Page 55 of Her Darkest Possession
"But mothers, like all people, are still human," I continue. "And humans come with their prejudices, their faults, and their own experiences that have shaped them into who they are. Humans will make mistakes."
Vassily considers this for a moment before giving a small nod. "I suppose that's true."
I lean forward. "I know it can't be easy for Valentina to see someone like me become Anatoly's wife. Not after the insult to her honor that came when she saw Stepan acknowledge Svetlana as his at Anatoly's urging, no less." I glance briefly at Anatoly, whose expression has gone carefully neutral. "It must've hurt more than anything Stepan did. To have her eldest son who made her a mother for the first time act in a way that felt like betrayal."
I take a deep breath, feeling the weight of both brothers' attention on me now. "So, I understand why Valentina might want to split Anatoly and me apart."
The room falls completely silent. Both brothers are watching me with rapt attention, their expressions a mixture of surprise and something I can't quite read. I've touched on something deeper than either expected me to understand: the complicated history that's shaped their family long before I entered the picture.
The words come out easily and naturally now for me as I keep talking.
"As much as I understand what Valentina wants, Anatoly is still right. Your mother is not the pakhan. Her powers to judge and act behind the scenes ended the moment Anatoly became the pakhan." I meet Vassily's eyes directly. "Do you understand that?"
Vassily nods slowly. "I do." His shoulders slump slightly, the weight of what he's done—what he's been part of—finally seeming to settle on him.
"I'm sorry," he says suddenly, the words bursting from him like they've been trapped inside. "I'm truly sorry, Indigo."
He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I guess I always had an idea that what I was doing against you at my mother's command was wrong." His voice grows quieter. "I got an inkling of that when I saw Tolya's reaction to the contents of that NDA. And to tell you the truth, when mother put me up to find the content, I treated it like a game."
Vassily glances at Anatoly, then back to me. "Maybe it was because I never bothered to see you as someone befitting my brother due to my mother's influence, but I didn't realize the depth of the hurt that you suffered." His voice cracks slightly. "And only after Tolya killed Grant Bennet with his bare hands did I truly understand what brother felt for you."
He shakes his head, regret etching across his features. "But by then, it was already too late." Vassily's eyes find mine, and for the first time, I see genuine remorse there. "Will you forgive me? Both of you?"
I sit there, stunned by his admission and apology. It's not at all what I expected when we called him in here. I thought he'd be defiant, self-righteous even. But this—this vulnerability and admission of wrongdoing—catches me completely off guard.
Anatoly gives me a long, knowing look, and I understand the meaning in his eyes.
The forgiveness that Vassily is really asking for won't come from him.
It comes from me.
I take a deep breath, studying Vassily's face, searching for any hint of deception. But all I see is genuine remorse in his eyes. The man standing before us is not the same person who dragged me down the hallway that day, who stood by while Valentina threatened my unborn child.
"Of course I forgive you, Vassily," I reply softly.
Anatoly stands, his chair scraping against the floor. He squares his shoulders and steps out from behind the desk. The transformation is immediate and noticeable. The gentle husband who holds me in his arms and tucks sweaty strands of hair behind my ears while my heart returns to normal is gone now.
In his place is the implacable and unyielding pakhan of the Baryshev Bratva.
"Kneel, Vassily Stepanovich."
Vassily obeys without hesitation, dropping to one knee before his brother. His head bows slightly, a gesture of submission I've never seen from him before.
Anatoly walks forward until he's standing directly in front of his kneeling brother. "Say the words of your oath."
Vassily's voice is clear and steady as he speaks the words: "I care for no one but the bratva, and I shall love none other than the bratva."
"Who is the pakhan of your bratva?" Anatoly asks.
"You," Vassily answers immediately.
"And whom does the pakhan protect through the bratva?"
"Us."
"Who else?" Anatoly presses.
Vassily's eyes flicker toward me briefly. "His wife. His children."
