"How can you be so calm when things are slipping off your hands?" Akim frowned. He had been feeling very anxious since the day Semion was kicked out by Andrew and Owen.
But apart from everything else, Semion's calmness scared him even more. Even after losing everything he had worked so hard for, he did not seem to mind. Instead, he always looked very happy and calm.
"What is there to worry about?" Semion smiled. "Isn't this how it works?"
When Akim frowned, he explained, "I took everything from my father and now, my grandson's have done the same. What is wrong with that?"
Keeping quiet for a while, Akim inquired, "So you are not planning to do anything about it? Are you gonna stay like this for the rest of your life? Will you let those two kids control your life forever?"
Andrew and Owen had been monitoring Semion's each and every move very closely even though they weren't around. Even after taking away everything from him, they made sure not to leave the old man unattended.
"It's fun isn't it?" Semion threw his hand back and laughed. "I controlled their life and now they are doing the same. Maybe this is how Karma works."
"You have seriously lost your mind—" Akim scoffed.
"And you know what's more funny?" Semion smirked and looked at his friend. "It's funny how they think they have won."
"I don't wanna take the joyous feeling away from them so let them enjoy as long as they can," he added.
Keeping quiet for a while, Semion remarked, "You know Akim, man is a vulnerable creature but you know what makes him even more vulnerable?"
"Love," he answered his own question. "Love brings out the worst hidden fear within you."
"What are you trying to say?" Akim curiously inquired.
"You know who is in love now?" Semion chuckled. "Our Andrew."
"Her name is Rachael," he added. "She is very beautiful and when she stands with our Andrew, she really matches him. But—"
"But what?"
"Her family background is very different from ours," Semion sighed and helplessly shook his head. "To be honest, it's quite sad that my capable grandson married someone so insignificant."
"I didn't expect that lad to get married so early," Akim remarked. "Wasn't that Alina girl all ready to marry him?"
When Semion nodded, he sighed, "Well, that's a really big bummer. Both of them would have made a really great pair."
Alina Smirnoff was the beloved daughter of the Smirnoff family.
The Smirnoff's were considered as one the most influential families and their status was almost at par with the Volkov's. In fact, the two families shared a very good and decent relationship with each other.
The old men of the Volkov and Smirnoff family were close friends. This relationship had brought the two families very close.
In order to bring the two families close, the elders had arranged a marriage between Lisa Volkov, Andrew's mother and the eldest son of the Smirnoff family, James. But the arrangement had to be cancelled when Lisa eloped with Federick Collins, Andrew's father. And James married someone else.
Since neither Lisa nor James were interested in the marriage, the elders decided not to take the incident to heart and continue their relationship without any kind of resentment.
Years later, the elders tried to arrange a marriage between Alina, the only daughter of the Smirnoff family and Andrew. But this was also called off when Andrew clearly stated that he wasn't interested.
But this time, things accelerated a little higher as Alina refused to give up. She claimed that she was in love with Andrew and would do anything to have him. When nothing worked, she even tried to kill herself.
Andrew on the other hand never reacted to any of the tricks she tried to play on him. He always ignored her thinking that she would eventually get tired and stop. But little did he know that his cold and aloof behavior is what Alina found charming and attractive.
The more he ignored her, the determination in her heart to win him kept getting stronger.
Semion did not say anything. A marriage between Andrew and Alina would have doubled the power the Volkov's and Smirnoff's possessed but he knew it would never happen since the very beginning. Andrew would never let it happen.
Since the day he brought Andrew home, he knew that even though he had forced the boy to follow him, he would never accept the Volkov family with all his heart.
Even though he had forced 'Volkov' in Andrew's name, Semion was aware that he had never acknowledged or accepted the title till date. And now since he had already moved out of the country, he never will.
But did he really blame Andrew for it? No.
After what he had done, Andrew and Owen's unfound hatred for him made complete sense.
He had done things which he wasn't happy or pleased about but did he regret doing them? No he didn't. Not even a little bit.
And if given a chance, he would do the exact same thing again.
...
[Elisberg City]
[Watson Mansion, Rachael's Room]
"Grandma looked a little cheerful today, didn't she?"
Andrew nodded. "I was about to mention that. It was nice to see her smile again." When he had a conversation with the doctor about grandma Collins' rapidly deteriorating condition, he felt quite down and helpless. But when he saw her interacting with Rachael with a bright smile on her face, he felt a little relieved.
It had been days since he had seen her interact with others in such a cheerful way.
When she noticed his gloomy expression, she quickly approached him.
"Hey—" Rachael wrapped her arms around his waist. "Everything is gonna be okay."
"Yeah I know," he sighed. "It's just—"
When he hesitated, she placed her hand on his cheek. "It's okay, you'll feel better if you share what you are feeling. It will make you feel lighter."
"I already lost my parents and now grandma—" He paused for a while. "I just feel I end up losing everyone who is close to me. Sometimes I feel like it's me—"
"Don't say that—" Rachael frowned. "Whatever happened is not your fault."
"There are things which we can't control Andrew and death is one of them," she added. "I know losing your parents must have been very hard for you. I can only imagine the pain you have been through but that doesn't mean it was your fault. Stop being so hard on yourself."
Andrew did not say anything, he just pulled her in his embrace and hugged her tightly.
"Rach, you'll never leave me, right?"
His question broke her heart. There was fear in his voice, the fear of losing her.
"Never, I'll never leave you." She hugged him back. "You are stuck with me for the rest of your life."
....
[Next Day]
"You opened it now?" Elsa chuckled. "I was wondering why you didn't say anything about the gift I gave you."
Rachael sighed and helplessly shook her head. "Why would you give me lingerie?"
"Because they are expensive as f*uck," Tina remarked. "If I was you, I would happily accept them with open arms."
"I know right? I don't understand why you are complaining?" Elsa pouted her lips and complained. "I just saved you a bunch of time you would be wasting right now to find a sexy outfit to seduce your husband on your first mini-honeymoon."
""You should seriously thank Elsa," Tina stated as she looked at Rachael. "And I will have to see the outfit to make sure it's sexy enough."
"Oh—" Elsa clasped her hands together. "You should wear it."
"W-What?" Rachael widened her eyes in shock. "I am not gonna do that."
"Oh come on, it's not like Tina and I will jump on you.."
"No and even if I agree, I don't have it," she remarked.
"What?" Elsa frowned. "You didn't bring it?" When Rachael shook her head, she snapped, "What the hell are you doing not bringing it to London?"
Before she could say anything, Tina sapped, "Seriously Rach, are you out of your mind? That lingerie is what you exactly need right now to spice things up between you and Andrew."
Rachael opened her mouth to say something she decided not to say anything. What Elsa and Tina said did make sense but she still wasn't sure if approaching Andrew wearing such a revealing outfit was the best decision.
She knew how much he had been restraining himself for the past few weeks. In fact, though they hadn't openly talked about it, both of them were looking forward to this vacation where they could finally get a chance to consummate their marriage.
After controlling his desires for so many days, wouldn't he wobble her whole if he saw her in such a seductive outfit?
"Alright, there is no point discussing this," Elsa stated. "You tell me where you have kept it and I'll rush over to your place and get it for you."
….
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