Chapter 9 - The Choice
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Roman looked almost uncomfortable.
That was the first time I had seen him without his usual certainty.
"You love me?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Before I knew what to call it."
I shook my head.
"This is not the time."
"I know."
"Then why tell me now?"
"Because if we walk into that gallery, I don't know what happens next."
His voice softened.
"And I don't want you believing the marriage contract was the only reason I wanted you."
My heart ached.
"Roman..."
He touched my hand.
"Whatever happens, you are free."
We reached the gallery.
The building had been closed for years.
Inside, the lights were dim.
My mother was sitting in a chair.
She wasn't injured.
But Mrs. Volkov stood behind her.
"Welcome."
Roman stepped forward.
"Let her go."
Mrs. Volkov smiled.
"Always the dramatic one."
She looked at me.
"You have your father's stubbornness."
I stared at her.
"You destroyed my family."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Your family destroyed itself. I simply understood its weaknesses."
My mother closed her eyes.
Mrs. Volkov continued.
"Natalya wanted status. Your father wanted security. Your mother wanted social approval."
She looked at me.
"And you wanted nothing."
"That's why you underestimated me."
Her smile disappeared.
Roman stood beside me.
"Give me the evidence."
"You still think this is about money."
She laughed.
"It's about control."
She pointed toward a table.
A stack of documents lay there.
"I wanted Roman's company."
Roman said nothing.
"You were supposed to marry Natalya," she continued. "That would have placed her inside your personal life. She would have become my eyes."
Natalya stepped out of the shadows.
I hadn't seen her enter.
She looked at Mrs. Volkov.
"Not anymore."
Mrs. Volkov turned.
"You."
Natalya walked toward us.
"I spent my entire life competing with Paulina."
She looked at me.
"I thought being beautiful meant being valuable."
Her voice shook.
"But I was wrong."
She turned back.
"You used me."
Mrs. Volkov laughed.
"And now you want forgiveness?"
"No."
Natalya's eyes hardened.
"I want the truth."
Roman's security team entered the gallery.
Mrs. Volkov's expression changed.
She looked at Roman.
"You called them."
"Yes."
She tried to move toward the exit.
Two security officers blocked her.
My mother stood.
I rushed toward her.
She hugged me tightly.
"I'm sorry."
I cried against her shoulder.
"I should have protected you."
I whispered:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought ignorance would keep you safe."
She pulled back.
"But I was wrong."
The police arrived minutes later.
The evidence was transferred.
The recordings.
The financial documents.
The original letter.
The digital files.
Everything was finally in one place.
Mrs. Volkov was taken away for questioning.
My father arrived later.
He looked at me.
"I owe you an apology."
"You do."
He nodded.
"I spent years thinking protecting you meant keeping you outside."
"And now?"
"Now I know protection means trusting you with the truth."
I hugged him.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was a beginning.
Natalya came to me later.
"I don't expect you to forgive me."
I looked at her.
"I don't expect us to become best friends."
She smiled sadly.
"But maybe we can stop being enemies."
I nodded.
"Maybe."
The following weeks changed everything.
The investigation exposed years of financial manipulation.
Roman's company was cleared of wrongdoing.
My father stepped away from several business operations.
Natalya canceled the wedding plans.
And I returned to the museum.
But things between Roman and me were different.
He still had the contract.
I still had my copy.
One evening, he came to my apartment.
He placed it on my table.
"What's this?"
He tore it in half.
Then again.
Then again.
"I don't want a contract."
I stared at him.
"What do you want?"
"You."
My heart raced.
"That's not enough."
"I know."
He took my hand.
"I want your arguments. Your honesty. Your questions. Your stubbornness. Your books."
I laughed.
"My books?"
"Especially your books."
I looked at him.
"What if I say no?"
"I'll respect it."
"And if I say yes?"
His eyes softened.
"Then I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel invisible again."
I didn't answer immediately.
Instead, I kissed him.
It was my choice.
Not my family's.
Not Natalya's.
Not a contract.
Mine.
But just as I pulled away, my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
The call was from the museum director.
I answered.
"Paulina?"
"Yes?"
"We found something in the archive."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"A second letter."
"From Roman's former partner?"
"No."
The director hesitated.
"From your grandmother."
I looked at Roman.
"What does it say?"
The director's voice became quiet.
"It mentions your family."
May you like
Then she said:
"And it mentions a child nobody knew existed."
