Page 43 of Embrace of the Russian Tiger

"You’re the heir, Anna," he said, his voice measured. "This was always about you."

My breath caught in my throat, a knot of emotion tightening in my chest. I wanted to scream at him, to yell at him for keeping this from me, for letting me walk around in the dark while he knew the truth all along. But I couldn’t. Not yet. My emotions were a tangled mess, and I needed to untangle them before I could even begin to form a coherent thought.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" I finally managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why didn’t you say anything?"

Maxim’s gaze softened for a brief moment, and he took a step closer to me, but there was still that unshakable coldness beneath the surface. "It wasn’t the right time. And I couldn’t risk anyone else knowing."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "You couldn’t risk it? You thought it was better to keep me in the dark, letting me be used as bait in this twisted game?"

His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something raw in his eyes, something he quickly buried. "It wasn’t about keeping you in the dark. It was about keeping you safe."

"Safe?" I laughed bitterly. "You call this safe? I’ve been kidnapped, threatened, nearly killed because of all this, Maxim!"

His eyes darkened, and in two swift steps, he was in front of me, towering over me, his presence like a storm about to break. "You think I don’t know that? You think I didn’t want to protect you? But if I had told you, if anyone else found out?—"

I cut him off, my voice rising. "So instead, you chose to control everything, including me!"

Maxim’s expression hardened, his face a mask of icy control. He said nothing for a long moment, just stared at me, his breathing heavy, the tension between us thick enough to suffocate.

And then, just when I thought he might snap back with something cold and calculated, his expression shifted. For a brief moment, the mask slipped, and I saw the man underneath—the one who had lost everything, the one who had been hurt by the same monster who had hurt me.

"I did it to protect you," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I couldn’t lose you, Anna. Not like I lost Katya."

I swallowed hard, my heart racing as his words sank in. He wasn’t just protecting me because of the will or the assets. This wasn’t just about power or control. It was personal.

And suddenly, I wasn’t sure what to feel anymore.

I was angry—furious, even—but I was also conflicted. Because as much as I hated the way Maxim had kept me in thedark, as much as I wanted to leave, to get as far away from this as possible... I couldn’t.

Something in me wouldn’t let go.

I stared up at him, my chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, my mind spinning with the weight of everything I had just learned. I had all this power now, all this responsibility, and I didn’t even know what to do with it. I wasn’t equipped for this. I wasn’t ready.

And Maxim knew that.

"You can leave," he said, his voice soft but firm. "But if you walk away, you won’t know what to do with all of this—the assets, the power. Rossi’s empire is a monster, Anna. And it will swallow you whole if you’re not careful."

I bit my lip, trying to push back the rising tide of frustration and fear. "So, what? You expect me to just... stay? To rely on you for everything?"

Maxim’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite place, and he reached out, gently taking my arm. "I’m not offering you control, Anna. I’m offering to help you. But it’s your choice."

I stood there, torn between the instinct to run and the undeniable pull that kept me rooted to the spot. I hated him for keeping the truth from me, for dragging me into this dangerous world. But at the same time... I needed him.

Before I could respond, Maxim’s hand tightened around my arm, and in one swift motion, he pulled me closer. His breath was hot against my neck, his voice low and rough. "Let me take you home."

The words sent a shiver down my spine, my body responding before my mind could catch up. Home. Did I even know what that meant anymore? Could I trust him? Could I trust myself?

My heart pounded in my chest as I stared up at him, the tension between us building until it was almost unbearable.

"Fine," I whispered, my voice shaky. "Take me home."

Maxim’s grip on my arm loosened, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes—relief, maybe. Or was it something more? But before I could read too much into it, he turned, leading me out of the warehouse and into the night.

As we climbed into the car, the silence between us was deafening, but it wasn’t empty. It was full of all the things left unsaid, all the emotions swirling between us—anger, fear, desire.

And I knew that when we got home, everything would change.

Again.

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