Chapter 45 Anya
I stood frozen, staring at my younger brother. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.
He did not look like he had been working as a slave for four years. He looked clean, healthy and handsome.
He wore an expensive cloth. His hair was styled perfectly. His skin was clear and glowing. His eyes were bright.
This was not the image of a slave. This was a young man who had been cared for.
How was this possible?
"Dmitri?" I whispered his name. My voice cracked.
Funny how the bastard who brought me here shared the same name with my brother.
Tears were already forming in my eyes. This could not be real.
"Anya!" My brother's face broke into a huge smile. Then he threw himself at me, wrapping his strong arms around me tightly. "Anya, it is really you!"
I hugged him back and sobbed into his shoulder. My whole body shook.
"My baby brother. You are alive. I thought I lost you forever."
"I am here." He was crying too. "I missed you so much. Every single day. I thought I would never see you again. I prayed every night that you were safe."
We held each other, crying. Four years since we’ve been apart.
"How are you here?" I pulled back just enough to look at at his face. "I thought Ivanov bought you."
"Yes." He nodded. "But Alexei bought me. He saved me from that hell. He gave me a new life. Food, clothes, education, freedom."
My heart twisted. Alexei, Nikolai's enemy had saved my brother.
Before I could ask more questions, Alexei clapped his hands.
"Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion," Alexei said. His voice smooth. "But he needs to go now."
"What? No!" I grabbed Dmitri's hand. "You cannot take him. I just got him back!"
Guards entered the room. They reached for my brother.
"No! You cannot take him away!" I screamed, holding him tighter. "I just found him! Please! Don't do this!"
The guards took him away, gently.
"It is okay, Anya," Dmitri said with tears in his eyes. "I will see you again. I promise. This is not goodbye."
"Dmitri!" I tried to follow, but my hands slipped from his and the doors closed.
I turned to Alexei. Rage burned in my chest. "Why did you take him away from me?"
He did not answer. He made a hand wave. And a man walked over, carrying a tablet. He stood beside me. Close enough for me to see the screen clearly.
"That was how I met your brother," Alexei said.
The man held the tablet in front of me and started scrolling through photos.
My heart broke into a million pieces at the photos I was seeing.
The first photo was of Dmitri. He was dangerously thin. His ribs showed through his skin like he was a skeleton. His hair was overgrown and matted with dirt and blood. His face was covered in bruises and cuts. His eyes were hollow.
He was chained to a wall in a dark cell with stone walls.
Tears streamed down my face. "No. No. Please. No."
The man scrolled to the next photo. It was so much worse.
Dmitri was being beaten by guards. Three of them, kicking him while he was on the ground. Blood covered his body.
Next photo was of Dmitri on the ground. He was barely conscious. His face was so swollen I could barely recognize him.
"Stop," I whispered. "Please stop. I cannot look anymore."
But the man kept scrolling. Photo after photo. Showing me horror after horror.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the photos stopped. And the man stepped back.
I could not stop crying.
"That was what the Ivanov family did to him," Alexei said. "They were going to kill him."
I sobbed. My whole body shook.
"But I bought him with a good fortune. I fed him and healed him."
I looked up at Alexei through my tears.
He was Nikolai's enemy. But he had saved my brother. Given him a life when he should have died in that cell. And for that, I was grateful.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for saving him. I... I do not know how to repay you."
Alexei walked over slowly. His eyes were fixed on me. I instinctively stepped back.
He smiled. "Do you remember the last time we met? At Nikolai's estate? When those maids attacked you and I carried you in my arms?"
My face flushed. "Yes. I remember."
"You have been on my mind ever since." He stepped closer. "Every day. Every night. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I want to do it again. I want to hold you.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “I want you, Anya."
My eyes widened, then I laughed. "You are a fool. This is insane!"
"Am I?" Alexei stopped right in front of me. "Think about it, Anya. You would be safe here. No Katya. No drama. No danger. I treat women well. I have rules."
"Rules?" I scoffed."What rules? You kidnapped me!"
"Yes. I might be brutal. I might kill my enemies. I might be ruthless in business." His eyes were serious. "But I do not exploit women. I do not hurt the innocent. I do not rape. I do not abuse. Those are lines I do not cross. Ever. No matter what."
"You are doing this to get to Nikolai," I said. My voice was shaking. "Because you are enemies. You want to hurt him. I am just a weapon to you."
"Partly," Alexei admitted. "But not entirely. I have my own code. My own honor that's different from Nikolai's."
"Honor?" I almost spat the word. "You kidnapped me! You drugged me! You are holding me prisoner!"
"To give you a choice." Alexei's voice softened. "You would have everything here. Your own money. More than you could spend. Freedom to go wherever you want. Do whatever you want. Travel. Study. Work. Anything."
I shook my head. "You think money can buy me? You think I am that shallow?"
"No. I think you are smart." He paused. "And most especially, you get to be with your brother forever. No one can take him from you again. I will protect both of you."
My heart stopped.
"Choose wisely, Anya," Alexei said. His voice was soft but firm. "This life with me is better than staying with the man who killed your father."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. All the air left my lungs.
What would I choose? Nikolai, the man who murdered my father? Or my own blood? My baby brother who had suffered so much?
It should be easy. Family always comes first. That was what we were taught.
But my heart ached for Nikolai. He needed me. He couldn't sleep without me.
But Dmitri needed me too.
And if I went back to Nikolai, I would lose Dmitri again. Alexei would make sure of that. He would take him away where I could never find him pr even return him to Ivanov.
I shut my eyes tight to think.
But all I could see was Nikolai's face. His gray eyes looking at me with something close to love. His rare smile that he only showed me. His strong arms holding me safe.
"I am sorry," I whispered. Tears streamed down my face. "I am so sorry, Nikolai. Please forgive me. Please understand."
I opened my eyes and looked at Alexei through the blur of tears.
"I accept," I said. Each word felt like I was tearing out my own heart. "I will stay.”