Chapter 31 Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Irina's POV
The food ran out three weeks after Dimitri started the blockade.
At first, there was plenty. The safe house had been stocked with supplies enough to last months.
But weeks passed and no new shipments arrived. Nothing came through. The stockpile reduced day by day.
Alexei did not seem worried at first. He continued eating normally. He made sure I ate well too. For the baby.
But as the days went on, I noticed changes.
The guards looked thinner. Their faces became hollow. Their eyes were tired.
The maids moved slower. They served smaller portions. They whispered to each other in worried voices.
And Alexei became aggressive.
He snapped at the guards. He threw things when he was angry. He paced the halls like a caged animal.
I watched it all from my room. My neck was healing slowly. The brace had been removed and I could move again, but the wound was still tender.
One evening, a maid brought my dinner. It was a small bowl of soup and a piece of bread.
Alexei followed her into the room. He watched as she set the tray down.
"That is all?" He asked.
The maid hesitated. She looked terrified. "Yes, sir. This is... this is the last meal."
Silence filled the room.
"The last meal?" Alexei repeated slowly.
"Yes, sir," the maid whispered. "The food is gone. We have nothing left."
Alexei's fists clenched. His jaw tightened. I could see a vein throbbing in his temple.
"What about the supplies we had stored?" He demanded.
"All gone, sir," the maid said. "We have been stretching it as much as possible. But there is nothing left now."
"What about the other safe houses?" Alexei asked. "The other locations?"
"They are all in the same situation," the maid said. "Don Dimitri has stopped everything. No food gets through. No supplies. Nothing."
Alexei turned away. He walked to the window and stared out at the mountains.
"Serve her the meal," he said quietly.
"But sir, what about you?" the maid asked. "What about the staff? The guards?"
"I said serve her the meal!" Alexei roared. The maid jumped. "She eats. The baby eats. That is all that matters!"
The maid nodded quickly and hurried out.
I looked down at the bowl of soup. It was thin and watery. A few vegetables were floating in it. The bread was hard and stale.
This was the last meal. After this, there would be nothing.
"Eat," Alexei said without turning around.
"What about you?" I asked quietly.
"I am fine," he said.
"You are lying," I said. "You are starving. Everyone here is starving."
"I said eat!" Alexei snapped.
I picked up the spoon and took a sip of the soup. It was bland and tasteless. But it was warm.
Alexei continued staring out the window. His shoulders were tense. His fists were clenched at his sides.
"This is Dimitri's doing," he said. "He is trying to flush me out. He is trying to make me desperate enough to show myself."
"He thinks I am dead," I said. "He is avenging me."
"He is destroying everything!" Alexei shouted. He turned to face me. His eyes were wild. "He is not just stopping my supplies. He is stopping everyone's supplies. The entire underworld is suffering because of him!"
"Because of you," I corrected. "You killed me. Or at least, he thinks you did."
Alexei's face twisted with rage. "I did not kill you! You tried to kill yourself!"
"Because you kidnapped me!" I shouted back. "Because you forced me into this situation! Because you are insane!"
Alexei crossed the room in three steps. He grabbed my shoulders. His grip was tight and painful.
"I love you," he said through gritted teeth. "Everything I did was because I… love you!"
I almost laughed. "This is not love," I whispered. "This is obsession. This is madness."
He released me and stepped back. He ran his hands through his hair I'm frustration. He looked lost and desperate.
"There is no water supply either," he said quietly. "The maids have to walk three miles to the ocean to fetch water. We are rationing everything. Soon, we will have nothing."
I looked down at my soup and Guilt washed over me.
Dimitri was doing this to avenge me. But I was alive. And his vengeance was hurting innocent people. The maids, the guards, even Alexei's men who were just following orders.
This vengeance was brutal.
"I have to find a way to tell him," I whispered.
"What?" Alexei asked sharply.
"I have to tell Dimitri I am alive," I said. "I have to stop this. People are dying because of me."
"No," Alexei said immediately. "No. You are not contacting him."
"But..."
"I said no!" Alexei roared. "If Dimitri knows you are alive, he will come for you. He will take you from me. I will not allow it!"
"So you would rather let everyone starve?" I demanded. "You would rather watch your own people die?"
"They knew the risks when they joined me," Alexei said coldly. "They are soldiers. They will endure."
"They are human beings!" I shouted. "They have families! They have lives! And they are dying because of your pride!"
Alexei grabbed my face. His fingers dug into my cheeks. "You are mine," he hissed. "Mine. And I will burn the entire world before I give you back to him."
He released me and stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind him with a loud bang.
I sat there, trembling. My soup was getting cold.
I forced myself to eat it. Every spoonful felt like betrayal. Everyone else was starving and I was eating the last meal.
But I had to survive for the baby.
When I finished, I lay down on the bed, and rested my hand on my stomach.
"I am sorry," I whispered to the tiny life inside me. "I am so sorry you are being born into this nightmare."
Days passed and the situation grew worse.
There was no food, no water except what the maids could carry from the ocean. There were no supplies of any kind.
The guards grew weak. I saw them collapse during training. I saw them fighting over scraps of food.
The maids moved like ghosts. Their skin was pale. Their eyes were sunken.
And Alexei became a monster.
He screamed at everyone. He threw furniture. He locked himself in his office for hours.
I watched it all and felt powerless.
One night, I could not sleep. I got out of bed and walked to the window.
The mountains stretched in every direction. Beautiful and isolated. We were completely cut off from the world.
I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Alexei standing in the doorway.
He looked terrible. His face was gaunt, his eyes were wild, his clothes hung loose on his frame.
"I have to do something to stop this madness," he whispered as though talking to himself. His voice was rough. I could feel the desperation in his voice.
"What will you do?" I asked softly.
Alexei walked to the window and stood beside me. He stared out at the dark mountains.
His eyes were dark. When he spoke, his voice was cold and final.
"I have to eliminate Dimitri.”