Chapter 176 Nineteen
Chapter 176 Nineteen
ALEXANDER POV
“And what if he doesn't?!” she challenged, her voice cracking as she stared up at me, her chest heaving against mine. “What are you going to do then? Lock me inside this house forever? Make me a prisoner again?!”
A dark, smug smirk slowly appeared on my lips, my gaze locking on her parted lips.
“That actually sounds like a phenomenal idea. You can’t leave me, Ana. I told you I will be better. I will do every single thing you want me to do. Every fucking thing, Ana. I just got you back from the dead, and I’ll be damned to hell before I spend the rest of my life breathing without you.”
Anastasia’s face went entirely pale, a deep, agonizing pain twisting her beautiful features.
“Maybe you should have thought about that before you sent me to that death camp, Alexander. I would have died there. One way or another, I was meant to die in that hole.”
The words hit me like a blade to the heart. Every ounce of anger instantly drained from my body, my throat suddenly growing completely dry, a suffocating guilt choking me.
“Don’t do this, Ana...” My voice was suddenly strained, raw with a desperate pain I had never allowed anyone else to see. “I had no idea you were at that camp. You know that. I was trying to avenge your death. I was burning the world down for you. It’s not my fault everything went wrong.”
“Oh? Really?!” she mocked, a devastating, angry sob tearing from her chest as she stepped back from my touch. “So what should I do, Alexander? Should I drop to my fucking knees on this floor and thank you for avenging Ana, while you turn around and punish, torture, and break the exact same Ana?! Huh?! Answer me, Alexander!!”
I hated when we were like this. I loathed the distance between us. It made my chest squeeze in a thousand agonizing angles. She was the only creature on this godforsaken earth capable of making me feel actual, physical pain. She was my anchor. Without her, I was just a monster tearing through the dark.
I stepped back, my hands shaking as I reached for a heavy, crystal decanter of neat vodka sitting on the side table. I didn't bother with a glass. I tipped the bottle back, taking a massive, burning swig straight from the rim, trying to wash away the dryness in my throat.
I set the bottle down with a heavy thud, turning my single eye back to her. “So you actually want to listen to your father? You want to divorce me? What the fuck happens after that, Ana? What is your grand plan?”
She looked at me, completely dumbfounded for a second, as if she hadn't actually thought past the word 'divorce.' I stalked back to her, my hand reaching up to rest under my chin as I stood over her, studying her, watching the frantic rise and fall of her chest beneath that ridiculous flannel.
She nervously licked her dry lips, her eyes darting away as she muttered, “I’m going to live my life. I’m going to be free from you and your overbearing, domineering self. I’m going to be... with other people.”
Every muscle in my body instantly turned to stone. The blood in my veins ran dead cold.
“Hold the fuck on,” I growled, the sound echoing off the walls like a death rattle.
I stepped into her personal space so fast she didn't even have time to blink. “What the fuck do you mean by be with other people? Don’t you dare stand there and tell me you are entertaining the thought of dating another man. Sleeping with someone else. Don't you fucking dare say that to me.”
She shrugged her shoulders, a defensive, broken look settling into her eyes. “Why do you even care, Alexander? Steve already did it. He did it countless times in that camp. Every filthy, disgusting way you could possibly think of... he already touched me. He already took it.”
“STOP!” I roared, my hand slamming violently against the top of the mahogany desk, the wood splintering slightly under the impact. The sound was like a gunshot in the quiet room.
“NO!” she screamed back, the tears finally overflowing, streaming down her pale cheeks.
“Why do you care if another man touches me now?! The worst of them all already did! I am broken beyond repair, Alexander! I am ruined! Why the hell would you even still want me?!”
I couldn't take it anymore. The words broke something primitive inside my chest.
I stalked forward, my heavy hands launching out to grip her waist, and violently yanked her body against mine. Our chests collided with a brutal, breathless force. Her breath hitched sharply, a ragged gasp escaping her lips as her hands instinctively flew up to rest against my shoulders. I didn't let her go.
“Don’t you ever say that again, Ana...” My voice was entirely strained, cracking with a raw, desperate emotion that tore at my throat.
I dropped my forehead against hers, my hands rushing up to cup her warm cheeks, forcing her to look directly into my single eye.
“Everything that fucking bastard did to you did not make you less of a person,” I whispered fiercely, my thumb wiping the hot tears from her skin. “It didn't ruin you, and it sure as hell doesn't change a single goddamn thing about how I feel about you. You are still the exact same girl I’ve known since I was nineteen years old. The girl who walked into the Brotherhood training ground looking entirely lost and confused. The same girl who glared right into my face and told me to go fuck myself when I told her her type didn't belong there.”
A ghost of a smile touched my lips, my heart hammering against her ribs. “I knew right then and there, in that exact second, that you were going to be my wife. I knew you were going to be my only weakness, Ana, and ever since that day, I welcomed it. I want to be in your life. I want to do better for you. I want to erase every single drop of pain in your head. I won’t let you push me away. So please... stop fighting me.”
Author's Note: What would I do with these two?🫠