Chapter 64

CZAR

He really thought this through. Now there's no doubt he's behind my supposed partner's absence.

The song has finished but I'm still in his arms. My eyes drooped. My head fell on his shoulder and my nose touched the crook of his neck.

I was getting sleepy but I could still feel him walking while carrying me. I kept my eyes closed.

"Mr. Levesque," I heard my driver's greeting.

Czar placed me in the back of our car and that's where sleep finally took over me. So I don't know if it was real or a dream when he whispered to me.

"You'll never be mine, and I'd make damn sure you'll never be anyone else's."

Czar said he'd be there for my prom night but he never came. He disappeared from my life after that night he promised. Czar promised again last night that he'd come back to me. And now I'm terrified that history will repeat itself.

I shivered awake and heard faint voices coming from the hallway. What time is it?

"I didn't wake Ava up yet. All she'll do when she wakes up is think," Freya said.

Too late for that.

"Eiran ordered Mrs. Levesque to be taken to the hospital."

"Hospital? Who's in the hospital?"

"Just always come to me, Freya." Dad allowed me to go without guards. He eased up on me a bit after trying out my abilities during our last sparring session.

Freya and I are out at the mall. She wanted to check out some newly released books and also buy a flash drive to save her movies and series.

She inched closer to me and fidgeted. "I don’t have any plans to get lost."

The mall's guards recognized me and didn’t question the gun on my holster.

There’s a reason I wanted to go out. I need to think. Yesterday, my father asked me if I wanted to be initiated as a soldier of the Monteval territory.

Is he going to break his promise to my mom? She’s no longer here, but I feel like I’m completely removing her from my life if I disregard her wishes.

Then I’m internally laughing at how much is changing in my life. Just weeks ago, I was a wife to Czar Levesque, and now I’m about to become a soldier for De Greco.

Maybe a small part of me is still clinging to my loyalty to La Archante. If I become a soldier for De Greco, I need to completely dispose of any thoughts of La Archante Levesque. I will dedicate my life to De Greco’s cause.

And that’s exactly what I should do: cut my ties with Czar. If I don’t let go of him, I will never accomplish what I need to be.

So I accepted.

"I'm sure Mrs. Levesque would like to know what happened with her husband."

That’s what woke me up. Why is Czar in a hospital? What happened?

Without slippers, I rushed outside the bedroom. By the time I got out, they were already in the living room. Rio held a mug of coffee in his hand and drank from it reluctantly. Must've been my cousin's doing. She doesn’t like people going on an empty stomach in the morning.

"What happened to Czar?" I didn’t bother announcing my presence. "Did he have to undergo surgery? Is he critical?"

Rio immediately set the mug down on the center table.

"I'll brief you on the way." He grabbed the keys.

Freya just watched us. She even picked up the mug and seemed like she was going to take it to the kitchen.

Rio shook his head. "You're coming too."

Freya almost dropped the coffee cup.

"I'm fine here, Rio. I won’t do anything at the hospital anyway..."

"Eiran's orders," Rio raised a challenging eyebrow. "I can keep a better eye on you if you’re with Mrs. Levesque."

Despite her obedience to Eiran yesterday, this time, Freya looked ready to do the opposite of what Eiran says.

"The doctors had to remove three bullets from Czar. He almost died from drowning. Because he was shot, he couldn’t swim when he fell into the ocean," Rio recounted while we were in the car. Freya quietly listened from the back seat.

"But Eiran, Adonis, and Alaric were on air, right? How did they rescue Czar so quickly?" I asked.

"They were using an amphibious helicopter," he replied briefly. "They could descend and land on water."

He's fine, Ava. But I can't bring myself to trust other people's words. I need to see him and touch him to be sure.

Adonis was waiting at the entrance when we arrived.

"Mrs. Levesque."

We were immediately led to Czar's floor. No one else occupied the last floor but him, as expected. Every corner of the hospital had someone watching. I was greeted by those who recognized me.

My steps halted when I saw faces that didn’t belong here by Czar's door. My eyes landed on their tattoos.

"What is my dad doing here?"

Czar was wearing a black shirt and pants when I entered. My father stood a few feet apart from him. The bed was empty because Czar was already standing as if he hadn’t just come out of surgery. Sitting would show vulnerability.

Eiran stood in the corner, annoyed but watching everyone in the room like an x-ray.

"Papa, what is going on? How were you allowed here and how are both of you still not shooting each other's heads off?"

I wouldn't have asked this of anyone else, but they're opportunists. If a target is in front of them, they won’t play around.

Czar played with his wedding ring. His eyes flickered to mine. He gave me one of his sinister smiles as he slowly removed the ring from his finger.

I swallowed and looked down at my own ring, mirroring his gesture. I didn’t need an explanation; he’s letting me go. And I've learned to accept rejection. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me; he's a coward. I'm not deluding myself into thinking that he loves me, but I know that he feels something and is scared to explore it.

I caught a hint of shock in his expression which he quickly tucked beneath his indifferent exterior.

"Out." He didn’t address anyone in particular.

My father looked averse to the idea. "She has no—"

"Patience, De Greco. I only want a minute. Your daughter is yours for the rest of her years."

"I'm no one else's after this and stop talking about me as if I'm not here," I interrupted their power struggle. "Pa, I've been alone with and have slept in the same bed with Czar these past few months. Do you think this is the time to object leaving me alone with him?"

My dad has been rooting for Czar; he even planned everything just so I'd end up with him. What’s with this sudden switch?

Reluctantly, my father nodded and left the room.

"Our truce, Czar. And thank you for keeping my daughter safe," he said before closing the door.

I placed my wedding ring in his palm.

He just stared at it like he didn’t know what to do with it—he could break it, throw it away, or pawn it off. The options are endless.

I held my ring finger, feeling cold and foreign at the ring's absence.

"It's yours," he said. "Take it. You can use it as an accessory."

I shook my head. "It won't fit on any of my fingers but the fourth. There's no way I could disassociate it from our marriage. Besides, compared to the two of us, I'm the one who has feelings. It’s better if it’s with you, because it holds no value for you."

I chuckled bitterly.

"So our business ends here, ex-husband. You got your revenge on my father for dishonoring you and got rid of Pascal Monteval."

He cupped my nape and put his thumb on my throat to get my attention.

"That's not how someone who is about to be freed by a man who forced her into marriage should look like. You should be happy, carino."

I can't believe all of this has come to an end. I feel displaced. I have considered the Levesque mansion as my home. And now that I'm returning to Yekaterinburg, should I feel homesick when I'm simply going back to my original home?

But I will rise from this. I don't deserve his indifference after I tossed and turned the whole night, waiting and worrying. If he wants separation, so be it.

I looked at the door. I'm scared of turning the knob. Because when the door opens and I step over the line between outside and this room, we're done. Nothing will tie me to him, and him to me.

But bravely, I turned the knob.

"Buona vita, Levesque."

And I walked out of his life.

I felt bad for Freya for the constant moving around. One minute she was living a carefree ordinary life in Moscow, and the next she was being brought to mob territories in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

But not once did I hear her complain. She was even talking to dad and the drivers.

"You and Czar had a deal, papa?" I teased her too.