CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Anastasia
The cat is finally out of the bag. Saying those words out loud might have been a huge mistake, since Fyodor now knows the truth. However, I can't help but feel a sense of relief from putting it all out in the open. The one thing I didn’t expect was for Fyodor’s reaction to break me.
Something about the way the light seemed to go out of his eyes when I accused him of killing my brother bothers me.
I know I shouldn’t care about him, but he looks ashamed, almost as if he has done something disgraceful.
His reaction really confuses me, and I have this feeling that there is something I am missing.
While I narrated my story, I also noticed that not only was Fyodor listening intently, but it was almost as if he didn't know what I was talking about.
He must be a good actor.
Yet, Katya mentioned that Fyodor is a very bad actor, and that he is actually easy to read. Her perception of her brother might be different from who he truly is, though, and he might just be putting on an act to deceive me.
We might have been living together for more than two months now, but the truth is that I barely know anything about Fyodor Sokolov. There’s only one person I know who might be able to give me more insight into him, and that’s Dimitri.
But my feelings for Fyodor make me even more confused, and I realize that I don’t want Fyodor to be my brother’s killer, which is why I have to ask Dimitri exactly what Fyodor was involved with ten years ago.
It’s all because I keep sleeping with him.
However, I know that I can’t blame it on the sex alone. Being with Fyodor feels different, and I guess that somewhere within the past few months, he has gotten through my walls. I now see him for who he truly is, but the possibility of him being my brother’s killer looms over us like a shadow.
Meeting with Dimitri Orlov is not easy, especially if I don’t want Fyodor to know. Luckily for me, Oleg is of great help, and he tells me that he can take me to Dimitri’s office. It turns out that Fyodor gave him specific instructions to ensure that I don't go anywhere unescorted.
“Words can’t express how grateful I am, Oleg,” I tell him as he leads me to the elevator.
At first, he was curious as to why I wanted to meet with Dimitri, and I had to lie to him and say that Fiona, Dimitri’s girlfriend, had asked me to help her deliver a surprise to Dimitri. He didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he raised no objections, and simply led the way to Dimitri’s office.
It has been three days since I confessed my suspicions to Fyodor, and not only has Ray been out of contact, but I can't help but shake this feeling that something bad has happened to him.
This is more of a reason why I need to meet with Dimitri; hopefully, he will be able to shed more light on exactly how Fyodor is involved in this whole mess.
Dimitri looks surprised when I walk into his office. He seems to be in some sort of meeting, and I feel a little guilty for dropping in unannounced.
“I hope all is well, Anastasia,” he says as he rises to his feet.
He waves to his secretary to leave us alone and then offers me a seat.
“Yes. Everything is fine,” I assure him.
“And Fyodor? There isn’t any problem with him?”
“No, we’re all fine,” I lie, hoping that he doesn’t know about the recent incident.
“I heard about what happened a few days ago. Fyodor seemed worried, and I’m glad to see that you’re up and about.”
He seems genuinely worried, and I assure him that apart from being shaken by the whole ordeal, I am doing quite fine. Without wasting more of our time, I tell him that I came to have a discussion with him. He asks me if it’s something serious, and I mention that it is.
“I’m all ears,” he tells me.
I am not sure how he will take the fact that I am trying to get dirt on my husband, but I need to know the truth.
“Unlike most people, you are well aware of the dynamics of my relationship with Fyodor, and there’s still a lot I don’t know about him, but I know that you know a lot about him.”
Dimitri seems to consider his response before admitting that he does know a lot about Fyodor, even though he might be a private man. “He cares about you, Anastasia, and he’s doing everything in his power to keep you out of harm’s way.”
I am not entirely convinced by his words, but that’s not the reason why I am here. No, I need to know exactly what it was that Fyodor was involved with ten years ago.
“Yes, I know Fyodor seems to be willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure my safety, which is why I want to know about the men who attacked me,” I begin. “I have been asking Fyodor about it, but he’s been awfully quiet.”
“That's because he is still looking into the matter,” Dimitri quickly replies.
Dimitri is really trying to be protective of his friend, an act that I actually admire.
“Do you think I should get my father involved?” I subtly ask. Dropping Matteo's name might force Dimitri to give up some information, but he seems unruffled.
“Trust me, I can assure you that Fyodor is trying his best to look into exactly what happened.”
“By chance, do you remember when Fyodor joined the organization?” I suddenly ask him.
Immediately, Dimitri shifts to defense mode, and he slowly begins to pull at a thread on the chair he’s sitting on. “It’s been about ten years; I still can’t believe it.”
“Ten years is a long time,” I add.
“Why are you curious?” he finally asks.
I shrug, telling him that I just want to know more about Fyodor, but Dimitri clearly isn’t buying my story.
