It just wasn’t possible. Sacrificing him would cost me too dearly. And it wasn’t a matter of settling for him. It wasn’t as though I was choosing a life with him and to stay here all for the reward and benefit of being protected and cared for.
It was because I loved him too damn much to cut him out of my life.
Despite all the darkness and violence, a real and true love had blossomed. It burned in my heart, grew within my soul. I feared that he’d never love me, but the fact that he could give me the chance to walk away with no expectations of a return proved that he had to care to some degree.
At the grumble of my stomach, I got up and sought a robe. Sitting here and sleeping for any longer would add to my anxiety.
Instead of my giving him an ultimatum, he’d issued one to me. He’d given me options and he’d be waiting for my answer. The longer it took me to tell him what it was, the more I’d stress about confronting him and surrendering, submitting to him forever.
First, though, I had to eat. I strode out of his room, curious where he was this late in the afternoon with how long I’d slept in. After going to the guest room I’d had before and dressing quickly, I went to check on Anya.
She mattered in this picture as well. She was an important part of my choice to stay.
I knocked on her door, and once she told me to enter, I stepped inside.
“Claire!”
She rushed toward me, wrapping me in a hug. I smiled, pressing my cheek against hers, and sighed happily.
“I was so worried about you when I heard you were taken!”
“Hey, it takes one to know, huh?” I raised a brow at her.
She made a face. “That’s so dark and, like, not funny. Not cool.”
I shrugged as we released each other. As she slowly smiled, taking my hand to bring me further into her room, she urged me to sit, to tell her if I was okay, what happened to me and if the same people who kidnapped her were the ones who took me.
I shared what I could, skirting the details of why I’d left in the first place. When I explained about going home to where I’d come from and needing to think about my career, she readily accepted those answers. Telling her that I loved her father felt like a whole extra layer of complications, and I’d wait to see how that would pan out.
I had to tell him first, anyway.
She called and asked for an extra tray to be brought to her, and we had lunch together. It gave me a chance to check on her, playing the role of doctor, and I was pleased that she was recovering well. I was happy to hear that Andre was getting more involved in watching over her, but I felt a smidgen of guilt, too, in that Mikhail might have counted on his son to help with Anya while he was stressed about me and how I’d left.
Over the meal, she told me about how worried she was that I left and then was taken. She shared how everyone else was worried, too. Mikhail had been a mess, according to her, and I pounced on that.
“So, you’re talking to him?” I asked, glad that if my capture resulted in anything, it could be a silver lining like their bonding.
“No.” She furrowed her brow. “He was obsessed with finding you.”
“Hey, no.” I shook my head, hating that she could think I was more important than her. “It’s not like that.”
“No. Itislike that.” She smiled slowly. “He was freaking out about you, and even though I don’t know him that well, it’s basically obvious that it means he cares about you. A lot.”
I closed my mouth and gave her a shy smile.
“I came here thinking he’d just be a man whore with cheap hookers all over and orgies and everything.” She winced. “That was what I was told to expect. But other than your being here…” She huffed a little laugh. “That hasn’t been the case at all.”
“That’s… good.” I wasn’t sure what else I could even say. He was a handsome, wealthy, and powerful man. There was no damn way he had been celibate all his life. But it did appease me that I wasn’t one woman in a long line of substitutes.
“My father and I will have a long way forward to figuring out how we can have a father-daughter relationship. I haven’t made it easy since I’ve been here, but we’ll work on it when and how we can.”
I patted her knee. “Good. That’s progress.” It had to be. Her acknowledgment of the issue was a good start. “And I’m glad that your brother is helping too.”
“Helping what?” Andre said, surprising me as he entered.
“With Anya’s recovery,” I said, standing and facing him.
He smiled. “I didn’t think that I’d find you here, personally following up on her recovery.”
