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“I didn’t tell him where you were when you married Matteo.

Trust me, Julia. I’m not doing this to deceive you.

I’m doing this because I want to help. We have to stand together for Viktor to understand.

We have to stop lying to him. He has to see that he won’t lose you just because you fell in love with Matteo.

And I’m the only other person who can help. ”

I believe Inessa. She saved my life once. We were almost kidnapped by this crazy lady when Inessa gave herself up so I could run free. She’s not going to screw me over here.

“Ok. Let’s meet at the same park. But you can’t come to the safehouse. I’m sorry. I have to draw a line somewhere.”

“I understand. We can meet tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning,” I agree and hang up. I sneak back into the room and place Matteo’s phone right back where it was.

Now I just have to find a way to see Inessa tomorrow without Matteo stopping me. I had to lie to my brother to get what I wanted in life.

And now I’m going to have to lie to my own husband to get the same.

When Matteo is in the shower, I leave him a note that I’m going for a walk in the park and I’ll be back soon. I couldn’t not tell him where I’m going. In case anything goes wrong, he needs to know.

I arrive at the park and wait for Inessa to do the same.

There’s a coolness to the air this early in the morning.

Winter will start to come. I’m dressed in another of Matteo’s shirts and boxers since I don’t have any clothes of my own.

Matteo promised to buy me some today. I feel the sting of guilt hit me.

He’s just trying to take care of me and I’m lying to him.

I finally see Inessa and jump to my feet. She hurries to my side.

“I’m not sure how much time I have,” she says. “Viktor will notice me missing soon enough. Are you ok?”

“My arm is fine. Sore but fine.”

“Thank god.” She pulls me into a deep hug and I almost break down and cry. It feels so good to have someone other than Matteo in my corner. I’m not on a tiny island by myself. I have people who care about me. Who want to make this right.

“So, how are we going to do this?” I ask when we pull apart.

“I thought we could call Viktor. Facetime him. Let him see that we’re together. Let him talk to you. You need to talk to him and this is your best chance.”

“Ok.” My heart pounds at the idea of finally talking to my brother since Matteo took me away. We briefly talked at the hospital but it wasn’t a real conversation. It was a few quick words in the heat of a war.

Before my finger can touch Viktor’s number, a loud, “Hey!” makes me jump and I look up. Matteo is walking right towards us.

“Did you tell him where we are?” Inessa asks.

“Yes,” I admit. “I had to let him know in case anything else went wrong.”

Matteo approaches us and glares down at Inessa. “I told you not to come here. Viktor or Connor could have followed you.”

“I wasn’t followed this time. I made sure. I just wanted to give Julia the opportunity to talk to Viktor. She needs to.”

“You need to go home now, Inessa. Before your husband shows up and makes everything worse.”

“Please,” I beg. “I want to talk to Viktor. I need to. This might be my only way. I can’t go to Viktor in person. He could lock me up. But if I could just call him with Inessa here, he’ll see that I’m ok.”

“No. I’m sorry, Julia. It’s too big a risk. We need to get out of this park now. Connor knows about it. He could attack any moment. Come on.” Matteo tugs me away from Inessa but I rip my arm free.

“Are you going to be just like my brother?”

He frowns. “What?”

“Viktor locked me up for most of my life. Not literally but he kept me sheltered because he wanted to protect me. Are you going to do the same? Keep me in our little house forever because it’s safer?”

“Yes.”

“Matteo, we can’t run from this forever and you know it. I have to talk to Viktor. I have to get him to see sense.”

“Not when Connor is out there, hunting us down. Not when Viktor will shoot me the second he gets. I am getting you to safety, Julia, and I will not feel bad for it. I almost lost you just after we got married. I’m not risking anything like that again.”

“Just let her talk to Viktor,” Inessa says.

“No. It’s too dangerous. He could trace your phone if he hasn’t already. Come on, Julia. Please. For your safety.”

“Don’t lock me up too,” I tell him and push Viktor’s number at the same time. He grabs the phone from me and smashes it to the ground. Both Inessa and I gasp.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to control you like this but I have to keep you safe. Bringing Viktor here will only bring Connor here and someone will get hurt. You know this. It’s why you always warned me about your brother’s plans. I am doing this for us, Julia.”

“But keeping me away from Viktor is only going to make things worse.”

“No. If he can’t find us, he can’t break us apart. Let’s go.” He holds out my hand for me to take and just a few hours ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But now…

“Go with him,” Inessa says. “He is right. Connor or Viktor could be on their way here. I’ll try to talk to Viktor again. I’ll make him see reason, Julia. And someday, he’ll understand. I promise you that.”

It’s all I can hope for right now. So I take Matteo’s hand and let him pull me away from Inessa and the park and my one chance at telling Viktor how I feel.

