All eyes were on me. I had burst in and declared that I was the mastermind. Now, I had to confess my sins before so many strangers. What was I thinking? Oh, yes, I know, I wasn’t thinking. All I knew at the moment was that I had to prevent them from killing each other.
I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the ball of peanut butter stuck in my throat. I felt guilty, and my heart was still bleeding. Turning my gaze to the floor, I spoke softly. “I had not meant for things to get so completely out of hand. I am truly sorry.”
Glancing from Iosif to Akim, I continued. “I am sorry for all that I have done. I lied to my family and tricked Akim and all the employees involved in this. I did all of it to get what I wanted without considering others. To prove my worth.”
Wiping the single tear that ran down my cheek, I looked at Iosif. His intense stare felt like it was penetrating every inch of me, even down to the bone. For the first time in my life, I felt scared of him.
“Iosif,” I said. I knew my voice had dropped a couple of notes and was barely audible. But fear had gripped me, and it felt like it was strangling me. “I truly didn’t mean for things to go so wrong. I only wanted to prove I was also part of the family. That I could do something. That I was worth more than merely running errands.”
Looking back at Akim, I felt my heart sinking to my feet. My skin felt cold as sweat accumulated on my brow. “I’m so very sorry for hurting you. I am responsible for the affair we started and would understand if you want nothing more to do with me.”
As the words left my mouth, I glanced at his brothers and then back at mine. I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes. I was on the verge of exploding. But I knew I had to keep it in. They were angry, all of them, and knowing my brothers, someone had to be punished.
“Akim had nothing to do with any of this. He shouldn’t be punished for something he did without knowing all the facts.” I swallowed hard. “He didn’t know who I was. But I can’t keep quiet any longer. I am glad for everything we shared. I will not fight my feelings for him.”
I braced myself for my brother’s wrath and scolding. Especially Iosif’s. I pulled my shoulders up, lowering my head as I closed my eyes. This had to happen, I told myself. “There is nothing more I can say than sorry for everything,” I added, wishing the earth would swallow me.
The room was silent for a moment. Opening my eyes slowly, I wondered why Iosif wasn’t saying anything. Looking at him, my breath was caught in my throat. He was staring at me, his head slightly tilted. Something in him changed. He looked at me like he didn’t know who I was. This was even more disturbing than having him yell at me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Akim stepping up to my side. “No,” he spat. “I will not allow Zhenya to take all the blame by herself. What happened between us was as much my responsibility as hers. Let it now be known that I’ll be damned if anyone calls what we had a fling”
I looked at Akim in awe as he defended me. I had never seen anyone stand up to Iosif. “Look,” Akim continued. “Zhenya has had a big impact on the company. She has achieved so much. She handled most of the projects we did with exceptional grace. Plus, she was the lead on them. She possesses a quality that makes her uniquely qualified for this business.”
Akim looked at me and smiled. I felt my legs wobble and my heart skip. “She’s the opposite of weak or helpless. She has amazing marketing and management skills. She has a way with clients that none of you would ever understand.”
I could see the shock in Iosif’s eyes. No one has ever stood up to Iosif like Akim had, especially not on my behalf. The heaps of praise overwhelmed me. I bit my lower lip, holding back the waterfall of tears.
Akim wasn’t even going to allow my brothers to put me down. He was sharing the blame with me. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, and my heart swelled as I realized that this was love.
There was no more doubt. I loved this man. He was so different from any other I had ever met. Even my brothers couldn’t compare. Staring at him, I knew my sisters’ stories about the Dubow men couldn’t be true.
Iosif cleared his throat, pulled his shoulders back, and stood proud as he spoke. “Yes, but even so, there are proper ways of doing things.”
“No, no, no,” Akim huffed. He also pulled his shoulders back, puffing out his chest as he stepped in before me. “I understand there are certain ways we do things. But has she not proven her worth? In my eyes, she has done so over and over. I will not allow you or anyone to take her achievements from her.”
Iosif glanced at Avgust, who was a couple of feet behind him. I had never seen confusion on his face. But it was there now. It was dripping from him like honey from a comb. He was stunned into silence and appeared unsure how to reply.
I’ve never heard anyone ever calling him out like that. He was usually right, and people couldn’t do what Akim just did. The two men stared at each other. The atmosphere in the room was thick.
Aleksandr, Akim’s oldest brother, cleared his throat. Even though he came in late, I was confident he had heard everything. I watched as he stepped to Akim’s side.
“Iosif,” he said calmly. “Technically, this isn’t a romantic alliance since neither party arranged it. Neither you nor we planned any part of it. I mean, heck, we didn’t even know the full truth when things happened. Neither did they.”
Iosif looked at the two men at me. I could see frustration replacing anger in his eyes. Glancing at his hands, I noticed the tight fists at his side. Iosif wasn’t convinced. He still wanted to make someone pay for what had happened.
“Look, man,” Akim said in a calmer tone. “The thing is, things happened. It wasn’t planned like my brother said. It was spontaneous. Let’s talk about it.”
“Okay, you want to talk,” Iosif spat back. “Tell me then, what are your plans moving forward?” I could clearly hear the demand in his tone.
As I opened my mouth to try and defend Akim, Akim spat back at my brother. “I’ll marry her!”
A deadening silence filled the room. Iosif’s eyes were wide in surprise, and I could see even Akim’s brothers were dumbstruck. I had no words. My heart filled so quickly with joy that I had to grab my chest, hoping it wouldn’t explode.
Then I heard a small whispering in the back of my mind. “After everything you put him through, could this be true? Was he not only getting you back for what you did to him?”
Before the ideas could manifest themselves, Akim looked back at me. His smile was warm and gentle, melting any doubt I had. Yet, I couldn’t be sure if he was doing this as he felt he had to or because he wanted to. I knew I wanted to. Yet, I didn’t want him to feel obliged to do it because of my brothers.
“Now, just hang on a minute,” Avgust finally added his voice to the conversation. “I think the two of you should sit down and talk about this. Let’s not rush into things.”
I kept quiet as I watched Aleksandr turn to Akim. He squeezed Akim’s shoulder as he spoke. “I agree. The two of you should first talk it out.”
Aleksandr turned to Iosif as he continued. “Come on, let’s give them a minute or two so they can talk about what’s going on here. I don’t know about you, but I can see both of them are worried and shocked. Let’s give them space.”
Iosif nodded at Aleksandr. He looked like he had met a ghost. Avgust took his shoulder, turned him, and ushered him out gently. We stood like statues until everyone was out, and the door closed behind them.
Akim turned to me, smiling. His entire being appeared to be glowing, and not only his eyes. Stepping back, I felt the seat of the chair behind me and sat down. I didn’t know what to say or do as he started coming closer.
I was thrilled and scared shitless at the same time.
