Chapter Twenty-Five Alina’s POV
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alina’s POV
The house had become even quieter since the night the mole was found. The rhythm of the manor remained the same, but there was a relaxed air over everything. Just that the relaxed air didn’t get to me or my thoughts.
I felt adrift, even though I was now free of the whole Bratva’s suspicion. It definitely felt good to be free, but the truth was that I still felt bound. Bound by marriage and this world altogether.
“Oh, I thought I’d have to come drag you out,” Mila remarked as I came down the stairs.
“Good afternoon,” I greeted, chuckling.
Mila and I have gotten closer in the past few days. We’d done a little bit of catching up three days ago, but I’d been mostly upstairs for the past two days because I didn’t feel like talking. Besides, she was busy wrapping things up and following the lead the mole’s confession brought up.
“How have you been? What’s going on?” she asked as I claimed the couch beside her in the sitting room.
“I’ve been…okay. How’s it going? Your work and all?”
“Fine. It’s all going well,” she replied before adding, “You know, you’ve been like this since we caught the mole. That was why I suggested catching up the other day. What’s really going on?”
“It’s just…all this,” I told her, sighing.
“Things should be smoother now. The truth has been discovered.”
“Of course, it has. But that doesn’t make me free.”
She frowned like she was trying to make sense of what I was saying.
“Konstantin and I got married because of this case. I left Manhattan and was working in Russia as a nurse at a small clinic. I had gotten out of the relationship with Vitya a while before then, so I was single and happily putting my life together. But the Bratva entered the picture and all that changed.”
“My ex was arrested by the Russian authorities, and my name was listed among his possible accomplices since he still texted me every now and then. The general assumption was that we were still a couple. The Bratva also thought so. And they took me because of that. Konstantin was put in charge, so he took hold of me. But when I didn’t have anything to tell them, and he didn’t want to let me go since other factions could take me, he brought up the marriage idea. ”
“Oh,” she uttered, surprise clear on her face.
“Yeah. So, we didn’t just meet, fall in love, and decide to marry. There was no proposal; it was pure strategy. It was the only option aside from killing me.”
“Wow. I never could have imagined.”
I sighed. “We’ve become closer, a bit closer than friends, maybe. But now that I’m no longer a suspect—“
“You don’t know whether to go forward or backwards,” she chipped in.
“That’s it.”
“It’ll get clearer. It will. Just take your time and decide for yourself, not anybody else.”
I nodded in appreciation. “Thanks.”
“Why thank me?” she questioned. “While you take your time, you could help me with work. It's neither boring nor stressful, I can assure you.”
I sat back on the couch. “I’ll think about it. Do I even know where my glasses are?”
“Clearing out records will also help you clear your head,” she promised.
“Milady!” Greta called, smiling as she approached.
“Oh, Greta.”
“Hans always tells me you’re well every time I send him up with your food, but I'm still worried. I wasn’t sure if it was a woman thing. What do the men know?”
“I’m fine, Greta. I just felt like having some time alone. Sorry I worried you.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m happy to see you hale and hearty.”
“I am okay, thank you.”
“Should I serve lunch now?” she asked, looking from me to Mila.
“Yes, please!” Mila answered, making me chuckle.
At least, I still have normal days like this to hold on to.
**********
I wasn’t avoiding Konstantin. I knew it looked like that, from pretending to sleep, to my curt greetings whenever we ran into each other. But that was not it.
The simple fact was that I wasn’t sure of how to be or act around him. My head still wasn’t clear enough for me to have answers. That was probably the main reason I took up Mila’s offer.
So we were both in the office, sorting through recovered files and building a clean audit trail to present to Viktor and the authorities. We had been busy with it for most of the past two days. Things had to be officially done, and I needed to clear my name with the authorities.
With each activity I participated in and every task I took on, I found myself becoming part of the Lobanov Bratva machine instead of its prisoner.
I was bent over the laptop screen, busy comparing some scanned documents with my glasses sliding down my nose, when I saw Konstantin. He stood by the doorway, his gaze on me. I wondered what he was thinking of. Then he was gone.
Mila and I took a break for the day, even though I teased her about going back to it since she seemed to be unable to stay away for long.
So I decided to go to the balcony instead of my room upstairs.
Since it was evening and the air was chilly, I took one of my two blankets and brought it back downstairs with me.
Sitting on the sofa facing the few stairs leading to the entrance door, I wrapped the blanket around myself.
The breeze caught the hair that was slowly escaping from my twist as I sat there, trying to just relax. I didn’t want to entangle myself in as much thinking as I’d done in the previous days. So I just took in the fresh air and enjoyed the view.
I looked to the left as the entrance doors opened. Konstantin joined me on the balcony, his hair loose around his face, his feet bare.
He didn’t say anything as he came to sit beside me.
“You’ve been quite good at hiding these days,” he accused, his tone light.
“I’ve been trying to sort things out in my head,” I admitted.
“I understand.”
I nodded slowly, sighing again.
“Alina.”
“Yeah?” I answered, not looking to the side to see his face.
“I’m not sorry for taking you. Because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had these few but wonderful days with you. I wouldn’t have had a taste of what it feels like to really live instead of just existing.”
I swallowed as he went on.
“But I’m sorry to have put you in this position. I know I told you this before, but I also know a simple apology won’t cut it. I want you to know that I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Regardless of what tomorrow holds, I hope you can forgive me.”
I didn’t say anything. I felt the depth of his words, and I didn’t need to search his face.
I leaned into him and lay my head on his shoulder.
Just then, the front door burst open, and Mila approached, her face pale and serious.
“The last name on the contractor’s list isn’t Morozov,” she declared, approaching.
“What does that mean?” I inquired, taking my head off Konstantin’s shoulder.
“The mole within the Bratva,” he started. “The names he gave during his confession were looked up to find the full members of the network.”
I nodded, and Mila went on.
“His name is Dimitri Volodin. He worked with Morozov and is currently trying to run the system alone in his absence.”
Konstantin sighed. “I recognize the name. I know the bastard.”
“Really?” Mila asked.
“He’s an old enemy of the Lobanov Bratva. Never misses a chance to resurface,” he explained, his voice turning cold as he added, “It’s about time I ended him for good.”
I realized the war was not over yet. But a bigger and colder realization that hit me was that the target might not just be Konstantin this time, it might be me as well.