Seventeen years ago, Semion took Andrew to Russia right after his parents' funeral. He didn't let him see off his friends or other family members. But thirteen year old Andrew couldn't care less.
Even during the funeral, he did not say a word. He just followed his grandfather as he had asked him to.
Initially, Andrew did not exactly understand what his mother was trying to tell him. Her words only started making sense after he started staying with his new so-called family.
After his parents death, he turned into an extreme introvert and isolated himself from the crowd. When he first met Owen, he tried to avoid him too but when they started talking little by little each day, he realised they had so much in common.
Just like him, even Owen and Elsa were forced to stay in the Volkov mansion. Andrew also learned that Owen wasn't a fan of his father, Javier and Semion just like him.
This mutual feeling of hatred and grudge became the starting point of their friendship which grew stronger and stronger each year until they became inseparable.
In a foreign land with strangers they barely knew, Owen, Andrew and little Elsa became each other's pillars of strength and support. They knew that they could count on each other no matter what happened.
A month after Andrew settled down in his new lifestyle, Semion started training his two grandsons under him. He wanted both of them to become his successor and follow his instruction.
When both Andrew and Owen did not object and obediently followed whatever Semion told them, he felt very satisfied. He had expected them to be rebellious and create trouble for him as the methods he had used to bring them under his roof were very cunning and sly. But nothing of that sort happened.
Semion was happy that the two young boys had accepted their fates and were slowly learning to embrace the future he was moulding for them.
But little did he know things were not gonna be that easy for him. Andrew and Owen were just waiting for the right opportunity to drag him down. And eight years later, they gave the old man what he deserved.
Since both of them were his successors, Semion trusted them the most, more than he trusted his son Javier.
Due to Semion's sly and cunning nature, their business partners and other dealers preferred Owen and Andrew over him. They were sick of the old man's old cheap ways of ripping them off.
When Semion left for a trip, Andrew and Owen took advantage of his weak relationship with all his clients and partners and managed to turn them against this. This included the large group of men who worked under him.
The men who had worked under Semion for years and refused to turn against him were taken care of by Owen. They made sure that by the time their grandpa came back to the country, he had nothing left in his side. But things weren't as easy as they thought it would be.
When Semion learnt about the abnormal activities that were happening back home, he cut his trip short and came back a month earlier than he was supposed to. This interfered with the plan Andrew and Owen were executing, the final step of which was to ambush the mansion Semion and Javier lived in.
But due to unexpected change in events, they had to shift the ambush to the very night Semion and Javier came back to the country as they didn't want to give them any time to prepare or dig deeper to find out what they both had been doing behind their backs.
Fortunately, everything went well and they finally managed to get what they had been eyeing for almost a decade.
The two brother's, Andrew and Owen, took over Semion's position, leaving him with nothing. They took away all his resources and assets to make sure he won't be able to continue his shaddy work. They started tracking his movements and never left him up unattended.
….
Andrew took a deep breath and sighed.
The journey to where he is now wasn't an easy one. The struggles he had been through were very disturbing both mentally and physically. There were times when he felt exhausted, both mentally and and physically.
But Owen's presence in his life made things much easier.
Just like Andrew, Owen had also been through a lot since a very young age. But he always had to stay strong or at least pretend to be strong for his little sister. He couldn't break down even at his lowest.
Andrew and Owen didn't wish to choose the path they were currently walking on but they had no other choice.
They were forced to become a hammer in order to prevent the stone from destroying their lives.
And now that they had already stepped into it, they couldn't walk out as that would make things even worse.
All they could was to continue the path and always remain in power to guarantee the safety of their loved ones.
Just then a pair of hands wrapped around his waist from behind.
"Aren't you cold?"
Without saying anything, Andrew turned around and hugged her tightly.
Whenever he held her in his arms, everything he had done or been through felt worth it.
If he hadn't chosen the path he was walking on today, maybe he would have never been able to reunite with Rachael again. He would have never got a chance to marry her and call her his wife.
His love for the woman in his arms was something he couldn't express with words.
If he had to go through everything all over again to be with her at the very end, he would willingly do it.
He knew he had dragged her into the mess he had been a part of for years but he would always protect her and keep her safe.
He wouldn't let anyone touch or harm her in any way.
….
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