“Does this have anything to do with your brother’s death?”
Dimitri is quite smart, and anyone who underestimates him will find themselves regretting it. I smile, telling him that he’s really good at picking things up, to which he responds that he had to learn it as a child.
“Do you know why Fyodor was drinking that night at the bar when you met him?” he asks.
“Yes, he mentioned it.”
Fyodor brought this up before, so I know that his ex-girlfriend had broken his heart, and he was finding comfort in his drink.
“It’s good, you know. I don’t know how things are back in Texas, but here in LA, we protect the people who are close to us, and I am very protective of Fyodor.”
Just like Fyodor’s very protective of Dimitri as well; they seem to have this bond between them, which is not unusual, considering what they’ve been through together.
Dimitri continues with his explanation. He knows that I have been looking into my brother’s death, and he tells me how Fyodor has also been trying to get to the bottom of what truly happened that day.
It seems like Dimitri is trying to paint Fyodor in a good light, but I am not so eager to believe him. His knowing about what I have been up to isn’t a surprise; after all, this is his city.
“Why would he look into the death of the man he killed?”
Dimitri doesn’t reply to my question; instead, he asks a question of his own. “What do you think actually happened that day?”
I am not looking forward to answering his question, and somehow, it seems that he senses that. He folds his arms across his chest before announcing that it doesn't matter what I think happened, because Fyodor did not kill my brother.
But you weren’t in San Francisco. There’s no way you’d know what really happened.
“If you insist that he didn’t kill Alexei, then what was he doing there that day? If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it definitely is a duck.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Dimitri replies. “In my little time working for my father, I have come to realize that sometimes, things are not what they look like; what happens to look like the truth and what actually is the truth are two different things.”
This conversation seems pointless; I shouldn’t have bothered visiting Dimitri, who clearly doesn’t have a single new thing to tell me.
Dimitri still believes that Fyodor isn’t the kind of man who would randomly kill people.
The Fyodor I have seen so far seems just like that, but what if that is a recent development?
Ten years is enough time for people to change, and Fyodor could have been a cold-blooded killer, desperate to prove himself to his boss.
But then again, Fyodor doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would do that, ever, and for the first time, I consider the possibility that I might have been wrong.
After all, Ray never specifically said Fyodor was behind Alexei’s murder.
The conclusion that the man who pulled me away from Alexei is the same one who killed him is one that I have kept for years, and that might have clouded my judgment.
What I remember from that day is Alexei trying to reach for me, but sometime after Fyodor pulled me away, I passed out.
when I woke up in the hospital, my father was beside me, and he informed me about my brother perishing in an explosion.
The autopsy reports Ray dug up for me showed that Alexei had been shot in the stomach, and the coroner had been unable to determine if he died from that wound or the explosion. I made my own conclusions, and for the first time, I am now forced to reevaluate everything.
Would he have even survived if Fyodor had pulled him out from that blazing wreck?
“What really happened ten years ago, then?” I ask Dimitri.
Someone needs to tell me the truth, as it seems like the entire story has been manipulated. When I told my own account of the story to Fyodor, his face went pale, almost as if he wanted nothing to do with the story. And right after I accused him of murdering my brother, he fled.
Since that day, he has been staying away from home, almost as if he's afraid to look me in the eye.
“Meet with your husband and get him to tell you what really happened that day. He’s the only one person who can give you the answers you want, Anastasia.”
As much as I hate to agree, I know that Dimitri’s right and that Fyodor is the only person with the true version of the story. I haven’t really given him a chance to explain, as I had crucified him before I even met him at that bar, but now, I want to really listen to what he has to say.
“Thank you for everything. I really appreciate you making time to meet with me.”
“Please, anything to help you and Fyodor. He might not make it obvious, but you’ve come to mean a lot to him, and I hope he means a lot to you as well.”
There’s no denying it. Dimitri really cares about Fyodor, and talking to him makes me realize how wrong I’ve been all this while. After leaving his office, I ask Oleg to drive me home, as I am determined to meet with Fyodor and have a civil discussion.
Oksana is waiting for me in the living room, and she hands me a letter. My eyes quickly scan through it. I rub my lips with anticipation as I realize that Fyodor might not be as confident as I thought he was.
He made the decision to flee like a coward, and not only does he mention dissolving our marriage in this letter, but he also states that he is going to see my father to clarify things and finally put an end to this whole charade.
Anger rises deep within me, but I try to calm myself down.
The doctor mentioned that even though the twins are hale and hearty, I still need to take things gently.
I might hate the father of my children, but if the past six to eight weeks have taught me anything, it is how much I look forward to having these children; so what if Fyodor wants nothing to do with us?
I am enough for my children, and they will want for nothing in this life. Even if their father is a coward who would rather run with his tail between his legs than face the truth.