Page 25 of Sweet Deception (Savage Vow #2)

ANNA

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The moment I stepped off the plane at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, The familiar scent of the Roman air, the distant hum of Italian voices, it should have felt like coming home. But all I felt was the weight of what I had to do.

A strange hollowness settled inside me. I had spent years in this country, twenty years of my life, but it no longer felt like home.

I wanted to believe my sister had not lied to me. That my parents weren’t the monsters Gleb and his family made them out to be. That I had been manipulated, not just by my husband but by both sides of this war.

But deep down, I knew better.

Maria’s arrogance in Moscow had made one thing painfully clear, she knew more than I did. If I had been kept in the dark all these years, it hadn’t been an accident. It had been intentional.

A flicker of movement caught my eye.

A man stood near the arrivals section, holding up a placard with my name.

As I walked closer, recognition struck me like a shock to the system.

“Stefano?”

He grinned, spreading his arms wide.

I hesitated for a second before stepping into his embrace. His cologne was the same, clean, sharp, familiar. For a brief moment, it felt like stepping into the past.

“What in the world are you doing here?” I asked, my voice colored with surprise.

He pulled back slightly, still holding onto my arms. “I work for your father now.”

I blinked. “Really?”

“That’s right.” He stepped aside and opened the door of the sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom.

I slid into the backseat, watching as he took the driver’s seat.

The last time I’d seen him was two years ago, on my final day of high school.

Stefano had been the golden boy, handsome, intelligent, effortlessly charismatic.

All the girls had been in love with him, including me.

But I had always been the quiet one, the observer, the girl who faded into the background.

Looking at him now, I felt nothing.

Or maybe I was just too tired to feel anything.

“You’ve grown up, Anna,” he said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

I offered a small smile. “So have you.”

“I thought you’d be in law school by now.”

I tilted my head. “I could say the same about you. You were supposed to be the one who escaped all this.”

His expression flickered, just for a second. “Life happens.”

Something about the way he said it made me pause, but before I could press, he turned up the radio. The opening chords of an old Italian song drifted through the speakers.

My favorite song.

I stiffened.

“You still listen to this?”

He smirked. “I remember more about you than you think, Anna.”

The warmth in his voice should have been comforting. Instead, it left a strange feeling in my chest, one I couldn’t quite name.

So I leaned back against the seat, staring out the window, letting the music drown out the thoughts racing through my head.

And then I thought of Gleb.

I had tried not to. I had tried to shut out his face, his voice, the memory of his hands gripping mine in the darkness. But it was impossible.

Even Zoya had told me to stay to fight for my marriage.

But how could I?

Gleb might not have taken his pain out on me, but I felt it in him. The weight of it. The quiet violence coiled beneath the surface. I couldn’t just stand by while his past came crashing down around him.

So I left.

I had written him a letter. I had laid out the plan. I hoped he understood.

But deep down, I knew Gleb never let go of something that was his.

If he thought I had betrayed him...

No.

I pushed the thought aside.

He would understand. He had to.

I hoped.

I had walked away from him. I had done it for him. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t breaking apart inside.

The closer we got to my childhood home, the harder it became to breathe. I clutched the seatbelt, my nails pressing into my palm.

The Rolls-Royce pulled into the familiar driveway of my childhood home.

Stefano stepped out first, opening the door for me.

As I emerged, the front doors swung open.

My mother stood on the porch. Tears streaked her face. Behind her, my two aunts watched with expressions of carefully measured grief.

“Anna,” my mother whispered, stepping forward. “I thought I would never see you again.”

She pulled me into an embrace.

I didn’t move.

The last time I had been in this house, my entire life had changed. They had first tried to take my leg from me, and when that didn’t work, they sent me to Moscow, knowing exactly what would happen to me there.

And now she was crying?

I let her hug me, but I felt nothing.

“You should go inside,” Stefano murmured.

I nodded, stepping past my mother and into the house.

“Your father is waiting for you,” she said, wiping at her eyes.

I didn’t answer.

Inside, my father was seated alone in the grand living room, a newspaper spread across his lap. A pair of reading glasses rested low on the bridge of his nose.

He didn’t even look up at me.

“Papa.”

Silence.

Then, carefully, he folded the newspaper and set it aside.

“You hurt me, Anna.”

I clenched my hands into fists. “You sent me away.”

My mother hurried to his side, placing a hand on his arm. “Please take it easy on her. She’s been through so much.”