“What were you thinking?” Matteo demands when we’re back in the house. “You could have been hurt!”

“I’m not sorry. I need to talk to Viktor and you know I’m right. I need to end this war. I need to make him see reason.”

“I am trying to protect you! I’ve been trying this whole time.”

“My brother is not a danger to me,” I shout back.

“But he is to me and with him comes Connor, who is a danger to you. Don’t be na?ve, Julia. Please. You’re smarter than this.”

“I may be but I do know that I traded one prison for another.”

He flinches like I hit him. “I didn’t think of this home as a prison.”

“It’s not,” I sigh. “Not with you. But if I’m never allowed to leave, then yes, it will start to feel like a prison.

I don’t want to live in fear anymore. Viktor made me do that my entire life because of our parents’ deaths.

He sheltered me from the world because he couldn’t bear anything happening to me. Don’t do the same.”

“But I can’t bear anything happening to you. Not after you got shot.”

“I know. But Matteo, I might have to put myself at risk for people to understand what we have. And you’re going to have to let me.”

“No. I’m going out to find Connor right now. At least if he’s dead, I can sleep better at night. You stay here. Please. I am begging you.”

I can see how worried he is for me so I decide to give him what he wants. For now. “I’ll stay. But be safe. I can’t lose you either.”

“And I bought you some clothes,” he says, nodding to a bag on the table. “I ordered it and it was delivered while you were gone.”

He was thinking of me while I was lying to him. Guilt cannot comprehend how I feel.

He leaves to kill Connor without giving me a kiss goodbye. For the first time since Matteo and I have been together, I truly hurt him.

None of this feels good.

Inessa

When I walk through the front door, I’m confronted by Viktor.

“Where were you?”

I was hoping he would be so consumed by everything else that’s been going on that he wouldn’t notice me gone for a few hours.

“I was meeting with…” The urge to lie is on the tip of my tongue but no longer. I’m done deceiving my husband. He needs to know the truth. “I was meeting with Julia.”

Viktor looks like all the air was sucked right out of him. “With… Julia.”

“Yes.”

“Great. So are you both lying to me now? Both of you betraying me?”

“Ok, that’s enough,” I snap. He looks startled.

Good. As he should be. “I have not betrayed you, Viktor. And neither has Julia. She fell in love and that’s it.

I went to her in the hopes that we could call you together and you would get to talk to her.

You would see that she’s happy with Matteo.

You would see that you don’t have to hold on so tightly to her anymore.

And if you just opened your eyes, you would see that this is an opportunity to make peace.

Matteo and Julia are married now. Enemies and yet they fell in love.

You can use their marriage to your advantage.

A peace deal. Dante and Erik don’t come after you if you don’t come after them and Matteo and Julia can just be happy together.

Oh, and you would have your sister back in your life.

It’s a win-win for everyone. Why can’t you see that? ”

“Because my sister lied to me. She betrayed me when she ran off with Matteo. I have spent my entire life caring for her and this is how she repays me?”

“Because it’s not all about you!” I shout. My voice echoes through the cavernous foyer. Our housekeeper, Mrs. Green, pokes her head around the corner to check on us but she must recognize that we’re in the middle of a fight and doesn’t intercede.

“What are you saying?” he growls.

“I am saying that Julia falling in love with Matteo was not a slight against you. It just happened. It’s how she feels. It was not a deliberate betrayal to you and if you could just talk to her, you would see that.”

Slowly, he nods, though his expression is not open. It’s completely closed off. “You met up with her, you said?”

“…yes.”

“So you can meet up with her again.”

“Viktor, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, meet up with her and I will follow.”

I shrug. “And then what? What happens after that?”

“Then I will make Julia see the error of her ways. That she cannot love a man like Matteo.”

“I’m not going to bring her to you just so you can bring her back here and lock her back up all over again.”

“You will, Inessa. Because we are a team. We made those vows together. You will help me get my sister back.”

“I am trying to but not in the way you want. I love you, Viktor. I love you so much it hurts. But I will not help you with this.”

“You will. Because Connor is out there right now looking for Julia and I’m not sure if I can trust him not to hurt her. If you care about her safety, you will help me get her back. You said you wanted me to talk to her. This is the way.”

“This is not the way.”

“It’s my way!” he shouts. I don’t even flinch. He doesn’t scare me.

“You are going to tear yourself apart acting like this. So fine. I will help you get Julia back. And maybe then you can see just how wrong you’ve been about all of this.”

“I am not wrong. Julia is in the wrong.”

“It’s sad you think falling in love is wrong.” I leave Viktor standing in the foyer alone because while I do love him, I can’t stand to look at him right now.