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As I suspected, her family was becoming restless, and with that, hastiness would follow. That was bad news for me.
It became clear to me then. The sooner the Levovs knew she was safe, the better.
But if I wasn’t careful, I’d be putting myself, and especially Anastasia, in immediate danger.
Chapter 15 - Anastasia
Studying had become a new pride of mine ever since I enrolled in med school, but I never thought I could love it any more than I already did.
To my undying relief, Nik had returned my laptop and textbooks to me, and he informed me the school was willing to let me continue so long as I caught up and kept my grades up. It turned out they were glad to hear I was alright, and they didn’t mind letting me go remote while I studied through my ‘recovery.’
It didn’t feel amazing to lie to the professors I respected, but at the very least, I was able to pursue my dreams, and hopefully make a difference one day.
With my things spread out on the counter, it was very clear just how far behind I was, but that stubborn bone in me wouldn’t let the opportunity pass me by. Even if I had to pull some all-nighters to get up to speed, I had no qualms about it. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to be, anyway.
I was grateful for the chance to keep going, even if having access to the material was the bare minimum. I was serious about wanting to be a doctor, and even if my hair ended up falling out from stress, I didn’t care.
Despite the glee I felt knowing I wasn’t out of the race yet, the sheer volume of work ahead of me was certainly still annoying.
As dutiful as I could be, I kept my head in my books for most of the day, only stopping to take the occasional break.
By the late afternoon, the front door opened, and I was surprised to see Catherine as she popped her head into the room.
“I hope I’m not bothering you,” she began, offering me a smile. “I just wanted to swing by and check in with you.”
“That’s very nice of you. Please, come in. I wouldn’t mind the company,” I said, recalling how much she had helped me since we met.
“I’m glad to hear it. I also brought these,” she hummed, carrying in a tray of iced matcha lattes and a small bag of goodies.
I cleared a place for them on the counter and smiled back at her. “Matcha is my favorite. How did you know?”
“Someone as refined as you, it was an easy guess.”
Amused by that, I was more than happy to take that first sip. It was almost like drinking freedom.
“How’s everything been? I heard about the elopement.”
Nodding, I broke apart one of the muffins and tried to decipher my thoughts and feelings on it. “Better now that I’m not stuck in the spare bedroom. Nik hasn’t been terrible, I guess…”
“That’s certainly a step up from the screaming matches, I suppose,” Cat chimed in, looking more pleased than the first time we met. “I’m glad Nik actually listened to me. He doesn’t do that often.”
“Even though we’re married now and we have history, I still feel like I don’t know much about him,” I confessed, interested in speaking to one of the only people who knew him intimately.
Catherine shrugged. “To start, Nik was a complete mama’s boy. He was so upset when Mom had me that he begged her to take me back to the hospital. He eventually got over the jealousy part, but I still like to tease him about it. He always did everything he could to make Mom happy, up until the day she died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I murmured, saddened by the fact.
“That’s alright, we both had our time to grieve. Our dad was never the same again, so when Nik decided he couldn’t stay in Russia anymore, he brought me along with him, and we’ve been making it work with just the two of us,” she said, pride visible in her eyes. “I used to live here with him, actually, but he eventually decided I should go out on my own and not rely on being around him too much, so I have an apartment. I would always tell him this house was too much for just himself, but I suppose that won’t be an issue anymore.”
“It’s almost ironic that he let you go out on your own and I can’t even leave the house.”
“That’s how I knew Nik really cared about you, given that he was willing to go to extremes just to keep you safe. For any other person, he wouldn’t have bothered,” Catherine stated. “I know that sounds strange, but it's the effort and willingness to blur lines that seems to be different in him. He explained why he can’t let you leave here, and while I hope one day that changes, I understand.”
Nodding to myself, I knew it still didn’t make it any better. “It’s hard to go from having complete free will to it all being taken away on someone else’s whim.”
“You’re perfectly right to feel that way. I’m sure when tensions have settled, you’ll be able to do whatever you want again. I know Nik doesn’t like keeping you cooped up here.”
“I sure hope so,” I said, gesturing to the pile of work I had ahead of me still. “At the very least, he gave my school things back.”
