Chapter 41 Caught
The library door had barely closed behind Dima when Anya's control shattered.
She sat frozen in the leather chair, his words still replaying on her head as if she could decide anything or if her heart wasn't a tangled mess of love, jealousy and the constant, gnawing fear of her making the biggest mistake of her life.
The guardianship document surfaced from the depths of her memory, of which she'd circled in red. She'd never fully understood why he'd included the Petrova family trust to it and she never pressed for the explanation he'd promised.
Now, with Lena's warning fresh in her mind and Dima's careful distance cutting like a knife, she needed to understand.
She found him in his office.
The door was open like a silent invitation. He sat behind his desk, his head bent over papers with serious focus. Immediately she walked in he looked up.
"Anya," he said but she ignored going straight to the point.
"The guardianship clause." She closed the door behind her, leaning against it. "Explain it, no more test or hidden meanings. I want the truth"
He set down his pen slowly and carefully.
"Sit down," he gestured towards a chair in front of his desl
"I rather stand," she replied
Then he nodded, accepting her choice. He stood up moving around the desk to face her but the distance between them felt like miles.
"The clause was protection," he said quietly. "If my father ever suspected we were working together, if he ever saw you as a threat that means your inheritance would make you a target. He would try to control it, you or use you against me like I mentioned before."
"So me tansferring guardianship to you would prevent him from controlling or having anything to do with you." His eyes held hers, raw and honest. "It was a failsafe like a way to neutralize you as a target."
Anya's mind raced, processing his words which was the cold logic of survival.
"You should have told me." Her voice was barely steady, "when we negotiated and when I found it, you should have explained."
"I know." He didn't defend, didn't deflect. "I was wrong to hide it or test you and I'm sorry Anya."
"But you did it anyway,” she said out loud. The anger she'd been suppressing began to surface. "You hid something crucial, let me find it myself, and then acted like my discovery was some kind of test I needed to pass. That's's not partnership, Dima, it's manipulation and I remember telling you that I don't like it when you do such."
His jaw tightened. "I know but in this world, manipulation is survival."
"Not with me." She stepped closer, her grey eyes blazing. "I'm not your enemy neither am I your father but the woman who trusted you and gave you everything." Her voice cracked. "I love you Dima but still you are treating me like a variable to be managed."
Something broke in his expression. The mask cracked, revealing the pain beneath.
"I don't know how to do this differently." His voice was rough, desperate. "I've spent thirteen years manipulating, planning, and controlling cause it's how I survived and how I've kept everyone alive. I don't know how to just trust or love without strategy or backup plans."
Anya's anger wavered, undermined by the raw honesty in his voice.
"That doesn't make it okay," she said quietly. "But I understand, I understand why you are the way you are." She stepped closer, close enough to touch. "But understanding isn't the same as accepting. You need to learn, Dima. You need to change, not for the plan but for us."
He reached for her, his hands framing her face looking into her eyes.
"I'll learn," he whispered. "I'll do whatever it takes to change, just don't leave or give up on me."
She leaned into his touch, her eyes closing. The anger was still there, a dull ache beneath the love but the love was stronger.
"I'm not giving up," she murmured. "But I need you to really try with no more tests or hidden agenda cause if you do that again I wouldn't forgive you.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. "I promise, it wouldn't happen again .”
They stood like that for a long moment, breathing together, the weight of their honesty settling around them.
Then the door opened with Lena standing by it.
She must have been looking for Dima cause she walked in without knocking. Her perfect face registered surprise, then understanding, then something that looked like pain but she was quick to hide it.
For a long terrible moment, no one moved.
Lena's eyes traveled from Dima's hands on Anya's face to Anya's tear-streaked cheeks to the intimate way they stood together but she said nothing.
She simply turned and walked away, the door closing softly behind her.
Anya's heart stopped.
"She knows," she breathed. "She saw…"
Dima's face had gone pale, but his voice was steady. "I'll talk to her by explaining."
"Explain what? That we're together? That we've been lying to everyone, including her?" Anya pulled away, her hands shaking and her heart beating rapidly. "She'll tell your father, sue'll.."
"She won't." Dima's voice was certain. "Lena is many things, but she's not cruel so she won't expose us."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know her." He caught Anya's hands, stilling her. "Give me an hour to talk to her alone."
Anya wanted to argue, run or do something but the logic of his words was undeniable. Lena saw but she would have to be managed.
"One hour," she whispered. "Then alll of us will talk."
He nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before he left following Lena into the darkness.
Anya stood alone in his office, her heart pounding, Lena's silent face burned into her memory.
She had seen everything and nothing would ever be the same.