My father exhaled, shaking his head as if in pain. Then, finally, he met my gaze.

“They killed Elisabetta.”

My breath hitched.

“They tortured her. Forced her to confess to things she never did. You think I poisoned you? To what end, Anna? What do I gain from that?”

His voice was smooth, persuasive, too persuasive.

“Those Russians were threatened by Elisabetta’s presence. That’s why they got rid of her.”

“You were sick, Anna. I spent years trying to find a cure for you. And this is how you repay me? By trusting them over your own family”

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

Was he lying?

My father leaned forward, voice softening. “And they didn’t kill you, because they needed you. They needed to twist you into their puppet.”

My mother touched my cheek, her eyes filled with carefully crafted sorrow.

“Do you really believe what those men say about your father?”

I lowered my head, playing the part of the confused, naive daughter.

Let them think I was weak. Let them believe I was uncertain.

Because I needed time.

“Can I see Gleb’s sister?”

A flicker of hesitation crossed my father’s face.

“Of course.”

Then my mother leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

His expression changed.

“But not now. Tomorrow.”

I forced myself to nod. To act obedient.

But my mind was already working.

Why wait?

What were they hiding?

I would find out.

And when I did, I would make them pay.

After freshening up, I turned on my phone and called Gleb.

Would he be too angry to answer? He had a temper, and after what I did, he might never want to see me again.

To my surprise, the call connected.

“Gleb.” My voice was cautious, unsure.

“You left me, Anna.” His voice was raw, unsteady.

“I didn’t. Didn’t you read the letter I left behind?”

A beat of silence. Then... “I did.”

“Gleb, I had to go. I can’t just stand by knowing I could save your sister. I will save her, okay?”

“You can’t.”

“I know you and everyone believes I’m weak and naive, but let me prove who I am.”

“You’ve already proven you’re still naive by going to Italy. Tatiana is my sister, not yours. Do you really think you care about her more than I do?”

“No. But I care about you.”

His breath hitched slightly, but his next words came sharp. “You made a very stupid move, Anna. You made my family believe we’re divorced when in reality, we never were. Now they’re insisting I marry your sister... in one week.”

A sharp pain lanced through my chest. “But you won’t, right?”

His silence stretched too long.

“Gleb, we are not truly divorced, and you can’t marry another woman.”

There was no way in hell I was letting that happen. Not with my sister.

“Gleb!” My voice rose, desperation creeping in.

“You know the dynamics of my family, and you know you made a stupid move.”

“Stop reminding me!” I snapped. “I came here for you, and you can’t marry someone else.”

“Is that blackmail?”

“Call it whatever you want, but you won’t marry her.”

Another long pause. His silence was driving me crazy. “Speak, for crying out loud.”

“...I can’t.” He said quietly.

“What do you mean you can’t?” I shot back.

“I mean I can’t promise something I’m still trying to stop.” he replied, his voice low and strained.

“Then stop it.”

“And start a war? With my own blood? If my grandmother turns against me completely, I lose everything. You don’t understand what’s at stake.”

“So...” My voice broke. “You’re considering it?”

Tears welled in my eyes, hot and uncontrollable.

“Anna, you shouldn’t have gone to Italy.”

“I fucking know, okay?” I yelled, my voice cracking.

A pained sigh. “Would you rather I tell Grandma the divorce was fake? She’d immediately inform your parents, and the outcome for you over there wouldn’t be good.”

My stomach twisted.

This was the end. Our fake divorce was about to become real.

“I went to the airport to fly to Italy and bring you back myself.”

“And?”

“One of my men knocked me out.” His voice is tight with controlled rage. “They thought they were protecting me.”

“Gleb, they were.”

“It wasn’t their decision to make.” A dark pause. “They will pay for it.”

“I’ll get Tatiana out. But you have to promise me you won’t marry my sister.”

“I already paid a team of experts from neighboring countries to infiltrate your father’s cartel, find my sister, and bring her back. You don’t have to do this.”

“I doubt they’ll succeed. Just give me five days, okay? I might not call you after this so they won’t suspect I’m still in contact with you.”

“So I won’t get to talk to you for five days, huh?”

His voice was softer. Almost... vulnerable.

Why was he talking like I actually mattered to him?

Did I?

“Yes. You won’t.”

“Don’t let any man touch you.”

I nearly rolled my eyes. “I won’t.”