Chapter Seventeen: Stephan
Iwoke up to the soft whirring of machines next to me, the cool breeze coming through the open window as my eyes started to adjust to the warm lighting of the bedroom I’d been in. I felt so strange like my body had been through much more than it could handle, and I struggled to move around. I heard voices coming from the outside hallway, and for a moment I had no idea where I was, but then I glanced up and around at the walls of bookcases, which had a few pictures of faces I hadn’t seen in too long.
She did it. She managed to get me here.
All the memories began to flood back in and I wondered what happened to Annika. I didn’t know how she managed it, or if she finally got someone to look at the terrible gash in her leg, but that’s when it dawned on me that I didn’t know how long I had been out for.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the state of Annika’s house, the chaos that erupted, and the massacre that ensued. We wiped out the entire Chadov family without thinking twice, and we all managed to make it out of there alive. It felt like a miracle to me, because I remembered that single moment where I thought all hope was going to be lost.
I remembered staring down at Annika, watching Natalia drive the knife into her thigh, leaving it there for her to suffer. I couldn’t believe how strong she was in that moment, how she was able to keep it together despite all of the things she had suffered, and she still came back for me.
After everything we’d been through together, after I blatantly told her family to get her far away from that house, she came back for me. I was so grateful to her, but I knew the moment I laid eyes on her again, I was going to remonstrate with her for stepping foot back in that house knowing the danger.
I was left alone for what felt like ages before someone eventually came trailing in through the double doors, with a tray in hand, nearly dropping it when she laid eyes on me. I smiled at her, noticing just how beautiful she looked, her cheeks flushed, and it was like the first time I laid eyes on her all over again.
“Stephan! You’re awake!” she screamed, turning around to go alert everyone else to the good news, but I had to stop her. I wanted her all to myself for a few moments, I wanted to apologize to her for what she had to do in order to get out of there alive, and I needed her to know that I would’ve done anything to save her.
“Wait,” I said, and she rested the tray down on the ottoman at the foot of the bed, sitting down, inching closer to me, and taking my hand in hers while she gazed into my eyes.
“I can’t believe how strong you are, Annika. I can’t believe that you came back for me after everything you went through. I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that,” I said to her, my eyes lowering to her lips just as she leaned in to kiss me.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Stephan. You did everything you could to save me, you fought until you couldn’t fight anymore to make sure my whole family got out safely. You stayed back to finish the job even if you weren’t sure you were going to make it out alright. Now, we’re safe, now you’re safe, and that’s all that matters. I love you, Stephan,” she said, and I smiled in between her perfect little kisses.
“I love you so much, Annika. I promise that I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” I said, pressing my forehead up against hers, enjoying the moment together before I heard footsteps trail into the room.
“It’s nice to see that you’re still alive, brother. I have a few people here that would like to say hello,” said Viktor, and in came every single one of my brothers. They all stood there in a line, watching over me, all looking incredibly relieved that I managed to pull through.
“How did you manage to pull this one off, Viktor?” I said.
“He brought us here against our will,” said Dominik, and everyone laughed.
It was such a lovely moment, having everyone I ever cared about there, realizing that I shouldn’t have even left home in the first place. I went off chasing a dream that was never going to be brought to fruition because I was far too stubborn to appreciate everything I had. I let the people I loved the most nearly slip away from me, and I had to be grateful that above all else, Viktor put our family before our differences.
I knew that we still had a bit of bad blood to work through, but nothing either of us could say or do would change the fact that we loved each other. We’d all been through so much, and yet there we all were, gathered around to support each other like it had been when father was alive. It reminded me of how happy it made him to see us all together, and I knew it would’ve made him proud.
“Father would’ve loved to see us all here like this,” I said, and they all nodded in agreement.
“It’s never too late to mend the bridges we burned all those years ago, Stephan. You’re still very much a part of this family, and like the rest of us, you have someone you love that you nearly died for. We know what that’s like, and thanks to you, we’ve even managed to bridge the gap and settle our differences with the Novikov family,” said Viktor, glancing over at Annika who had the biggest smile on her face.
Both of her parents came in to join her, standing behind her, holding onto her shoulder to show support. I never thought that the day would come where we’d all be together, where we could all appreciate the fact that we won a war that none of us were expecting to fight. I was just as surprised as everyone else that we managed to pull it off, that we were able to take out the family that brought Annika and her family such pain. I knew that Annika still had a lot to work through herself because I could tell by the way she was staring back at me that she was still running on an adrenaline rush. She hadn’t come down from the high since I had gone into a coma, and I was sure that she would have a hard time once everything started to flood back in.
I would be there for her no matter what, and I planned on giving her everything she could ever dream of because that was what she deserved. I knew she wanted to be a part of this lifestyle for good, and I was prepared to see exactly where that would take us. She was no longer worried that she would have to choose between the good and the bad, realizing that even her parents had come to terms with the fact she was going to decide what she wanted whether they stepped in or not.
I knew that we were going to make a great team no matter what we did, and I had a feeling that she would want to start sooner rather than later.
Everyone eventually cleared out of the room, leaving Annika and I alone again, so she could get me up to speed on everything I had missed when I was out cold. I could tell that she was still scared I was going to slip away again, that she was worried any sudden movements would hurt me, but I had to reassure her that everything was going to be just fine. I was given clearance by the doctors Viktor had at his disposal, and I was just told to rest until I was able to start moving around again.
“What’s on your mind, Annika?” I asked, caressing her cheek, feeling the warmth of my skin brush against the cool exterior of hers.
“I’m still trying to figure out how I feel. After everything that has happened over the last few days, I’m surprised that I’m still even standing. I don’t know how to go about processing losing a dear friend, a friend that tried to have me killed. I sometimes find myself wondering whether she and I were ever really friends at all, or if it was all just a ploy to bleed us dry of any and all riches we had,” she said, solemnly.
“I think that she was also still struggling trying to figure out where she fit in,” I said, “But the difference between the two of you, is that you know what you want, and you know what your morals are. I know you are never going to stray away from that. I’ve seen you in action, I’ve seen you deal with things no one should ever have to deal with, and you still managed to power through despite it all. I’m so proud of you, I’m so glad that we finally have the moment of calm we’ve been looking for since this all began, but I want you to know that I’m here for you. I want you to know that processing all of this the first time around isn’t going to be an easy job, but I’m here to hold your hand through it all, through absolutely anything. I love you so much, Annika.”
“I love you too, Stephan. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to be talking to you right now. For days I’ve been sitting around hoping that you were going to wake up, but there was always the part of me that worried you never would. That was the one thing I knew I’d never be able to get past, and I never want to lose you again, even for a few seconds, minutes, or days. I don’t know how to process that, and I don’t think I ever will,” she said, and I watched as the tears started streaming down her beautiful face.
I wiped each and every one of them away, tilting her chin up so she could get a good look at me.
“I promise you that I’m never going to leave your side, Annika. I’m never going to let anything bad happen to you, and I will make sure that you never have to think about processing any of that. I just want you to be happy, I just want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted. I know that you’ve decided to be a part of this life, but I know you have other dreams, and I’m going to make sure you get each and every one of them,” I replied, kissing her softly on the forehead.
