Chapter 23
Sarah
T he next five days blur together in a haze of regret and sleepless nights, with each morning bringing the same hollow ache where hope used to live. Nina brings me tea and forces me to eat toast, but everything is tasteless.
I can’t stop replaying that final conversation with Yarik, and how his face went blank when I asked him to choose me immediately.
The silence that stretched between us like a chasm, confirming what I’ve known all along—I’ll always be secondary to his obligations, his business, and his world.
If I stayed with him, I’d be his mistress, and our children would be his dirty secret.
I won’t do that to them or me. We deserve better.
My phone sits on the coffee table, turned face down because I can’t bear to see his name when he calls. He’s tried four times in the days since I walked out of his office, leaving voicemails I delete without listening to. What could he possibly say that would change anything?
Nina settles beside me on the couch with her own cup of tea, watching me with the careful attention she’s maintained since I came home broken and empty five days ago. “You need to eat something substantial.”
I shake my head, pulling the throw blanket tighter around my shoulders. “I’m not hungry.”
“You’re wasting away. This isn’t healthy, especially not now.”
She doesn’t say the word “pregnant” but it hangs in the air between us anyway.
I press my hand to my still-flat stomach, thinking about the three lives growing inside me who deserve better than a mother who can’t function.
“I keep thinking about what you said,” I say, my voice hoarse from lack of use.
“About how I’m letting fear make decisions that love should be making. ”
Nina shifts closer, her expression softening. “And?”
“What if love isn’t enough? What if wanting something desperately doesn’t mean you should have it?”
“What if it does?”
I turn to look at her, noting the worry lines around her eyes and the way she’s been tiptoeing around me like I might shatter. “You think I’m being stupid.”
She shakes her head. “I think you’re scared. There’s a difference. I also think you deserve to be his wife, or at least his number-one instead of someone he hides in a corner of his life.” She sounds intense when she adds, “I’m on your…their side. I always have been and always will be.”
My phone vibrates against the table, and we both freeze. I reach for it slowly, expecting another call from Yarik that I won’t answer. Instead, I see an unknown number and a text message that makes me shiver.
Still thinking about you. You can’t hide forever.
I away toss the phone like it burned me, and Nina lunges to grab it before it hits the floor. She reads the message, her face going pale.
“That’s the third one this week,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around me. “They’re different numbers every time, but I know it’s him.”
Nina screenshots then deletes the message with sharp, angry movements. “We should call the police.”
“And tell them what? I’m getting texts from unknown numbers? They’ll ask if the messages are directly threatening, and technically they’re not.”
“Sarah—”
“He’s playing games, just like he used to. He’s making me feel crazy and paranoid while staying just on the right side of legal.” I stand and pace to the window, looking out at the parking lot below. The apartment that felt safe a week ago now feels like a trap.
“We could leave,” she says quietly. “Tonight. Let’s pack everything and disappear.”
The suggestion makes my chest tight with relief and terror. Running feels like the smart choice, the safe choice, but it also feels like admitting defeat. “Where would we go?”
“Anywhere. Maybe the West Coast, or somewhere in the middle of the country. I have some money saved, and you must have something put aside from working for Yarik.” She hesitates.
“This time, I think we need to figure out how to get new names and new identities, so we can start over entirely and make it harder for him to find you.”
I turn back to face her, noting the forced casualness in her voice. “What about your job? Your life here?”
She shrugs, but I catch the way her shoulders tense. “It’s just a job.”
“Nina.” I settle back on the couch, studying her face. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She looks down at her hands, twisting her ring around her finger in the nervous gesture I’ve known since college. “Emil offered me a promotion to Head of Catering Operations for their corporate clients.”
The words make me flinch. Nina has been working toward something like this for years, building her reputation and proving herself in an industry that doesn’t make room for mistakes.
She left behind that clout a year ago to come with me to Greenwich and has now rebuilt it.
Giving it up would be starting all over again. “When?”
“Yesterday. I haven’t given him an answer yet.” She meets my gaze reluctantly.
