Chapter 56 Sima
SIMA
My brother’s grip on my arm is tight..
I try to yank free, but he only clamps down harder and leans closer until his shadow falls over me. “Not happy to see me after all this time, eh?”
Anatoli’s voice is a low taunt, like we’re playing some private joke only he finds funny. He tilts his head, eyes narrow.
When I answer him, his grin deepens. “What’s the matter, little sister? Cat got your tongue?”
“Let me go,” I hiss. “You’re making a scene.”
“You don’t want to make a fuss, do you? Draw attention? That wouldn’t look good for you here, with all your nice classmates watching.” His laugh is soft and cruel. “You’ve been playing at normal life for so long… Wouldn’t want them to know what you really are.”
I glance at the students shuffling past, oblivious, and force my voice low and steady. Losing face is the least of my concerns, but if anybody gets involved, there’s no telling what my brother might do. Who he might hurt.
“I said, let me go.”
Anatoli only laughs. He shifts just enough to lift the edge of his jacket and reveals the black grip of a gun tucked at his side.
“You don’t want to make this messy. But I could. All it takes is me pulling this out, and suddenly, half these kids hit the floor.”
My eyes go wide. “Don’t,” I whisper, panicked. “Please. Leave them out of this. They have nothing to do with us.”
He tilts his head with cruel amusement. “If you don’t listen, what choice do I have?”
“I’ll listen!” I stammer quickly. “I will. Just… please.”
He leans closer, smile razor-sharp. “You always thought you could run, didn’t you? That if you hid long enough, the past wouldn’t catch up.” His fingers dig deeper into my arm. “But here I am.”
“Anatoli—” I start, but he cuts me off with a hiss.
“Our parents will be so, so thrilled to learn you’re alive. Imagine their faces when you walk through the door after all this time.”
He’s going to send me back. Back to him.
Suddenly, I can’t breathe.
My hand itches to press against my belly, but I can’t risk it. Not here. Not with him watching me like a hawk.
“I want no part of that life,” I manage through clenched teeth.
Anatoli chuckles coldly. “That so? Then explain your new husband. Explain that ring. Don’t lie. Our parents will be so hurt when they find out you married without them. Didn’t even invite your brothers to the big day?” He shakes his head in mock disappointment. “Ungrateful.”
Dread curls in my stomach. He knows. Somehow, he knows.
“I’m not married,” I lie.
“You think you can hide it from me?” Anatoli says.
“There were hundreds of guests at that wedding. Sidorov was there. He had his photographer take pictures. Thought it would be his daughter in white. He was happy enough to hand them over when I pressed him.” He shrugs.
“Well, happy under the barrel of a gun.”
It’s pointless to deny it. He knows. He’s seen proof.
I plant my feet and narrow my eyes. “If you know who my husband is, then you know what he’ll do to you if you don’t let me go.”
For a flicker of a second, his grin falters.
Then fury hardens his face.
He shoves me against the wall. The impact rattles through my bones. A couple of students glance over, frown, but keep walking. No one wants to get involved. I pray no one gets involved.
“Petyr can’t touch me,” Anatoli growls. “I’ll kill him. And you’re going to help me.”
“What?” My head shakes before I can stop it. “No. Never.”
“Yes.” His breath is hot and sour against my cheek. “You’ll be loyal to your family. You’ll tell Petyr I found you, that I want a truce. You’ll lure him in. Then I’ll put a bullet in his skull.”
My blood runs cold. Petyr can’t die. I won’t let him. The very idea of betraying him makes bile rise in my throat.
Here my brother is, demanding that I trade the only good thing I’ve found in years for the approval of the family that broke me.
Rage tangles with terror until I can hardly breathe. I can’t do it. I won’t. No matter what threats he makes, I am not going to hand Petyr over.
He’s my husband. The father of my child.
He’s…
The man I love.
I can’t believe it took me so long to admit this to myself. That it took fucking Anatoli waving a gun at me to realize I’m in love with Petyr Gubarev.
But I am. I love him.
And God help anyone who wants to take him from me.
“I won’t help you,” I whisper, my voice shaky but firm.
“Oh, you will.” His grip bruises my arm as he leans in. “Because I already have his closest ally.”
His words root me to the spot. “His… ally?”
“That’s right.” His smirk sharpens. “Lev works with me now. At the meeting, he’ll turn. Petyr won’t see it coming. And when it’s done, when Petyr is gone, you’ll walk away. Our father will never know what you’ve been up to.”
My pulse pounds so hard I can’t hear anything else. Lev? Betray Petyr? The thought is impossible. I haven’t known him for long, but he’s practically Petyr’s shadow. His right arm.
And yet, Anatoli’s smirk tells me he believes it. Or wants me to believe it.
I keep my eyes on him and refuse to flinch.
Inside, though, my dread coils tighter and tighter.
“Walk now, princess.” He grabs me by the shoulder and pushes me forward roughly. “Or I’ll make you.”
My eyes dart around. The crowd is so thick that no one pays us any mind. They probably can’t even see what Anatoli is doing. To a passer-by, it might look like an embrace.
But there’s nothing warm or familial about his grip. Nothing human in the cold pits of his eyes. Only a dark, bottomless cruelty.
“Go back to your bodyguard,” he orders. “Act like nothing’s wrong. If you don’t, I’ll know.”
He finally lets me go. I shake myself free and rub my wrist, then search for Luka across the cafeteria.
I spot him near the back. He hasn’t seen me, thank God.
“Remember,” Anatoli growls, “we are your family. Not Petyr Gubarev.”
You haven’t been my family in twelve years, I want to spit, but I keep the reply to myself. Right now, I’ve got the short end of the stick. I’m in a crowded place filled with innocents, and Anatoli has never had any qualms about involving them.
I need to make him think he’ll get his way. To get him to back off and let me go home with Luka.
So I put one foot in front of the other and do what I’ve done until now: Survive.
Because if I don’t warn Petyr, no one will.