“If it’s ok, I have a few things I want to say?” I ask, looking around the room.
“Go ahead,” Jaroslav nods.
A nervous shiver runs through me. Clearing my throat, I don’t know whether to sit or stand, so I remain seated, staying on the same level as everyone else sitting around me.
“I know I messed up in a lot of ways. I acted irrationally. I was unfair and cruel. In many ways, I don’t deserve your time now or the chance to explain myself, but I am grateful you’ve given it to me.” I pause, gathering my thoughts.
“I deeply regret the pain that I caused your family. The stress and emotional turmoil I put you through. I regret what I did, and I hope you can find a way to move past it, or somehow put it behind us.” I glance at Jaroslav, whose face remains neutral, so I continue.
“I’ve fought for many things in my life. For land. For money. For status and power. I’ve fought for my family, for my friends. I’ve even fought for my life. In this world, we learn to push forward no matter what. We become desensitized to the things around us.
But since I met Stefania, my entire view has shifted. I’m no longer numb to it all. In fact, I have felt more in my time with her than I’ve maybe felt in my life. So, now, I have something new to fight for. And it’s possibly the only thing that was ever worth fighting for. Love.”
A murmur ripples across the room. I pause, my heart racing.
I look directly at Jaroslav again. “I love Stefania. I want to spend my life with her, and I would like to do that without her having to lose her family.”
For a moment, the silence is deafening.
I can hear my heartbeat in my skull. The steady throbbing of blood as it pulses through me. Moment’s passing. Tension growing.
“We figured as much,” Jaroslav finally says, shrugging.
“What does that mean?” Stefania blurts outs, reaching her hand onto my lap and taking my hand in hers. “I love him too, Jaroslav. I won’t give up on that love, with or without your consent.”
I smile at her fierceness, gently squeezing her hand. “You shouldn’t walk away from your family, Stef,” I tell her, my heart pleading that she doesn’t have to walk away from anyone to be happy.
“I will, Marlen. It’s my choice to make,” she insists.
“Nobody is losing anybody,” Jaroslav throws his hands in the air and stands up, walking over to the window. “We already figured all of this out. I mean, it’s not like it didn’t already happen with Valery and me. And with Talia, then Diomid and Angelika. It’s not a shocking revelation to find out that you fell in love with someone who was once your enemy,” Jaroslav laughs.
Around the room, the others laugh too and glance at each other. Diomid speaks up, “We started the meeting about an hour before you got here. Jaroslav had a feeling that this was what you were going to say, and he wanted to discuss how we wanted to move forward with it.”
“And?” I ask, sitting up straighter. “How do you want to move forward with it?”
“An alliance,” Simon says. “Abashins, Shevchenkos, and Popovs. We’ll be an unstoppable force in this city,” he grins at me.
“You were invited an hour earlier as well?” I ask, stunned.
“Someone had to speak for us Popovs,” Simon smirks, loving this.
“I could have,” Talia chimes in.
“I meant one of themen,” Simon corrects her.
Around the room, all of the husbands groan in horror. “Dude, you can’t say shit like that,” Timofey laughs.
“Shit, sorry guys,” Simon holds both hands in the air and pulls a face. “Perhaps I am, after all,notthe best person to represent this family.”
The room breaks out in lighthearted laughter, and next to me, Stef slips closer, pressing her body against mine.
Conversations break out around us between smaller groups of people, and she grabs my face, not caring who’s watching, and pulls my lips onto hers to kiss me.
My heart spins with relief and happiness.
I can’t believe this meeting went so well. I was half expecting a repeat of the last full family meeting. Accusations and fighting. Instead, we’ve entered into an official alliance with two strong families and ended a long-time conflict.
And I have the love of my life at my side to share all of this with.
