Andrew did not answer her immediately. Instead, he took his time as he weighed the pros and cons of what would happen if he told her everything about him, his past and his family, without hiding anything.
A part of him wanted to tell her everything, every small detail but the other part of him was scared, scared that she would leave him after learning he wasn't the kind, ethical man she thought he was. He wasn't a gentleman.
Losing Rachsel was his worst nightmare but keeping her in the dark made him feel guilty every single minute.
When she saw the hesitation in his eyes, she pursed her lips. She knew there were things he wanted to tell her, she could feel it. But at the same time, he wasn't willing to share.
And even though she had promised herself that she would wait for him to share everything with her, she was slowly losing her patience.
The feeling of knowing that her husband, the man she loved, was keeping something away from her made her feel a little insecure everyday. Though the feeling was negligible, it still bothered her.
"Andrew—" She sighed. "I don't know what is holding you back but you know that transparency is important in a relationship. I am not forcing you to tell me anything, I just want you to know that my love for you will always remain the same no matter what."
"I don't care about your past." Rachael placed her hand on his arm. "I really dont—"
"What if I tell you that my past is also my present and will always be my future?" He gulped nervously as he dropped his question. He was scared but he knew it was time to tell her everything.
"Isn't your present and future also mine?" she questioned him back. "Every single thing about you is a part of me too and I will happily embrace it."
"This is not something you would want to embrace Rachael." He grabbed her hand. "I didn't want to, I had no other choice."
Rachael did not say anything, she waited for him to finish.
Andrew pulled her in his embrace and hugged her tightly as he started telling her the most traumatizing and heartbreaking incident of his life—His parents death.
"Unlike dad, mom did not belong to an ordinary family." Pausing for a while, he added, "She was the only daughter of the Volkov family."
Lisa Volkov, was not only the only daughter of the Volkov family but also her father's, Semion Volkov's, favourite child.
At that time, Semion and Helen had two kids, their eldest son Javier Volkov and their youngest daughter, Lisa Volkov.
The Volkov family had been involved in illegal business for more than ten decades. They were the most active and influential families in the mafia world whom many feared and preferred maintaining their distance from.
When Semion took over his father's position as the head of the family, he started training his kids. And since the very beginning, he wanted not his son but his daughter to take over his place.
Between the two siblings, Lisa was the most compatible one. She was fearless, witty and smart at the same time. Javier on the other hand was a spoiled brat who always got himself into scandals and different kinds of women.
Lisa was very well aware of her father's intention of making her the next heir of the Volkov family and she had happily accepted it. In fact, she had also started going through the intense training programme her father had arranged for her.
The goal of her life was very clear and simple but everything changed when she met Frederick Collins for the first time.
Lisa and Frederick had met each other at a wedding of a common friend. And surprisingly, they clicked immediately.
While he loved the strong and independent side of hers, she fell hard for his gentle and caring nature. He treated her with so much love, compassion and respect, something she had never seen in between her parents.
But no matter how desperately she wanted to be with him, Lisa was aware of the consequences.
Her family was very different from his. She knew her father would never accept their relationship. Semion wanted her to marry someone who could match their power and status, he wanted her to marry not for love but for benefits.
Lisa had always been obedient to whatever her father wanted her to do but for the first time, she wanted to do something for herself. She wanted to live an ordinary life and started a family with the man she loved.
This is when she decided to give up on her family and her father to start a new beginning with Frederick.
When she told Frederick about her family and what business they were in, she expected him to freak out and leave her. But to her surprise, he promised to take her away from the mess she had grown up in. He promised he would take care of her and never let anyone harm her. He even suggested they should elope. But she knew that was not the solution to their problems.
With her father's status and influence, it wouldn't be hard for him to hunt them down. She had to come up with a better plan if she wanted to keep Frederick and their relationship safe.
After analyzing her situation, she decided to take help from their enemies, the Petrovs.
The then head of the Petrov family, Brian Petrov, Samuel and Igor's father, shared a very close friendship with Lisa.
They knew each other since middle school and despite their family rivalry, they had secretly formed a very close friendship.
Lisa didn't wish to get Brian involved in her mess but she had no other choice, she was desperate. The only family that could stand side by side with the Volkovs were the Petrovs.
Brian Petrov was her only hope and he didn't disappoint her.
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