Chapter 36
ARTYOM
My years of planning have proven their worth tonight.
It took just an hour after Nina left the wedding reception for me to find out where she was.
Nina’s voice is choked as she asks Franka and Ivan to excuse us. They’re both looking incredibly guilty.
They like her, I get it. They feel bad. But they did the right thing.
Every second of tonight has been within my control, proof that the security net I’ve built around Nina was worth every cent, every minor arrangement.
Franka and Ivan knew the second I reported her missing. I’m glad she came here, instead of turning to Lily or someone else.
“How?” She folds her arms across her chest. It’s incredible that a mustard-yellow nightgown which goes up to her neck in ruffled lace can be sexy, but Nina makes it work.
“You thought you could get away from me.”
I lean back against the door, matching her defensive posture. She’s been difficult lately, but I’ve got her now. I’d been steeling myself for the day when she would try to leave. I know she’s scared after Denis’s death, but my family is not a threat to her or Ava. Not if she listens to me.
“I did get away from you. And somehow…” she trails off, deep in thought. Her mouth sets in a line. “You know them. Ms. Orlov and Mr. Jones.”
There’s no point lying to her anymore. She would have realized eventually.
“Franka Orlov is an old friend of Vanya’s. And Ivan works for me.”
Nina’s soft brown eyes widen and she begins to shake her head.
“But I’ve lived here for years.”
“Since you got back to the city. I know.”
“Explain.” Nina drops to the bed, folding her face down into her hands. “Right now. With no lies, no secrets. I’m sick of the secrets, Art.”
“When you moved back to the city, you came back onto our radar. I wanted to make sure you were safe. And make things a little easier for you.”
“That’s why it was so easy to find this rent-controlled apartment?” Her voice is muffled.
“I wanted to help.”
And I couldn’t stay away. It was a compulsion, when she came back. I couldn’t resist it.
“I didn’t need your help, Art.”
The word cuts through my chest. I like to think that, even if I did have this urge to keep tabs on her, the arrangements were mutually beneficial. Nina had people she could trust, people who would keep her safe, even when I couldn’t.
“I couldn’t keep you safe. You didn’t want to see me. So I made sure other people would.” It was the obvious solution.
Nina makes a sound that is somewhere between a gasp and a sob. “I thought I was the luckiest person in the world when I moved back here.”
“People make their own luck, Nenoka. But it could have been so much easier if you just told me about Ava.”
She looks up from the bed. “I tried.”
“You could have trusted me enough not to believe whatever bullshit Polina fed you. Then, things would have been easier. I wouldn’t have had to do all of this just to protect you. I should’ve been there.”
“You weren’t. I left you, Art. You had no right to set up a team of people to keep an eye on me, even if that’s somehow normal in your world. Don’t you realize how fucked up that is?”
Oh, Nina.
It could have been so much worse. I set myself boundaries. I held back from seeing her, until it was too urgent not to.
I would have arranged much more if I’d known about Ava — but I was trying to hold back, trying to be good and not interfere where she didn’t want me.
“I would have done anything to keep you safe. And tonight, I’m glad that they were both here. Because they did keep you safe, by telling me where you were.”
“This is… This is way too much.” Nina looks up at me, her eyes filling with tears. “I’ve already decided. I’m going to Italy tomorrow.”
“With Lisette and Viktor?” I frown. She’d said she didn’t want us to go with them, even when Lisette had specifically requested her medical advice. She wanted to stay here and continue her residency, even though the offer was tempting.
“You were the one who said I needed to go with them.”
I sigh. I guess we can work this whole thing out in Italy. Vanya won’t be happy about it. She’s been on at us all about how we need to come together as a family in the face of political instability, so there have been endless meetings.
I take Nina’s hand. “So come back home and we can pack our bags.”
She pulls away. “We’re not going. I’m going. With Ava.”
Her words sink to the bottom of my stomach like stones. I feel a sense of overwhelming certainty. This is happening again.
“But…”
“You’ve had every opportunity to prove to me that this can work. That you can keep us safe here, even as your family disintegrates around us. But I have to face reality. You can’t, Art.”
She looks up at me and I see how set she is in this course of action. Her amber eyes are alight with determination.
Nina’s leaving.
All this time, all this chasing, and it hasn’t been enough. My family, the toxic mess that pushed her away in the first place, is too much.
I can think of a million things to say. A million promises I could make.
The fire in Nina’s eyes tells me that it wouldn’t be enough.
“So that’s it?”
She nods, her lips pressed together, but her eyes downcast.
“At least look at me while you leave me, Nina.”
It hurts to meet her eyes and understand how serious she is. She gets to her feet and places a hand on my cheek, while I stand frozen, back to the door. Shellshocked.
“I’m sorry, Artyom.”
I take a deep breath and collect my thoughts. I guess this was inevitable.
“I’ve tried, Nenoka. I’ve tried to be enough to protect our family.”
She nods. “I know.”
“I won’t stop you. I won’t come after you this time,” I tell her.
“Good.”
My heart squeezes in my chest.
I slump against the door. “If this hasn’t been enough, it hasn’t been enough.”