Page 84 of Queen’s Gambit

“Do you want me to move?”

“No. I never want you to move. If I could, I would stay in this room…in this bed, forever,” Ana said, and my heart swelled.

“I can kill him. I have no problem taking that fucker out if it means I can keep you. Say the word, Ana, and I’ll make it happen. Christov doesn’t deserve to touch a hair on your head, let alone marry you.”

Ana wrapped her arms around my neck, and every emotion was laid bare in her kiss. Some things in this world were worth fighting and dying for, and I would happily do both for her.

“Don’t mention him or my father again until we leave this hotel. This is our heaven. It’s us and only us.”

“As you wish,” I said, nipping at her lip and sucking it into my mouth.

“Make love to me again. That’s all I want right now.”

Kissing her deeply, I wanted to whisk her away to my home. It was supposed to be ours, the one that I’d remodeled after everything she loved. The thought of living there without her…was just too much. I would do whatever she wanted. I was hers, as she was mine.

“The world may crumble around us, but my love for you will never die, Ana.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and her bottom lip trembled. I kissed her while murmuring how much I loved her over and over as I slowly began to move.

Yulianna

The water beat down on my back and eased my sore muscles, but my mind was still in that suite with Eddie. His warm skin, gentle touch, and love had wrapped around me like an embrace. It was the most alive I’d ever felt while simultaneously dying inside.

Closing my eyes, I envisioned Eddie’s hands running the soap over my body.

I’d never cried as hard as I did when I stepped out of the hotel room. We’d held one another for as long as possible, and even though Eddie didn’t bring it up again, I knew he would kill Christov or run with me if I wanted. It was tempting, but if it cost Eddie his life, then what did it matter? I would be dead either way. As long as he was still breathing, we had a chance to make it back to one another.

So, like Cinderella fleeing to her carriage before the stroke of twelve, I’d raced down to Frida and Lev on autopilot. Nothing registered as my mind swirled, and my heart broke a little more with each minute that passed. Not the drive or questions that I didn’t answer. Not reaching the woods or the long walk through the confusing passageways. Frida hugged me as I stepped through the door into my room. Once she was gone, I stood there staring at my cage and feeling like I’d been sucked into an abyss of darkness.

Eddie’s touch still lingered and I hadn’t wanted to lose the sensation, but the chill in my bones had finally pushed me to step into a hot shower.

A soft knock at the bathroom door jerked me out of my reverie. Blinking, I realized that I was staring at the tiled wall.

How long have I been in here?

I was tempted not to answer, but hiding wasn’t an option either.

“Yes?”

“Yuli, it’s me,” Frida said. “Your father has been up to your room twice looking for you.”

I wanted to yell that he could go to hell for all I cared.

“It’s nine-thirty. Are you sure you’re alright?”

My hands were wrinkled when I reached out to turn off the taps, showing just how long I’d been under the water.

“I’m fine. Thanks, Frida.”

Grabbing my towel, I wrapped it around my body and stepped into my bedroom to find Frida sitting on my bed.

“I pulled clothes out for you.”

“Thank you,” I said, glancing at the comfy jeans and sweater. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get my head right before seeing him. It’s a struggle.”

Frida stood up and pulled me into a hug. I would’ve cried if I had any tears left.

“Feel what you feel, Yuli. You were blindsided yesterday. There is no manual to tell you how to react,” Frida said, walking me back to the bed and we sat down, linking our fingers.