I have to try to quell my rage as I pull Anya toward the waiting area. It’s going to take some adjusting to be a nobody in a new country.
In Zelenograd, I was respected and had power. It’s something I wish to rebuild when we settle in America.
Our tickets are already booked and we will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Boston.
It’s crazy to believe that somehow we escaped Russia and the clutches of a man who has more power than president Gorbachev, even if it is unofficial power.
“You should have warned me,” Anya says, frowning. “I haven’t written any vows.”
I shake my head. “You don’t need to write them, speak them from your heart, malishka.”
Her lips purse together and she gives me an adorable frown. “I like to be organized.”
I chuckle, kissing her lips quickly. “I apologize for doing something spontaneous and romantic.”
“I would hardly call this place romantic.”
She’s right, but none of that matters, because we’re together. “Perhaps not, but it is what you make it.”
Anya nods. “True.”
“Mr. Gurin?” A stick thin man wearing a suit approaches.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“And Anya Titov?” He glances at my soon to be wife.
She nods. “That’s me.”
He claps his hands. “Perfect, follow me. We are ready for you.”
I lace my fingers with hers and lead her after the man into a quaint little room with flowers. It’s not as bad as I expected from the waiting room outside.
“Mr. Gurin, you stand at the front, and Ms. Titov, you remain at the end of the aisle until the music plays,” he instructs.
I hate the idea of letting her hand go, but I do anyway, walking to the front and standing where he instructs.
There are seats for guests to watch, but obviously we don’t have any for good reason.
The wedding march begins to play and Anya moves down the aisle toward me, looking as beautiful as ever.
I know this isn’t what she would have imagined. No beautiful white dress or fancy bouquet, but all that matters is that we are here together, alive and free.
Once she gets to the end, the man starts the ceremony, but I hardly listen.
I’m too captivated by the beauty of the woman in front of me.
Before I kidnapped her, I didn’t realize my life was severely lacking in a happiness only she could bring me. It was lacking a purpose I never had before, even as pakhan to the Morozov Bratva.
“Mr. Gurin, if you would like to say your vows.”
I swallow hard. “I haven’t written anything, but I know what I want to say, printessa. You are the light of my life. It’s hard to believe that I lived before I met you, because everything has become so much brighter since you came into my life.All my life, so long as I have breath in my lungs and a beat in my heart, I will vow to protect you and cherish you. I love you more than I can ever put into words.”
Anya’s eyes fill with tears as a few leaks down her cheeks.
“Ms. Titov, you next,” the mans says.
She struggles to speak as tears flood down her face. “All my life, I’ve felt like a prisoner in my own home. You came along and rescued me from an existence that was hardly worth living. I will forever be grateful for that, but also the fact that you gave up everything for us makes you my true knight in shining armor. I found my soul mate. My true reason for living, and I never want to be without you. I love you so much it hurts. I will love you until the day I die.”