely. “Now that I’m feeling better, I’d love to resume working on the game.” And with the help of AI, I may get very far, very fast.
“That’s what I figured.” He stops in front of me, his smile taking on a soft, sensual edge. “How are you feeling this morning, my beauty?”
My face heats at the memories of yesterday. “I’m… fine. Great, really.”
He lifts his hand to run the edge of his callused thumb over my lips. “Your lips still look swollen.” He brushes his fingers over my neck, sending a pleasurable shiver streaking down my arm as he gently presses on the sensitive spot under my ear. “And you have a hickey right here.”
I flush hotter. My brothers will likely visit us today, and they’ll see that. Unless… “Did you bring my makeup from the boat here, by any chance?”
Alexei nods. “It’s in the bathroom, waiting for you.” Eyes glittering, he adds, “Though I prefer you without any.”
He does? That’s… unexpected. “I need it for the hickey,” I say breathlessly, taking a small step back.
The look on his face makes me think he’s recalling yesterday in graphic detail, and as much as I’d love a repeat, I need to shower and brush my teeth first.
Alexei drops his hand and also takes a step back, curling his fingers into a fist as if to stop himself from reaching for me. “Makes sense.” His voice is a touch hoarse. “Come to the kitchen when you’re ready. Breakfast is waiting.”
He walks out, and I exhale a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Just that brief touch from him, and my body is already thrumming with heady awareness, my pulse racing from being in his presence.
Or from the knowledge that I now have access to a phone.
Yes, that’s what it is. I seize on the explanation because I’m not ready to analyze the complex, contradictory mess that is my relationship with Alexei. Instead, I lift the phone I’m still clutching in my hand and eagerly swipe across the screen.
Since I gave Alexei access to my cloud’s login, I’m not surprised to find that this new device is filled with all my usual contacts and photos.
I’m not surprised, but I’m definitely excited.
I can call or message whomever I wish. Like my brothers. And Chloe. And my college friends. And Natasha back home.
Holy shit, I can even reach out to Birgit if I find her info.
I start by firing off a text to Konstantin and Valery to let them know I’m all right and have a phone. Then I do the same with Nikolai and Chloe.
My text to her has barely gone out when her video call request shows up, with Slava’s little face—a copy of Nikolai’s when he was a child—filling most of the screen.
My chest squeezes.
My nephew. I’ve missed him so much.
“Slavochka!” I grin so widely my ears hurt. “How are you?”
I’m speaking Russian, but the reply that comes my way in a high, pure child’s voice is in English. “I’m fine.”
I gasp and switch to English. “Wow, look who’s become a little American!”
Chloe’s face appears next to Slava’s. “He’s gotten so, so good at English,” she says proudly. “We’re actually starting to work on his Russian so he doesn’t forget it, as he’s developed a definite preference for English. Oh, and he’s learning to read in both languages now.”
I gasp again, more dramatically. “You’re reading in both languages? Slava, that’s amazing!”
My nephew puffs out his cheeks. “I can already do three-letter words. And bigger in Russian.”
“Longer,” Chloe corrects. “You can read longer words in Russian.”
“Longer,” Slava repeats obediently, and I marvel at how much he’s changed and matured since Nikolai stole him from Boris Leonov and brought him to Idaho.
Even in the couple of months since I’ve been gone, my nephew seems to have undergone a transformation, losing even more of his shyness and reticence, becoming more like a little adult.
“Where’s Nikolai?” I ask Chloe as Slava disappears from view—likely off to play. “Or is it just the two of you hanging out this evening?”
“Nikolai is out with the guards, working on a few things.” She doesn’t expound on it, and I understand why.
Ever since Alexei’s attack on my brother’s compound, Nikolai has been obsessed with beefing up their security.
Chloe told me a little about his efforts when they visited, and I definitely approve.
The Leonovs should have no reason to attack Nikolai again, but the same thing can’t be said for our other enemies. Of course, that first bit assumes I stay with my husband.
“So I heard the good news,” Chloe says, a bright smile lighting up her pretty face. “You’re in remission!”
“I am.” I beam back. “They’ll be monitoring me closely for a while, but no more treatments unless… you know.”
“Right.” She tilts her head. “Can you talk?”
We are talking, but that’s not what she means.
“Alexei is not here,” I say openly. “But I’m pretty sure this phone—and all my communications—will be monitored.”
And I don’t care if Alexei knows that I know that.
Chloe nods, unsurprised. “Just tell me then… What are you going to do now that you’re out of treatment? Are you returning to Moscow or staying in Geneva for a bit?”
Good question. “I still need to discuss that with Alexei. He’s actually waiting for me to have breakfast, so we’ll catch up some more later, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll tell Nikolai you called. He’ll be very happy to hear you’re doing well.”
I blow her an air kiss and disconnect. Valery’s call request is already on my screen, and one from Konstantin appears a second later. I decline them both, as my need for the bathroom is growing more urgent.
I’ll talk to them as soon as I’m done with my morning routine.
When I finally enter the kitchen after having reassured both Konstantin and Valery that I’m fine and don’t need their help, Alexei is waiting for me, a big jar filled with a green smoothie in his hand.
“Drink this,” he orders, handing it to me.
I sniff the contents of the jar. “What’s in it?”
“Everything your body needs to recover. A dietician I consulted gave me the recipe, along with the rest of your meal plan.”
“I have a meal plan?”
“You do.” His dark eyes glint. “Now drink up.”
Gingerly, I take a sip. It’s not bad. A little sweet, more than a little grassy, and generally very healthy tasting. It’s not what I would’ve chosen this morning, but since I’m not nauseated, I can stomach it.
My body probably does need the extra vitamins or whatever.
Alexei watches intently as I drain the jar, and then he makes me eat a piece of sprouted whole-grain toast with white-bean hummus—for the plant-based protein, he explains.
Apparently, a whole-food plant-based diet is best for cancer prevention and remission maintenance, so that’s what I will be eating going forward.