“It’s the truth. I’m going to give you the painting back,” he said, eyeing the duffle bag.
“You were about to flee the country with it if I’m not mistaken, but it’s a shame that things had to end this way. I know I haven’t always been the best to you, Ivan, but I never expected this. I never expected to be betrayed like this, and you had the audacity to use my old friends against me. Now, that is a new low,” I said, and I could see the fear settle behind his eyes as he tossed the duffle bag at me, and I unzipped it to find the painting safely inside.
I actually thought I was never going to see it again, that Annika was never going to have the opportunity of seeing it hanging in her gallery where it belonged. She and I had been through enough, and all we wanted was to feel a sliver of peace again. We were finally going to get that chance, but I had to wrap up one last loose end before we left.
“You’re going to get on that plane, and you’re going to get the fuck out of the country. If I hear that you step foot in here again, you will pay for what you did, just like your minions. I’m not going to tell you twice,” I said, warning him, and he heeded it without me having to say another word.
He glanced into Annika’s eyes, seeing the disappointment that welled up behind them, but he knew he fucked up. It was just like he saw his entire business go up in flames because all of his best clients were right here in Russia.
He was probably heading out to pawn the painting off on someone and return thinking I wouldn’t have even noticed. It’s quite a shame, but at least now we have what we were looking for, and no one else had to die as a result.
Annika had seen a great deal of anger in me, and I was surprised that she wasn’t more worried that I was going to fly off the deep end knowing how much of a hard time I had dealing with betrayal. She stuck by my side, reminding me that we were in this together no matter what, and we finally had the one thing that was keeping us from truly moving on.
“Can I have a look at it again?” she asked, inching closer to me.
“Have a look at it? It’s all yours, Annika. This painting has caused enough trouble for the both of us, but it also serves as a reminder that we’ve come so far in such a short amount of time. We fell in love with each other, and this was the one thing we needed to start the rest of our lives together. I may have been angry that I was double-crossed by the people who were once loyal to me, but that never clouded how I felt about you, and how much I wanted to get this painting back so I could give it to you. I know you still dream of opening that gallery, and I want to stand right by your side, help you with whatever you need, and we can finally get started with the rest of our lives. I’m so sorry that this has been one wild goose chase looking for this thing, but it wasn’t until you told me that we should go after it that I realized how significant it was to us. I love you, Annika. This is just the beginning for us, it truly is,” I said, and she smiled at me, taking the duffle bag out of my hands, and resting it on the bathroom sink so she could fall into my arms.
She caressed my cheek, kissing me hard, as she whispered sweet nothings in my ear, telling me about how glad she was to be here with me right now. It was just like that, the anger I had felt, that was boiling underneath my skin had begun to dissipate, and all I could feel was the love we had for each other, and everything we were going to accomplish together now that we were going off on our own.
We didn’t have anything tying us down anymore, and we could go about the rest of our lives however we wanted. I needed Annika to know that I was always going to be there for her, that I was always going to put her first, and I wanted her to remember that every time she looked at that painting sitting on the wall of her precious collection.
“I love you so much, Stephan. We’re about to start our future together, have a family, build a collection of wonderful pieces of art, all while maintaining a little danger along the way. I don’t think I could’ve asked for anything more. You truly did give me everything I ever wanted, and I’m so grateful to you, for not only protecting me, but for single handedly changing my life.”
