Chapter 24 - Fyodor
Walking into the Chernykh estate alone was either the bravest thing I had ever done or the stupidest thing I would ever live long enough to do because Iosif would certainly shoot me the minute he saw me.
Or it could possibly be both.
The iron gates loomed ahead, flanked by guards who had likely rehearsed shooting me in their spare time.
The mansion beyond them stood as it always had, imposing, immaculate, and built to intimidate.
But I wasn’t here to intimidate anyone. I was here because the assumption had almost destroyed everything.
And I wasn’t going to make that mistake ever again.
The plan, if it could even be called that, had not been mine.
Ilana had arrived at the safe house two nights ago with Clara and, inexplicably, Zhenya trailing behind her like an accomplice who hadn’t fully processed the danger.
“This is reckless,” Viktor had said.
“Yes,” Ilana agreed calmly.
“We could start a war.”
“Only if he escalates.”
Zhenya had leaned against the wall and looked at me critically.
“You look terrible, by the way. Are you sure you want to barge in the Chernykh mansion and confess your love for my sister, looking like that? Please try to fix your face.”
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind,” I had replied dryly.
“The plan is simple,” Ilana had said. “We create a distraction and make sure someone gets you inside. We will guide you straight to her room so you can speak to her. It won’t be that difficult since she is dying to speak to you.
The two of you can sort things out quickly and leave before anyone is alerted of the breach or anyone finds out about you being inside the house. ”
“Oh yes, Iosif and Avgust should never find out about this until after you two are gone and somewhere safe,” Clara had added gently.
“That’s not the objective,” I had said.
All three of them had stared at me.
“You’re not running?” Zhenya had asked incredulously.
“No.”
“You need to.”
“I won’t.”
Ilana’s gaze had sharpened slightly at that.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not stealing her from someone. I love her, and she loves me, and I deserve to come and take her back in front of anyone. I am not scared of the Chernykh brothers because this is a matter of choice. And I am sure they will understand that Elisse is choosing me.”
Silence.
“Does Kliment understand that I chose Avgust?” Ilana asked, making a fair point.
“No. But I understand, I am sure Avgust and Iosif will too. She deserves to choose in front of them,” I said. “And not run away in the dark like a criminal.”
That was the only way this ended cleanly. I did not want to end it with secrecy or force but with clarity. I did not want this to end up in a lifetime of running and a lifetime of chasing.
So here I was. At the gates of the Chernykh mansion, I knew Elisse was just inside. I gave my name at the doors, and the guards stiffened immediately. Weapons hadn’t risen yet, but I could already sense they were ready.
“Wait,” one of them said into his earpiece.
The gates did not open, and they never even would have, except the security feed glitched only briefly, but it was enough.
Ilana, Clara, and Zhenya were right inside, creating chaos subtle enough not to look like chaos.
I still didn’t know how they had done it, but I could imagine one of them making a call that was misrouted while another one of them redirected the patrol officers.
The gates were somehow opened for me, and I drove in slowly.
I did not need to be fast or aggressive.
The engine cut in the courtyard, and I stepped out with no visible weapon in my hands.
To my surprise, I could not see a single guard on patrol duty, which was strange.
I walked directly to the front doors and noticed how they were already opening for me, Ilana standing just at the entrance.
“Where are all the guards?” I asked her, stepping inside the foyer.
“Zhenya staged a fall and fake attack at the back, and Clara forced them all to go and check. I quickly ran to first open the gates for you and then the main gates here. Now we don’t have a lot of time,” Ilana said, ushering me inside.
“What do you mean?”
“I need you to get to Elisse’s room before the guards return.”
“I told you, Ilana. I am not going to hide,” I said, refusing to do this in the dark.
“I know you said that, but I don’t want you to die, Fyodor. Please be smarter than this and do exactly as I am saying before this entire plan goes to hell,” she whispered, trying to pull me towards the staircase.
Just then, footsteps began sounding all around us, and the foyer filled quickly as guards flooded in.
