Chapter 5
ANNA
The house feels smaller when I walk back inside.
My parents are in the living room waiting. My mother stands the moment she sees me. My father stays seated, glass of whiskey already in his hand, even though it’s barely nine in the morning.
“How did it go?” my mother asks.
“How do you think it went?” I walk past her toward the stairs. “I need to pack.”
“Anna, wait.”
I stop but don’t turn around.
“We know this is difficult,” she says. “But it’s for the best. For you and the twins.”
“Is it?” I finally look at her. “Or is it for the best for you and Dad?”
She flinches. My father takes another drink.
“That’s not fair,” my mother says quietly.
“Fair? You sold me to a stranger to save your company. Don’t talk to me about fair.”
“We didn’t sell you. We secured your future. The twins’ future.”
“By forcing me into a marriage I didn’t want.”
“You agreed to it.” My father’s voice is hard. “You could have said no.”
“And watch you lose everything? Watch Mila and Alexei grow up with nothing?” I cross my arms. “You knew I didn’t have a choice. You counted on it.”
Silence fills the room. My mother’s eyes are wet again. My father stares into his glass like it holds answers.
“Luca will take care of you,” my mother says finally. “He has resources, connections, security. The twins will have opportunities we could never give them.”
“The twins had me. That was enough.”
“Was it?” My father looks up. “Living here rent-free, working part-time jobs that barely cover expenses, relying on us for everything? That’s not a future, Anna. That’s survival.”
The words hit harder than I want to admit.
Because he’s right. I’ve been surviving, not living.
Working whatever jobs I could find that allowed me to be home for the twins.
Stretching every dollar. Watching my children grow up in a house that wasn’t mine, dependent on parents who resented the burden even if they never said it out loud.
But I had my freedom. I had my choices. I had my secret.
And now I have none of those things.
“I need to pack,” I say again.
This time, my mother doesn’t stop me.
I go upstairs to the twins’ room. Mila and Alexei are still asleep, curled up together in Mila’s bed like they always do when they’re scared or uncertain. They must have sensed something was wrong last night when I wasn’t there to tuck them in.
I sit on the edge of the bed and smooth Mila’s hair back from her face. She has my dark hair, my blue eyes. Alexei looks more like his father. Green eyes, sharper features, even at four years old.
I need to wake them. Tell them we’re leaving. Tell them their entire life is about to change.
“Mila. Alexei.” I shake them gently. “Wake up, babies.”
Mila stirs first, blinking up at me. “Mama?”
“I’m here.”
Alexei sits up, rubbing his eyes. “Where were you last night?”
“I had to take care of something. But I’m here now.” I pull them both close. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” Mila asks.
“We’re moving today. To a new house.”
Both of them go still.
“Why?” Alexei’s voice is small.
“Because it’s time. We’re going to live somewhere bigger, nicer. Somewhere that’s ours.”
“I don’t want to leave.” Mila’s eyes fill with tears. “I like it here.”
“I know, baby. But this is what’s best for us.”
“Is Grandma and Grandpa coming too?” Alexei asks.
“No. Just us. You, me, and…” I swallow hard. “And your new stepfather.”
“Stepfather?” Mila looks confused. “You said our dad was dead.”
My chest tightens. “I know. But I got married yesterday. To someone who’s going to take care of us now.”
“But you didn’t tell us.” Alexei’s face crumples. “You didn’t ask us.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But sometimes grown-ups have to make decisions quickly.”
“I don’t want a stepfather.” Mila starts crying. “I want to stay here.”
I pull them both against me, holding tight while they cry. I want to tell them it’s going to be okay. That everything will be fine. That this new life won’t be scary.
But I don’t know if any of that is true.
So I just hold them and let them cry.
After a while, their sobs quieten. Mila sniffles against my shoulder. Alexei pulls back and wipes his eyes. “Do we have to go?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
He nods slowly. Accepting it the way children do when they realize arguing won’t change anything.
“Can we bring our toys?” Mila asks.
“All of them. We’ll pack everything you want.”
That seems to help. Mila climbs out of bed and starts gathering her stuffed animals. Alexei goes to his toy box and begins pulling out cars and action figures.
I grab suitcases from the hallway closet and start packing their clothes. Everything they own fits into three bags. Four years of their lives condensed into luggage I can carry.
My mother appears in the doorway. “Do you need help?”
“No.”
She hovers anyway. “Anna, please. Don’t leave like this.”
“How should I leave? Grateful?”
“At least civil. For the twins’ sake.”
I zip up one of the suitcases harder than necessary. “The twins will be fine.”
“Will you?”
I don’t answer. Just keep packing.
My mother steps into the room. “Luca is a good man. Difficult, yes. Demanding. But he keeps his word. If he says he’ll protect you and the children, he will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know men like him. They value control, order, and loyalty. Give him those things, and he’ll give you security in return.”
“I don’t want to give him anything.”
