“For what?” I muttered.
“For whatever comes next.”
Her eyes held mine meaningfully, and I felt as if she knew everything that was going on in my heart. She had been a part of this world too long to now know, and I knew she was right. Once my brothers found out and things escalated, a war was waiting for us. As much as I wanted to get out of here, a war in our world affected everyone. I was not ready for that.
“Has he spoken to anyone?” I asked quietly.
“He always speaks to someone,” she said carefully.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Her expression softened as she looked at me.
“There is tension,” she admitted.
“From my family?”
“Yes.”
Of course. Something tight in my chest loosened slightly, knowing that as I was reassured, they were indeed looking for me. That was my one ray of hope right now because wheneverI asked Fyodor anything about it, he simply shrugged and walked away as if he deliberately wanted to keep me away from whatever was happening out there.
“So that means they’re coming,” I whispered more to myself than to her.
Anya did not contradict me.
“He is preparing,” she added.
“For what?”
“For impact.”
That sounded ominous, and I pushed the plate away slightly.
“I won’t stay here,” I said.
“You may not have to.”
Her tone was strange.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” she said gently, “that storms do not stay contained forever. You sound like someone who is sure her brothers will come to rescue her, so you truly have nothing to worry about. If all goes right and in your favor, you will be out of here soon enough.”
I watched her for a long moment.
“You care about him, and yet you say something like this?” I asked, unsure if she was on my side or Fyodor’s.
“Yes.”
“Is it because you know he has done something unforgivable?”
She considered that.
“A part of it, yes. But it is also because I know he married you for strategy and containment, but he also deserves a wife who loves him and cares for him, and you will never be that because of your differences. The sooner you leave and whatever this is ends, the sooner he will be able to find someone who genuinely cares for him. ”
I didn’t understand why something inside me twisted at her words, but I ignored the feeling. By the sixth day, I had memorized the rhythm of the penthouse. The staff rotated quietly. There were two maids who spoke little English but smiled shyly when I passed, and a driver I never saw but knew existed. There was security all around us; I never glimpsed but felt. And of course there was him. Always calm. Always controlled. I noticed how he worked from the study for hours at a time, the door partially left open. His voice was low and measured on calls, and even when he sounded angry, he never ever shouted or panicked.
Sometimes I ended up catching fragments of conversations I could not piece together.