Within seconds, everyone knew what was happening, and guns were raised, which were all aiming directly at me.
Clara and Zhenya walked in as well, their eyes widening when they realized we had been caught.
It would have taken one twitch of a finger. One misinterpreted breath. To end this.
But I didn’t flinch.
“Iosif,” I called evenly, my voice carrying through the empty foyer. “Iosif, Avgust, where are you? Come outside.”
My call carried through the marble hall.
“I’m not here to fight.”
Footsteps echoed from the upper staircase, and Avgust appeared first, followed quickly by Iosif. Their expressions were carved from stone.
“You have some nerve walking inside the Chernykh manor like this,” Avgust said flatly.
“I’ve been told.”
Guns shifted slightly closer.
“You’re outnumbered and injured, and from what I can see, you are also unarmed, and you decided to walk inside enemy territory?” Iosif observed.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Call her,” I said.
Neither of them moved.
“You don’t get to demand—” Avgust began.
“Elisse,” I said louder.
Her name echoed in the hall, and the sound of hurried footsteps answered.
She appeared at the top of the stairs within seconds, and in that moment, everything else disappeared.
She looked thinner and paler, but her eyes were still on fire.
Iosif tried to stop her, but Elisse didn’t hesitate for a single second and simply ran towards me.
Down the stairs. Past her brothers and straight into my waiting arms.
“Elisse,” Avgust warned. “Back away from him right now.”
She ignored him and didn’t slow down until she collided with me, arms wrapping around my waist, face pressing into my chest, and the impact nearly knocked the air out of me.
But I held her. God, how I held her. She was real and warm, and her entire body was shaking with violent sobs.
I had never seen her crying like this before.
“You idiot,” she breathed against my shirt, clutching it in handfuls as if she was afraid I would disappear.
The words trembled.
“I thought you betrayed me,” I said quietly.
She pulled back just enough to look up at me. “I thought you thought that.”
“I did.”
“But I didn’t betray you. I promise. I never called them there, and I didn’t even want to go with them, and the only thing I have been doing since coming home is asking everyone to take me back to you.”
“I know.”
She swallowed hard.
“I hate you.”
“That’s completely fair.”
Her mouth twitched despite herself. Behind her, Iosif cleared his throat.
“Guards,” Avgust ordered sharply. “Stand down.”
The weapons lowered reluctantly. “Leave us,” Avgust added.
That took longer, considering there were too many of them, but eventually, the foyer emptied, and only the family remained since everyone was out now, all of their eyes on us. And there was me.
“You have five minutes,” Iosif said coolly.
“I won’t need that long,” I replied.
Elisse stepped back slightly, her hands still clutching my shirt. Before I could say anything, her hands moved to my face as she forced me to meet her gaze.
“I have to tell you something,” she said, pausing for only a second before adding, “I am pregnant.”
The world narrowed to a pinpoint.
“What?”
Her confession was followed by an absolute silence filling the mansion. Even the air seemed to stop moving. She held my gaze steadily.
“I found out three days ago.” I couldn’t breathe. The foyer blurred slightly at the edges.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Something inside me broke open. It was not fear or panic but something much deeper and wider. Something that belonged to me. Something that was mine. Ours. I reached up slowly, almost reverently, brushing my fingers along her cheek.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want this child? Are you happy, I mean? Because I will never force you to have this child if you don’t want to. This decision and choice are completely yours.”
“I want you, and I want our baby,” she said firmly. “Do you want it?”
The words were not whispered but declared, and I could sense her brothers stiffening slightly, but none of them interfered. I was certain Clara and Ilana were the only reason Iosif and Avgust hadn’t moved between us yet, but I was grateful to them. I needed this moment. We needed this moment.
“Elisse,” Iosif warned. She didn’t look away from me.
“You left thinking I betrayed you.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes, you were.”
“That’s on me.”
“Yes.”
Despite everything, a faint smile flickered between us.