“Then you’ll make this harder than it needs to be.” She kneels beside Mila, who’s clutching a stuffed rabbit. “You’re going to love your new house, sweetheart. It’s very big, with lots of rooms to explore.”
Mila looks at me, uncertain. I nod, and she turns back to my mother. “Will you visit?”
“Of course. Whenever your mama says it’s okay.”
“Can Grandpa come too?”
My mother’s smile falters. “Yes. Grandpa too.”
I finish packing and carry the bags downstairs. My father is still in the living room, on his third drink now. He doesn’t look at me as I pass.
The car Luca sent arrives at eleven. A black sedan with a driver who doesn’t speak, just loads our bags into the trunk. I buckle the twins into their car seats in the backseat, climb in beside them, and we pull away from the only home they’ve ever known.
Mila presses her face against the window, watching the house disappear. Alexei holds my hand tight. “Is the new house far?” he asks.
“About twenty minutes.”
“Will we have our own rooms?”
“Yes. Your own rooms with new beds and new toys.”
“I want to share with Mila.”
“We’ll see.”
The drive feels longer than it should. The twins are quiet, staring out the windows at unfamiliar streets. When we turn onto the private drive and pass through the iron gates, both of them sit up straighter.
“Whoa,” Alexei breathes.
The estate comes into view, and I see it through their eyes. Massive. Intimidating. Nothing like the small house we just left.
“Is that where we’re living?” Mila whispers.
“Yes.”
“It’s so big.”
“I know.”
The car stops in front of the main entrance. The driver opens my door, then helps with the twins. Staff members I don’t recognize appear to collect our bags.
I keep both children close, one hand on each of their shoulders.
A woman in a neat uniform approaches. “Mrs. Volkov, welcome home. I’m Elena, the head housekeeper. Mr. Volkov asked me to show you and the children to your rooms.”
Mrs. Volkov. The name sounds wrong.
“Thank you,” I say.
Elena leads us inside. The twins stare at everything. The chandelier, the marble floors, the grand staircase. It’s overwhelming even for me.
“The children’s rooms are this way.” Elena takes us up the stairs and down a hallway. She opens two doors across from each other. “This room is for Mila, and this one is for Alexei. Mr. Volkov had them prepared specially.”
I look inside Mila’s room first. It’s huge. Canopy bed with pink bedding, bookshelves already filled with books, and a toy chest overflowing with dolls and stuffed animals. Alexei’s room is similar but decorated in blue, with trucks, building blocks, and a race car bed.
“These are ours?” Mila asks, eyes wide.
“Yes,” Elena says, smiling. “Do you like them?”
Mila nods slowly. Alexei walks into his room and touches the race car bed like he’s afraid it might disappear.
“Your mother’s room is down the hall,” Elena tells them. She turns to me. “Would you like to see it?”
“Later. I’ll stay with the twins while they settle in.”
“Of course. Lunch will be ready in an hour. I’ll have it brought up unless you’d prefer to eat in the dining room.”
“Up here is fine.”
Elena nods and leaves.
I help the twins unpack, putting their familiar clothes and toys alongside all the new things Luca bought. Mila sits on her bed, clutching her stuffed rabbit. Alexei builds a tower with blocks, but his hands are shaking.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell them.
I don’t know if I believe it.
We’re still unpacking when I hear footsteps in the hallway. Heavy. Measured.
Luca appears in Mila’s doorway.
He’s changed from this morning. Dark jeans, a black shirt. He looks less severe but no less intimidating. His eyes sweep the room, taking in the scattered toys, the half-empty suitcase, and the twins frozen in place staring at him.
“Settling in?” he asks.
I step between him and the children. “We’re fine.”
His eyes move to me, then back to Mila and Alexei. “I wanted to introduce myself properly. I’m Luca.”
Neither of them responds.
“You don’t need to do this right now,” I say.
“They live in my house. They should know who I am.”
“They’re four years old and overwhelmed. Give them time.”
He studies me for a moment, then takes a step into the room. I move to block him.
“Anna.” His voice is calm but firm. “I’m not going to hurt them.”
“I didn’t say you would.”
“Then let me talk to them.”
“No.”
His jaw tightens. “They’re part of this household now. I’m going to be in their lives whether you like it or not.”
“Not today.”
We stare at each other. I can see the calculation in his eyes, weighing whether to push this or let it go.
He lets it go.
“Fine. Dinner is at seven. You and the children will join me.”
“We’ll see.”
“That wasn’t a request.” He turns and walks out before I can respond.
I close the door and lean against it, heart pounding.
Mila looks at me with wide eyes. “Is that him? Our stepfather?”
“Yes.”
“He’s scary,” she whispers.
“I know, baby.” I kneel and pull her into a hug. “But I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”
Alexei comes over and wraps his arms around both of us.
We stay like that, the three of us holding each other in this too-big room in this too-big house, and I wonder how long I can keep that promise.