Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
VIKTORIYA
“ H ow do you feel?” Alek asks me as we lie in bed together, running his hand up and down my thigh. I glance down at my leg, which has healed from my gunshot wound. It’s been a month since Gleb kidnapped me and I killed him.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to dance again,” I say.
“How does that make you feel?”
I think about it, and then I shrug. “It doesn’t make me sad any longer. In fact, I feel free, like a weight has been lifted off me. I was never going to be good enough any longer. I was either going to be not skinny enough or not strong enough to dance. Now, I don’t care as much. Going through what I went through put a lot of things in perspective. I could have died. My sisters could have died. Ballet seems so small in comparison.”
Alek smiles warmly. “I’m glad.”
I haven’t thrown up once since I killed Gleb. I haven’t needed to. He’s dead, and so is Leo, Akim’s son. What happened at the auction is in the past for me. No more demons are haunting me.
Even though I killed Gleb, Alek is the reason I’m happy. He told me to stop hurting myself, and I’m finally listening. He saved Mila when she was taken by Gleb the first time.
He saved me.
Even though I would never admit it out loud.
I thought I was too good for Alek when we first met because I kept my walls so high to protect myself. Now, I see Alek is more than worthy of me. We’re worthy of each other.
Looking into his eyes, I know I need to tell him exactly how I feel. No more hiding behind my walls. I need to be out in the open.
“I love you,” I say.
He smiles like he isn’t surprised one bit. “I love you, too.” His words make me breathless. I’ve never had anyone tell me they love me before. Not my parents. Not my sisters. Sure, Sofiya and Mila have made it clear they love me, but we’re not exactly the most forthcoming with those words when it comes to each other.
No man has ever loved me before. I drove them all away.
But not Alek. Never him.
I snuggle deeper into his arms, just content to rest there.
Never in my life before Alek would I be content just to rest. I was always on the go, both physically and mentally. Now, I want to rest and relax.
I want to be happy.
That’s one thing I’ve realized since marrying Alek. I can choose to be happy. I don’t have to be consumed by hate.
I can choose love instead.
My phone buzzes with a text from Sofiya. I’m pregnant!
I immediately call her. “You chose to tell me over a text?”
“I was just too excited to wait,” she responds.
I’m quiet for a beat. “I’m happy for you, Sofiya. Truly. You’ll make an amazing mom. You always were one to Mila.”
I can hear the tears in her voice as she talks. “Thanks, Vik. The reason I can be so strong today is because you showed me how to be.”
I blink back my own tears. “Just be happy,” I tell her.
“I will.”
We hang up, and I snuggle back into Alek’s arms.
“Good news?” he asks.
“Sofiya is pregnant.” My phone buzzes again from a text from Mila. “And it looks like Mila knows as well.” I look down at the texts from each of my sisters, knowing things will be all right in the end.
Because we’re choosing happiness.
I lean into Alek and kiss him on the lips. “Thank you,” I tell him.
“For what?”
“For pushing me when I needed it.”
“I’m always here, Viktoriya.”
And I know he means it. There’s no one I trust more than Alek now. I let my walls down, and he came right on in.
I’ve never been this happy in my entire life.
The End