“I severed ties with Kliment,” I said, looking at her brothers now. “Before the attack.”
Iosif’s expression didn’t change. “We know that.”
“I was the one who dismantled his operation at the port.”
“We know that too. We have been keeping track of your movements for weeks now.”
“Then you know I have stepped away from Romanov leadership.”
Avgust folded his arms.
“We know.”
“And yet you nearly started a war while rescuing Elisse.”
My accusation was met with silence.
“And yet,” I said evenly, “I did not retaliate.”
“That was self-preservation,” Avgust replied.
“No,” I said calmly. “That was choice.”
I looked back at Elisse. “I won’t escalate this.”
“Why?” Iosif asked.
“Because she is not leverage or a bargaining chip. She is my wife. This marriage might have started as a strategy, but it is no longer that. I love her, and there is nothing or no one that can come between us. She is the mother of our future child, and I will not allow pride or stupidity to dictate what happens next. I could have asked her to run away with me, but I don’t want her to lose her family by choosing me. I want her to have both.”
“And what if we say no?” Iosif asked.
“Then she stays here with you, and I will walk out, but you will have to spend your entire life knowing that you gave your sister the biggest unhappiness of her life.”
Elisse’s head snapped toward me.
“I will not take her against your will,” I finished.
“You’d leave?” Avgust demanded.
“If she chooses to stay.”
Silence stretched around us, heavy and measured. Elisse turned fully toward her brothers.
“I am not property,” she said steadily.
“No one said you were,” Iosif replied.
“You have already acted like I was.”
“That man kidnapped you.”
“That man walked away from power for me.”
Iosif’s gaze flicked to me. “Is it true you did it all for her?
“Yes.”
Avgust exhaled slowly. “You understand what this means.”
“Yes.”
“You understand Kliment will never forgive you for this reconciliation.”
“I don’t need him to.”
“You understand this alliance will not be simple.”
“I don’t need simple.”
Iosif stepped closer now, close enough to look directly into my eyes.
“If you hurt her—”
“I won’t.”
“If you choose ego over family—”
“I won’t.”
“If you use that child for leverage—”
“I won’t.”
The tension didn’t break, but it shifted just slightly.
“You came here alone,” Avgust observed.
“Yes.”
“That was either stupidity or sincerity.”
“Both,” Zhenya muttered from the hallway.
Everyone looked at her, and she raised her hands.
“What? It’s true. We did tell him to simply get Elisse and get out, but he was the one who was trying to be noble.”
The smallest crack of reluctant humor flickered through the room, and even Avgust’s mouth twitched.
“Elisse,” Iosif said quietly. “Are you certain you want, and you want him?”
“Yes.”
“You understand that loving him does not mean we trust him.”
“I don’t need you to trust him,” she replied calmly. “I need you to respect my choice.”
Iosif finally stepped back, and Avgust followed.
“Very well,” Iosif said.
Relief hit me so sharply it was almost disorienting.
“This is not forgiveness,” Avgust added.
“I’m not asking for it.”
“This is not surrender.”
“I’m not offering it.”
“This is acknowledgment,” Iosif finished. “Of your intention.”
That was enough. Elisse exhaled shakily, and I instinctively pulled her closer.
“You’re really pregnant,” I murmured softly.
“Yes.”
A faint smile curved her lips.
“You’re going to be insufferable about it.”
“Probably.”
She huffed a small laugh. “I still hate you.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’m still angry.”
“That’s fair.”
“I still love you.”
That one hit harder.
“I love you,” I said back.
No hesitation. No pride. Just certainty. Her forehead rested against mine, and for a moment, the mansion didn’t feel like a battlefield. It felt like a beginning. Iosif studied me one last time.
“Well, now that I guess you are staying, welcome to the family.”
It wasn’t warm or soft, but it was real. And for men like us, that was everything. Elisse’s hand slid into mine, her thumb brushing lightly across my knuckles. It was not possession or strategy but choice.
And we were finally together. For good.