Chapter 62 Nikolai
I woke up to sunlight streaming through the windows.
For the first time in months, I slept through the night. No nightmares. No hallucinations. No twelve-year-old boy haunting me.
Just peace.
I looked down at Anya. She was still asleep in my arms. Her hair spread across my chest. Her breathing was soft and steady.
I couldn't believe it, but she was here with me.
I tightened my arms around her.
"Nikolai?" Her sleepy voice came.
"I am here."
"Is it morning already?"
"Yes. But we do not have to get up. We can stay like this forever."
She smiled and snuggled closer. "I like the sound of that."
We lay there in comfortable silence.
Then my phone rang.
I groaned and ignored it.
God help whoever it is not something important.
It rang again. And again.
"You should answer it," Anya said. "It might be important."
Reluctantly, I reached for the phone. Mikhail's name flashed on the screen.
"What?" I answered.
"Good morning to you too, Pakhan." Mikhail's voice came through. "I am glad you are alive. But we have a serious problem."
My body tensed. "What kind of problem?"
"The kind that involves Viktor Morozov. Katya's father. He is here at the gates. With fifty armed men."
I sat up immediately. Anya looked at me with concern.
"What does he want?" I asked.
"To talk. Those were his exact words. But Nikolai, he looks ready for war. This is bad."
I cursed under my breath. "Let only him in. No weapons. No men."
"Are you sure?"
"Do I have a choice? If I refuse, he will attack. At least this way, I can control the situation."
"I hope you are right." Mikhail paused.
The line went dead.
I turned to Anya. She was sitting up now.
"What is happening?" She asked.
"Katya's father is here. He wants to talk."
"About what?"
"About the wedding I called off maybe."
Anya's face went pale. "This is my fault. If I had not..."
"No." I grabbed her hand. "This is not your fault. I made the choice to call off the wedding. I chose you. And I would make that same choice a thousand times over."
"But his daughter..."
"Is fine. She left on her own. She understood the situation."
"But her father might not."
She was right. Viktor Morozov was not a man who understood or forgave easily.
He was one of the most powerful men in Moscow. And I had just humiliated his daughter in front of the entire city.
"Stay here," I said, getting out of bed. "Lock the door. Do not come out until I tell you it is safe."
"Nikolai, I am not hiding while you..."
"Please." I cupped her face. "Just this once. Let me handle this alone. I cannot think straight if I am worried about you."
She looked at me for a long moment. Then nodded. "Okay. But be careful."
I kissed her. Then I got dressed quickly. Put on my best suit. If I was going to face Viktor Morozov, I needed to look powerful.
I went downstairs. Mikhail was waiting in the entrance hall.
"He is in your study," Mikhail said. "I searched him. No weapons. But Nikolai, the look in his eyes..."
"I know. Stay close. If things go wrong, get Anya and Dmitri out of here."
"And leave you?"
"That is an order."
Mikhail's jaw tightened. But he nodded.
I walked to my study and opened the door.
Viktor Morozov stood by the window, looking out at the grounds.
He was wearing an expensive suit.
He turned when I entered. His face was calm. But his eyes were cold.
"Nikolai Markov," he said. His voice was smooth. "Thank you for seeing me."
"I did not think I had a choice."
"You always have a choice. But some choices have consequences." He gestured to a chair. "Sit. Let us talk like civilized men."
I sat. He sat across from me.
We stared at each other. Two predators sizing each other up.
"You called off the wedding," Viktor said finally.
"Yes."
"The day before it was supposed to happen."
"Yes."
"After invitations were sent. After preparations were made."
"Yes."
His hand tightened on the armrest.
"Do you know what that makes her look like?" He asked quietly. "Do you know what people are saying about her?"
"I can imagine."
"Can you?" He leaned forward. "They are saying she was not good enough. That you used her and discarded her. That she is damaged goods. Unmarriageable."
"That is not true. Katya is..."
"I do not care what you think Katya is!" His voice rose slightly. Then he controlled himself. "What I care about is my family's reputation. And you have destroyed it."
"I apologize. That was never my intention."
"Your intentions mean nothing. Only actions matter. And your actions have made my family a laughingstock."
I said nothing. Because he was right.
"I came here," Viktor continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "to give you one chance. One opportunity to make this right."
"How?"
"Marry her. Go through with the wedding as planned."
"I cannot do that."
"Cannot? Or will not?"
"Both."
"Because of the girl. The one you rescued from Alexei's wedding."
So he knew.
"Yes," I said. "Because of Anya."
"And this girl. She is worth destroying an alliance between our families?"
"She is worth everything."
Viktor stood up and walked to the window again. "I have built my empire on respect, Nikolai. Fear and power. But above all, respect." He turned to face me. "When people disrespect me, when they embarrass me, when they humiliate my family... I destroy them."
"Is that a threat?"
"It is a promise." He walked closer. "You have seventy-two hours. Three days. To either marry my daughter or face the consequences."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I will take everything from you." He leaned down. His face inches from mine. "And when you have nothing left, when you are broken and desperate, I will take the girl. And I will give her to the worst men I know. Men who will do things to her that will make Alexei look like a saint."
Rage exploded in my chest. I stood up and grabbed him by the collar.
"You touch her and I will kill you."
He did not even flinch. He just smiled.
"There is the Nikolai Markov I have heard about. The monster. The killer." He removed my hands calmly. "But threats mean nothing without power. And in three days, you will have none."
"You think you can destroy me in three days?"
"I know I can. I have already started. By the time you wake up tomorrow, half your allies will have turned against you. Your businesses will be under investigation. Your assets will be frozen. And your enemies?" He laughed. "They will smell blood in the water. And they will come for you."
My hands clenched into fists. "Why are you doing this? Katya does not even want to marry me anymore!"
"This is not about what Katya wants. This is about what I want. And I want my family's honor restored." He walked out.
I stood there, shaking with rage and fear.
Because Viktor Morozov was not bluffing. He had the power to do exactly what he promised.
And I had three days to decide.
My family's alliance. Or Anya's life.
Mikhail came in. "What happened?"
"We are at war."
He nodded slowly.
I went back upstairs to Anya.
She was waiting, pacing the room.
"What did he say?" She asked.
I told her everything.
When I finished, she was silent.
Then she said, "You should marry Katya."
"What? No!"
"Nikolai, he will destroy you. He will kill me. You heard what he said."
"I am not giving you up!"
"And I am not letting you lose everything because of me!" She grabbed my arms. "This is bigger than us."
"I do not care. I would rather die than marry someone else."
"And I would rather die than watch you suffer." Tears streamed down her face. "Please. Just think about it."
"There is nothing to think about. The answer is no."
She looked at me. Hopeless and broken.
And I realized something.
Viktor Morozov had already won.
Because even if I did not marry Katya, even if I kept Anya, we would spend the rest of our lives hiding and fighting.
And eventually, he would catch us.
I have three days.