The thought of her sacrifice makes me shake my head. “This is everything you’ve worked for.”
She reaches for my hands, holding them firmly between both of hers. “So is our friendship and keeping you safe.”
The generosity of her offer brings me to tears that I blink back.
She’s willing to sacrifice her dreams to run away with me, to start over somewhere new yet again with fake identities and the constant fear Alex might find us anyway.
The least I can do is be honest about how impossible that scenario really is.
I squeeze her hands, memorizing the warmth of her touch. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
Her voice grows fierce with determination. “You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
I pull my hands free and stand, pacing to the kitchen as I work through the implications.
“What about the babies? How do I raise three children while looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life? How do I explain to them why we have to keep moving, why they can’t make friends or put down roots? ”
Nina follows me, leaning against the counter with crossed arms. “We’ll figure it out.”
I turn to face her, letting my frustration show. “Will we? I’ve been thinking about it for days, and I can’t see how this ends well. Either I keep running forever, or I stay and fight for the life I want.”
Nina studies my face with careful attention, her expression growing more hopeful. “Which one feels right?”
My phone buzzes again before I can answer. This time, it’s an unknown number calling, and I make the mistake of answering without thinking.
“Hello?”
Silence, then heavy breathing that makes my skin crawl. I hang up immediately, but the damage is done. Alex knows this number, knows I’m here, and knows exactly how to make me feel hunted.
Nina moves closer, her voice soft but insistent. “We should call Yarik.”
I shake my head violently, backing away from her suggestion. “No. I can’t go running back to him every time I get scared. That’s not fair to me or the babies. I have to consider him a closed option. He’s marrying someone else, and I’m not okay with that.”
She spreads her hands in frustration, her voice rising slightly. “So, what’s the plan? Hide in this apartment until Alex gets bored and finds someone else to terrorize?”
The question stings since it’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Hiding, hoping, and pretending that ignoring the problem will make it disappear. Alex doesn’t give up easily, and the text messages prove he’s not going anywhere.
I think about the ultrasound images tucked away in my purse showing three little ones depending on the choices I make.
They deserve a mother who fights for their future, not one who runs at the first sign of trouble.
I reach for my jacket, suddenly needing space to think clearly.
“I need some air. Maybe a drive will help me think.”
She stands immediately, already reaching for her own coat. “I’ll come with you.”
I hold up a hand to stop her. “No, stay here. I need to be alone for a while.”
She looks like she wants to argue, but something in my expression stops her protest. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
I drive aimlessly through Greenwich, trying to sort through the mess of emotions and fears that have consumed me since I walked away from Yarik. The town looks different now, being less like a refuge and more like a stage where my life has been playing out in acts I don’t control.
When I finally return to the apartment two hours later, Nina is cooking dinner and humming under her breath. The normality of it makes my chest squeeze with longing for a life where my biggest worry is what to make for dinner.
She glances over her shoulder as I hang up my jacket. “Feel better?”
I settle at our small table, watching her move around the kitchen. “A little. Nina?”
She continues stirring the pasta sauce, her voice casual. “Yeah?”
“Take the promotion.”
She turns to face me, wooden spoon still in hand, her expression guarded. “What?”
I meet her gaze directly, wanting her to understand how serious I am. “Take the promotion and build the career you’ve always wanted. Stop putting your life on hold because mine is complicated.”
She sets down the spoon and turns fully toward me, her voice careful. “Sarah?—”
“I mean it. Whatever I decide to do about Alex, Yarik, and everything, I want to know you’re building something good for yourself.”
She studies my face for a long moment, then nods slowly with growing acceptance. “Okay. That doesn’t mean I’m abandoning you.”
“I know.”
We eat dinner in comfortable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I’m picking at my pasta when my phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number. My stomach clenches, expecting another threatening message from Alex.
Instead, I find a message that makes me freeze: You left behind an important folder in Mr. Barinov’s office. I have them in my car and can meet you this evening to return them. Warehouse 17 on Industrial Drive. I’m in the area handling some business.— Valentin