Page 117 of His to Own

“That you were getting expelled for plagiarism. That it was my paper you copied. I always thought of you as a competitive rival. Someone I could use to boost myself. To make myself work harder. I never thought you’d stoop so low as to copy my paper.”

“I didn’t do that. It was a technical error. I’m not getting expelled. Whatever you heard was wrong.”

She sucks in a sharp breath and lets it out fast. “Really? You’re not getting expelled?”

“No. I’m not.”

“Oh. Well.” In one fast motion, she hugs me. It’s so quick I barely have time to process it before she’s letting me go. “I’m glad. Who else around here can compete with me?”

“I’m also submitting my piece of writing to Professor Burgov’s internship.”

Her smile is smug and pretentious. That’s the Polina I know. “Then let the best woman win.”

I clutch my poem in my hand as I walk to Professor Burgov’s office. It’s a new poem I wrote. One write after me and Maxim made love. I had so much emotion coursing through me that it all came out.

The poem isn’t even about Maxim. It’s about my feelings and being reborn in this world as a mafia wife. Though, I don’t mention the mafia part. I just allude to it for safety reasons.

I knock on the door. “Professor?”

He glances up from his laptop. “Ah. Miss Karetov.”

“It’s Mrs. Morozov now,” I gently remind him. It feels good to use my husband’s last name.

“Right. Of course.”

I hold up the piece of paper. “I’m ready to submit this.”

“I’m glad.” He takes the paper from me and sets it face down on his desk. “I’ll read it later.”

“Of course.” I try not to flinch. Stay strong. Fight for the things you want. “Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Is there a chance I could win or… is it all pointless?”

He sits back in his seat, steepling his fingers together. “If you knew you would lose, would you submit still? Or would you not even try?”

“What’s the point of entering if you know you’re going to lose?”

“For the personal satisfaction that you tried. I can’t say you’ll win the internship. I’ll be unbiased in everything that’s been submitted to me and I’ll choose the best piece of writing and that person will work with me next semester on my book. It’s a great opportunity.”

“Of course, Professor. I understand.” I turn away from him but he has one more thing to say.

“I am proud of you, Elena. I know this wasn’t easy for you.”

No. It wasn’t at all. Finally putting myself out there after how much my father made me feel ashamed for everything I ever said or done.

“Thank you,” I say before hurrying away. I go to the school’s library and settle far back in the stacks on the ground. This was my old hiding grounds whenever I needed to get away from my father. He doesn’t own me anymore, I remind myself.

Alexei finds me here. “Elena. Hi. How have you been?”

It’s strange that Alexei doesn’t even know I was kidnapped. No one at this school does.

“I got my spot back.”

“So I heard. I saw you around campus. I figured everything had worked out. I’m glad you didn’t get expelled. You didn’t deserve that to happen to you.”

“Thank you.”