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When dinner time comes, Dina and I order sandwiches from a place I knew close to here, because they had no food stocked in the kitchen. We eat in the living room and watch a reality TV show. Then we break into the wine fridge and each pick out a bottle, chugging straight from it.

"You would love May", I let out a tipsy giggle.

"Have her come over this week. We can have a night like this again."

We spend the rest of the night watching TV, drinking wine, and telling each other stories. It's about midnight when I receive a text from Alexei.

Won't be back tonight, I'll see you tomorrow.

I throw the phone on the floor next to my couch, pull a blanket over me, and fall asleep.

~

It's not been a week in the apartment. Dina and I spend every waking minute together, and she stays with me. We went shopping yesterday with Irina, and while spending my time with them is amazing, I lay in bed every night waiting to see Alexei. I've stopped Dina from saying anything to him until today, but I'm now realizing I'm not overreacting.

Every Saturday when Irina doesn't have a party planned, she has everyone over for dinner, which of course includes me now.

After I shower, I put on a beautiful baby blue ankle length casual dress with little white flowers covering the skirt. I pair it with a pair of white heeled sandals.

Dina and I leave our respective rooms at the same time. "You'd think we've spent every minute together."

We leave the apartment, and before I know it, we're already heading up the long driveway.

Irina greets us at the door, placing small kisses on both of our cheeks. "Come on, Dears, you're the last to arrive".

The three of us make our way to the dining room to sit. I see Alexei already sitting near Volkov, but the last two seats for us are the exact opposite of him, the opposite side at the opposite end.

Irina notifies one of their employees to bring our dinner, and it comes promptly. A bowl of traditional Russian dumplings, what we call Pelmeni, with a sour cream sauce is placed in front of me. 

I eat in silence as the family talks business, of course in Russia. But it starts to get on the topic of what happened at the event, and then of course the topic turns to me. 

"You still have to keep her safe", Dina argues with Alexei after he mumbles something under his breath. "You are the one that kidnapped her."

"And then I got all of us into one big mess, now didn't I. She will stay in this family until the brother is dead, and then she can go back where she came from."

My heart breaks as I listen to his words, but I can make no reaction. But I'm thinking now might be a good time to do it. 

"Then why did you bring her here? You can't just throw someone out like this, especially after you messed with her head." Dina is doing her best to stick up for me, but I know it's no use against Alexei. She starts to get very heated about it, and she looks so close to just jumping over the table to choke him. "You told me, even before you brought her in that you loved her. Clearly something went wrong. Was it that night, when she had a flashback?"

"No".

"Then what, Alexei? Are you so selfish that she couldn't sleep with you by night two, you're just done?"

Alexei stands from the table, fists clenched, leaning over the table. Dina stands her ground and stands as well. I watch everyone around me like I'm trying to get some insight, but they all just stare between the pair of siblings. 

"Bringing her here was a mistake. But I cannot do anything-".

"Stop", I yell in Russian, pushing my chair back with so much force it almost falls back. "How fucking dare you?" 

I hear all of the other women at the table gasp, and every turns to look at me. 

"Aleksandra-"

"No", I yell at him. I move back my chair another inch or so and start walking around the table. There is so much fury running through my body, I finally completely understand the term 'seeing red'. "I had told May that I was hoping for your help, and somewhere in the universe, something listened and you did. I had to uproot my life for you to bring me here. And now you want to tell everyone here that it was a mistake."

Alexei stares at me as I rush up to him, my finger now on his chest, staring right back at him. "What was a mistake was trusting you. I know what Жизнь моя means, and you cannot just call someone that and then turn your back on them. That is cruel, Alexei Sokolov. You are a vicious, cruel excuse of a man."

Then, I turn and run out of the room. I go to the nearest bathroom, slam the door shut, and lock it. Turning to the sink, I turn on the faucet and splash my face with cold water. And, unfortunately, not even a moment to myself later, a huge bang on the door interrupts me. 

"Open the fucking door, Aleksandra."

I think about disobeying, however, I do still have the sanity to realize he could kill me in an instant with his bare hands. So, I go over, unlock the door, open it, and stand my ground. 

Alexei rushes in, slams the door with his foot, and pushes me against the mirror behind me. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you not tell me you spoke Russian?"

"You never asked", I use all the force in my body to push him off of me, and he steps back a few feet. "You are an inconsiderate... evil... cruel... excuse of a man." I shove my hands into his chest after every word. He stands there until I'm done, like he knows I'm right. Or he doesn't care. 

"Are you done?"

"No", I respond, just so he can't be right. "What is wrong with you?"

"Carson's real name is Sasha", he takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. "And he's my half brother."

I take a step back, my back hitting the mirror again, a horrified look on my face. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Last weekend, when we captured Emilio and he was in the basement, he told me his information to save his life... that only lasted another two days."

"So now that you know all of this information, and you shut me out?"

"You know, it was hard for me to find out too, that Dina and I have a half sibling who's working for our terrible father, and also a rapist." 

"You still could have come to me. Do you know how shitty for you to not speak to me again as soon as I freaked out on you? It felt like I did something wrong. Like me being broken pushed you away."

Something clicks in Alexei's mind. "You're not broken." Alexei walks slowly back towards me, and I feel his hands place themselves on my hips, pulling me to his chest. Then one hand comes up to my cheek, and I lean into him. My body and soul missed his touch. "You were wronged."

When I don't say anything else, Alexei leans down and lays his lips on mine. It's just one kiss, but it lasts for a moment. As his lips move away from mine, he lays a kiss on my forehead. 

He stares deep into my eyes for a second, and then a smile spreads across his face. "You speak Russian". This is the first time I've seen him genuinely laugh, which makes me start to giggle. 

"I've understood everything you have said since that first night I saw you."

"You're going to pay for that", Alexei smirks. He comes down to my level again and starts leaving his infamous sloppy kisses on my neck. I giggle as his facial hair tickles my cheek. I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him into me. 

We take a moment being in each other's presence again, leaving kisses on each other. I have mixed emotions in this moment about him, but the most prominent one is happiness. I hate him for what he said at the table, and I want to think he didn't mean it, but of course, there's no real way for me to tell. 

"Aleksandra", Alexei starts as he places his kisses. "Will go on that date with me?"