Page 46 of Embrace of the Russian Tiger

For a moment, everything seemed to still, the world outside fading into the background as we stood there, connected in a way that felt unbreakable. I leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, and she closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath.

The moment lingered, but soon the weight of the world came crashing back down. There were still decisions to be made, responsibilities to face. She had an empire now, and with it came danger, threats, and challenges that would test us both.

Weeks passed, and we worked together. I guided her through the intricacies of running a criminal empire—teaching her how to spot the power plays, how to navigate the ruthless world she was now a part of. She learned quickly, faster than I expected, and before long, she was making decisions on her own, decisions that made me proud.

But it wasn’t just business. Something deeper grew between us, something neither of us could deny anymore. The walls I had built around myself slowly crumbled, piece by piece, and for the first time, I let someone in.

And then, one night, everything changed again.

Anna came to me, her eyes bright with something I hadn’t seen in a long time—a kind of excitement that made my heart skip a beat.

"I want to show you something," she said, her voice soft but filled with determination. "Come with me."

I followed her, curiosity gnawing at me as we drove in silence through the city. I didn’t ask where we were going, trusting her entirely. And when we pulled up to the building, my breath caught in my throat.

The building was unmarked, a nondescript structure tucked away in a quiet part of the city. There was no sign, no indication of what it housed.

Anna parked the car and turned to me, her expression soft but resolute. "This is a shelter, Maxim. I called itKatya’s Shelter," she said quietly, her voice laced with emotion.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, I couldn’t move. I stared at the building in front of us, the weight of what she had just said settling over me like a heavy blanket.

"Katya’s Shelter," I repeated, my throat tight.

"This is what I’ve been working on," she continued, her eyes searching mine for a reaction. "It’s a shelter for women who’ve been abused, who have nowhere else to go. I named it after your sister... in her memory."

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The world around me seemed to blur, and all I could focus on was the sound of her voice, the soft, steady way she said my sister’s name. Katya.

And now, standing here, hearing Anna say it with such reverence, with such love... it broke me.

"Anna..." I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "I... I don’t know what to say."

"You don’t have to say anything," she replied, reaching out to take my hand in hers. "I just wanted to do something that mattered. Something in her memory. Something good."

As I stood there, holding Anna tightly in my arms, the overwhelming emotions threatened to swallow me whole. I had never allowed myself to feel like this—to be vulnerable, to let someone in. My whole life had been built around walls, around control, around power. But in this moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was the woman in my arms, the shelter she had built in my sister’s name, and the way she had touched a part of me that I thought had long died with Katya.

I pulled back slightly, just enough to look into her eyes. Her face was soft, a warmth radiating from her that I couldn’t describe. Her gaze met mine, filled with something that I hadn’t seen in anyone in a long time—understanding. She wasn’t just looking at me, she was seeing me. Seeing the man behind the walls, behind the coldness, behind the mask.

“How?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “How did you do this?”

Anna smiled gently, her hand coming up to rest against my cheek. Her touch was warm, grounding, and it sent a shiverthrough me that I couldn’t hide. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” she admitted, her thumb brushing lightly against my skin. “After everything you told me about Katya, I knew I wanted to do something... something that would honor her memory. She deserves that.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight with emotion. I didn’t know what to say. I had spent so many years pushing the memory of Katya away, trying to bury the pain of losing her. And now, here was Anna, bringing her back to me in the most beautiful, selfless way possible.

“Anna,” I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. “I... I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you.”

Her eyes softened, and she shook her head. “You deserve so much more than you think, Maxim,” she said softly. “You’ve been carrying this pain on your own for so long, and I wanted to help you let go of some of it. I wanted to give you something good, something that would remind you that you’re not alone anymore.”

Her words hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over me with a force I hadn’t expected. I hadn’t realized just how much I had been carrying until that moment. The guilt, the rage, the need for vengeance—it had all consumed me, defined me. But now, standing here with her, I felt something else. I felt... hope.

I took her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheeks as I stared into her eyes, searching for the right words. I had never been good at this—at expressing what I felt, at showing vulnerability. But with Anna, it felt different. It felt right.

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to make up for what happened to Katya,” I began, my voice low, filled with emotion. “I thought that if I avenged her, if I took down the people responsible, it would somehow make the pain go away. But it never did. No matter what I did, it never brought her back.”

Anna’s gaze didn’t waver. She just listened, her eyes never leaving mine, as if she knew this was something I had never said out loud before.

“I became the man I am today because of her,” I continued, my voice rough with the weight of years of bottled-up grief. “I built my empire on vengeance, on control, because I thought it was the only way to survive. But you... Anna, you’ve shown me that there’s more to life than that. You’ve given me something I never thought I could have.”

She blinked, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “What’s that?” she asked softly.

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