Chapter 117 Anya
I lay on Nikolai's bed staring at the wall.
My whole body hurt. The guards had not been gentle when they caught me trying to escape.
I had almost made it. But they had been faster.
And now I was here. In Nikolai's room. His private space.
This was worse than the locked room.
Because here I could smell him. See his things. Be surrounded by everything that was him.
It was torture.
I heard the lock click. The door opened. I did not turn around.
"Anya," Nikolai's voice said. "You need to eat."
"I am not hungry," I said.
"You have not eaten in two days," he said.
"I do not care," I replied.
I heard him set something down. A tray of food maybe.
"You need to keep your strength up," he said.
"Why?" I asked. "So I can try to escape again? And you can catch me?"
He didn't reply.
Then I felt the bed dip. He had sat down beside me.
"Anya, please look at me," he said.
"No," I said.
"Please."
"Go away, Nikolai," I said. "You got what you wanted. Now leave me alone."
"You are not my prisoner," he said.
"Then what am I?" I asked. I finally turned to look at him. "What do you call someone you lock in a room?"
"You are my wife," he said.
"I was your wife," I corrected. "Before you became a monster."
The words hit him. I saw him flinch.
"I am not a monster," he said.
I sat up and looked at him properly.
He looked terrible. Dark circles were under his eyes. His face was drawn. He had lost weight.
Good. He should suffer like I was suffering.
"What is your plan here, Nikolai? Keep me prisoner until I fall in love with you again?"
"You still love me," he said quietly.
I wanted to deny it. I wanted to scream that I hated him.
But I could not. Because it was true.
I did still love him. Despite everything. And that made it so much worse.
"Love is not enough," I said. "Not when you choose power over me."
"I am meeting with Katya tomorrow to discuss the empire. And make a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"I do not know yet," he admitted. "But I am going to get back what is mine. And I am going to keep you safe while doing it."
"You think you can have both," I said.
"Yes," he said.
I laughed. It was a hollow sound. "You are delusional."
"Why can I not have both?" He asked. AMD I could sense the pain in his voice.
"Because I will not stay," I said. "If you choose the empire, I leave. That is the choice. There is no middle ground."
"You are being unreasonable,"
"I am being honest," I replied. "I told you what I need. I need you to choose me. Not your territory."
"And I am telling you I can do both," he said.
"No," I said. "You cannot. Because the moment you walk into that meeting with Katya, you have chosen the empire over me."
"That is not fair," he said.
"Life is not fair," I said. Using his own words against him.
Nikolai stood up and paced the room.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked. "Just walk away?"
"Yes," I said simply.
"I cannot do that," he said.
"Then you have your answer," I said. "You cannot choose me. So stop pretending you can."
"Anya..."
"No," I interrupted. "I am done with this conversation."
I turned back to the wall and curled up on the bed.
"Please leave," I said. "I cannot look at you anymore."
Nikolai stood there for a long moment. I could feel him staring at me. Then I heard his footsteps retreating and the lock clicking.
I was alone again.
I closed my eyes and let the tears come.
Because I knew the truth now.
Nikolai would never choose me. His pride would not let him.
And I could not stay with a man who valued power more than love.
So one way or another, this had to end.
Either he would let me go. Or I would find a way to escape.
Hours passed. The room grew dark. I did not move.
Then I heard a sound outside the window.
I sat up and looked.
There was someone on the fire escape. A figure in the shadows.
My heart raced. Was it one of Nikolai's guards? Or someone else?
The window opened. A man climbed through.
I opened my mouth to scream.
But he held up a hand. "Mrs. Markov. Do not be afraid. I am here to help you."
"Who are you?" I whispered.
"My name is Viktor," he said. "I work for someone who wants to meet you."
"Who?"
"Katya Sokolov," he said.
My blood ran cold. "What does she want with me?"
"She wants to make you an offer," Viktor said.
"What kind of offer?"
"Come with me," he said. "And she will explain everything."
I looked at him. At the open window. At the chance to escape.
Then I looked at the locked door.
And I made a choice.
"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.
"You do not," Viktor admitted. "But what choice do you have?"
He was right. I had nothing to lose.
"Okay," I said. "I will come with you."
I stood up and walked to the window.
Viktor helped me climb out onto the fire escape.
We descended quietly.
Behind us I heard shouting. The guards had noticed the open window.
"Run!" Viktor said.
We ran down the fire escape. Jumped the last few feet. And hit the ground running.
Behind us I heard more shouting.
And Nikolai's voice.
"Anya! Anya, stop!"
But I did not stop. I kept running.
We reached a car. Viktor pushed me inside and jumped in beside me.
The driver sped away.
I looked back through the rear window.
And I saw Nikolai standing in the street, staring after us.
His face was a mask of rage and pain.
But I did not care. Not anymore.
Whatever happened next doesn't matter to me, at least I was free.
The car drove through Moscow.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Somewhere safe," Viktor said.
"And then what?"
"Then," Viktor said, "you meet with Katya. And she makes you an offer you cannot refuse."
His words sent a chill through me.
Because I knew what Katya was capable of.
And I knew that whatever offer she had, it would come with a price.
But I had no choice. I could not go back to Nikolai.
So I would meet with Katya and hear her offer.
And pray that I was not trading one cage for another.
The car stopped. We were at another building.
Viktor led me inside through corridora to an office.
And there, sitting behind a desk, was Katya Sokolov.
"Hello, Anya," she said. "Thank you for coming."
"I did not have much choice," I said.
Katya smiled. "No. I suppose you did not."
She gestured to a chair. "Please. Sit. We have much to discuss."
I sat. My heart was pounding.
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
"I want to help you," Katya said.
"Why?"
"Because we have a common enemy," she said. "My dear brother, Nikolai."