The words hit like a slap. Because he’s right. I did choose this. I walked down that aisle. I signed those papers. I let him touch me.
But that doesn’t mean I have to let him near Mila and Alexei.
“Stay away from them,” I say.
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
He takes another step closer. We’re only a few feet apart now. “I said no. They live here. I live here. We’re going to exist in the same space. You can’t keep them locked away from me forever.”
“Watch me.”
“This is ridiculous. You’re treating me like a threat when I’ve done nothing but provide for them.”
“You don’t provide for them. You provide for yourself. They’re just part of the transaction.”
“And you’re making everything harder than it needs to be.” His voice is still calm, but there’s an edge now. “I’m not asking for much. Just basic civility. The ability to walk through my own house without you acting like I’m going to hurt children I have no interest in harming.”
“Then why do you keep trying to talk to them?”
“Because ignoring their existence is more suspicious than acknowledging it.”
“So this is about appearances.”
“Everything is about appearances. You should know that by now.”
I want to argue and scream at him that he doesn’t get to decide how I protect my children. But he’s standing too close now, and I can smell his cologne. Something with cedar and smoke. The same scent that was all over me the morning after our wedding night.
My body remembers that night. Remembers how he felt inside me. How my hands gripped his shoulders while he moved. How I came apart beneath him, even though I hated him for it.
I take a step back. He notices.
“What are you afraid of, Anna?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“Then what?”
I don’t answer because the truth is complicated and dangerous and something I can never tell him. “You’re impossible,” I say instead.
“And you’re paranoid.”
“I have every reason to be.”
“Name one. One actual reason beyond the forced marriage you’ve already accepted.”
“You’re a criminal.”
“I’m a businessman.”
“You kill people.”
“When necessary. Never children. Never without cause.” He tilts his head slightly. “Is that what this is about? You think I’m going to hurt Mila and Alexei?”
“I think you’re capable of it.”
“Capable and willing are different things. I’m capable of a lot of things I don’t do.”
