Chapter 106 Nikolai
The phone slipped from Anya's trembling hand as I lunged forward.
"This is Detective Petrov," the voice said. "Hello? Mrs. Koslov?"
I grabbed the phone and ended the call. Then I smashed it against the floor three times until it shattered into pieces.
Anya stood frozen, staring at the broken phone.
"What did you do?" I asked. My voice was low and dangerous. "What did you just do?"
"I saved you," she whispered. "I had to save you."
"Saved me? You just called the police. You just destroyed everything I built!"
"Everything you built on blood!" She shouted back. "Everything you built by becoming exactly like Ivanov!"
"Do not compare me to him," I snarled.
"Then stop acting like him!" She yelled.
Something snapped inside me. All the rage and fear and helplessness I had been holding back for weeks erupted.
I grabbed Anya and slammed her against the wall. My hand went to her throat.
"You betrayed me," I said through clenched teeth. "After everything I did for you. After everything I sacrificed. You betrayed me."
Anya's eyes filled with tears. Her hands grabbed my wrist, trying to pull my hand away. But I was too strong.
"Nikolai," she choked out. "Please."
"Please what?" I demanded. "Please forgive you? Please let you destroy me?"
"Please," she gasped. "I cannot breathe."
I looked down at my hand on her throat. At her face turning red. At the tears streaming down her cheeks.
And suddenly I saw myself.
I was choking the woman I loved. The woman I had promised to protect. The woman I had killed for.
Horror crashed through me. I released her immediately and stepped back.
Anya collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Her hand went to her throat. Red marks were already forming where my fingers had been.
"Anya," I said. My voice was shaking. "I did not mean to. I did not..."
She looked up at me. And in her eyes I saw everything. Fear. Pain. Betrayal. Disgust.
I fell to my knees. "Anya, please. I am sorry. I am so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you."
But I had hurt her. I had put my hands on her.
"Please," I begged. "Please forgive me."
Anya stood slowly. She was still rubbing her throat, still crying. She looked down at me with pity.
"I cannot do this anymore," she said quietly.
"Anya, no," I reached for her.
She stepped away from me. "Do not touch me."
"Please. Let me explain. Let me fix this."
"You cannot fix what you have become."
She walked to the bedroom. I heard drawers opening. Clothes being thrown into a bag.
I stood and followed her. "Where are you going?"
"Far away from you." She daod without looking at me.
"You cannot leave. It is not safe."
"The only person who has hurt me lately is you," She zipped up her bag and turned to face me. "Goodbye, Nikolai."
"Anya, please," I blocked the doorway. "Do not go. Not like this."
"Move," she said.
"No. We need to talk."
"There is nothing to figure out," she said. Her voice was cold now. "You made your choice."
"That is not fair," I said.
"Life is not fair," she repeated my own words back to me. "Now move. Or I will scream and your guards will come. And they will see what you did to me."
She pulled down her collar. The red marks on her throat were darker now. Shame burned through me. I stepped aside. Anya walked past me.
I followed. "Where will you go?"
"Somewhere you cannot find me."
She was gone before I could say anything.
I stood there staring at the empty doorway. Unable to move. Unable to think.
The guards looked at me with confusion.
"Sir? Should we stop her?"
"No," I said quietly. "Let her go."
I walked back to the living room, sat down on the floor and put my head in my palms.
Everything was falling apart. Anya was gone. The police had evidence. The Bratva was waiting. And I had become exactly what I swore I would never be.
A monster.
Footsteps approached. Mikhail entered the room. He looked at me sitting on the floor.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Anya called the police," I said without looking up. "She gave them evidence. Everything they need to arrest me."
Mikhail cursed. "When?"
"Just now."
"We need to move fast," Mikhail said, pulling out his phone. "I will handle the detective."
"Make sure the detective never files that report," I said calmly. "Make sure the evidence disappears."
"You are going to kill him," Marcus said.
"Maybe. Or maybe I just remind him that his family's safety depends on his cooperation. Either way, the problem gets solved." I said without feeling any remorse.
"Okay." Marcus said and made the call.
When he hung up he looked at me. "It is handled. You are safe."
I nodded.
"Check on Anya. Let me know where she went to. If she's safe." I said.
Mikhail walked to the window and looked out. "Report says she got into a taxi heading toward the train station."
"Follow her," I ordered. "Make sure she gets there safely."
"You want us to protect her? After what she just did?"
"Yes," I said. "I want her protected. Even if she hates me. Even if she never comes back. I want her alive."
Mikhail nodded. "I will send men."
He made another call. Gave more orders. Then he sat down beside me. "Are you okay?"
"No," I said honestly. "I put my hands on her, Mikhail. I hurt her."
"You were angry. She betrayed you."
"She was trying to save me," I said. "And I choked her. I became exactly what she feared."
Mikhail was quiet for a moment. "What do you want to do?"
"I do not know. Part of me wants to go after her. To apologize."
"And the other part?"
"The other part knows she is right. I am becoming a monster. And the best thing I can do for her is let her go."
"What about the Bratva? What about tomorrow night?"
I had forgotten about the Bratva. About the war I was about to start.
"Cancel it," I said.
Mikhail stared at me. "What?"
"Cancel the attack. Call them and negotiate. Give them whatever they want. I do not care anymore."
"Nikolai, if we back down now we will look weak."
"Then let them try," I said. "I am tired, Mikhail. Tired of fighting. Tired of killing."
"You are just upset about Anya. Tomorrow you will feel different."
"No. I will not. Because Anya was right. This needs to stop."
Mikhail shook his head. "It is too late to stop now. You have made too many enemies. The only way out is forward."
"Then I am a dead man," I said.
He stood. "I will handle the detective. I will make sure Anya gets to the train station safely. And tomorrow I will handle the Bratva. With or without you."
He left me sitting there alone.
I pulled out my phone and looked at Anya's number. I anted to call her. To hear her voice. To apologize properly.
But what would I say? Sorry I choked you?
Words would not fix this. Nothing would fix this.
The phone rang. It was an unknown number.
I answered. "What?"
"Mr. Markov," a familiar voice said. "I hear you had an interesting evening."
"How did you know?"
"I know everything that happens in Moscow," Viktor said. "Including what Anya did."
"What do you want?"
"To offer you a deal," Viktor said. "One that might save your life. And Anya's."
"I am listening."
"Meet me tomorrow morning. I will semd the location."
"And if I refuse?"
The line went dead.