📆: Friday, October 9, 2026 | 🕰️: 05:42 PM | 🚗: Ilyina Estate — Front Gates
[Anika's Mood: Affectionate, Nervous, and Trying Very Hard Not to Show It ❤️😬]
The black Mercedes glides along the final stretch of private road as the late-afternoon sun sinks behind the trees, washing the autumn countryside in fading gold. Ahead, tall wrought-iron gates rise between pale stone pillars, opening silently before the car even reaches them.
Beyond them, my childhood home comes gradually into view.
Calling it a house would be dishonest.
The Ilyina estate sits beyond acres of manicured grounds: pale stone, dark slate roofs, tall windows catching the sunset, and enough perfectly trimmed landscaping to suggest someone has declared a personal war on untidy hedges. A fountain dominates the circular drive. Several expensive black vehicles are parked near a separate wing of the property.
And there are men.
Quite a few men.
Large men.
Men in dark suits with earpieces who are doing an absolutely catastrophic job of looking like ordinary household employees.
I sit beside 你 in an elegant fitted black dress beneath a tailored cream coat, sheer black stockings and black heels completing an outfit I changed three times before we left. Small diamond earrings catch the light whenever I turn my head, and my platinum hair falls in carefully styled waves over my shoulders.
My attention moves toward the window.
One guard near the gate speaks quietly into his sleeve.
Another watches the Mercedes pass.
I close my eyes for half a second.
"Before you say anything..."
I turn toward 你, and the cool expression I've been directing through the window disappears almost instantly. My eyes soften. I reach across the space between us and gently lace my fingers through his.
"...my father is protective."
My thumb strokes once across his knuckles.
"Very protective."
I glance outside again.
Three more men are standing near the front entrance.
For God's sake.
"But they're perfectly harmless."
I look back at 你.
There is a beat.
"Mostly."
The corner of my mouth twitches.
"Darling, stop looking at me like that."
The Mercedes rolls beneath the covered entrance and comes smoothly to a stop.
Before the driver can move, the front passenger door opens.
Viktor Sokolov steps out.
He is a massive, broad-shouldered man in a charcoal suit that somehow makes him look less like an employee and more like someone professionally assigned to stand behind a head of state. A pale scar cuts faintly through one eyebrow. His attention sweeps across the entrance, the grounds, the approaching staff, and finally the car.
Then he walks around to our side.
I immediately straighten.
"Oh, no."
Viktor opens the door.
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
Viktor steps back and clasps his hands formally behind him. His expression is grave enough for a state funeral.
"Miss Ilyina."
His eyes move toward 你.
He stares.
And stares.
And continues staring.
I slowly remove my sunglasses.
"Viktor."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
His attention shifts obediently to me.
"Yes, Miss Ilyina?"
"I specifically told you not to intimidate him."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
Viktor's brow tightens almost imperceptibly.
"I am not intimidating him."
I stare at him.
Viktor considers this.
Then, apparently remembering something, he deliberately relaxes his shoulders.
This somehow makes him look considerably more dangerous.
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
"Welcome to the Ilyina residence."
Another pause.
"Your luggage has already been accounted for."
My eyes close.
"Viktor."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
"...collected."
"Thank you."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
He gives a single solemn nod.
"That is what I meant."
I step out of the Mercedes, heels clicking against the stone drive, and give Viktor a look sharp enough to make one of the younger guards several yards away suddenly discover something fascinating in the opposite direction.
"Go away."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
"Yes, Miss Ilyina."
Viktor turns and walks toward the entrance.
Two security men immediately fall into step with him.
I watch them go.
Then I exhale slowly through my nose.
"Perfectly normal."
I turn back toward 你.
And just like that, the frost disappears again.
I reach toward him, offering my hand. For all the immaculate makeup, expensive clothes, and practiced composure, my fingers betray me with the smallest restless movement.
"My mother is going to adore you."
I hesitate.
"My father..."
My lips purse.
"...will eventually understand that he adores you."
Probably.
I glance toward the enormous front doors.
One curtain on the second floor moves.
I narrow my eyes.
"Mother."
Of course she's watching.
My attention returns to 你, and my expression softens into something far more vulnerable than anything I've shown since we left the city.
"I know this is... a lot."
My fingers remain extended toward his, but I don't take his hand for him.
"You don't have to impress anyone this weekend. Not Father. Not Mother. Certainly not Viktor."
I glance toward the entrance where Viktor has stopped walking for absolutely no discernible reason.
"Keep moving, Viktor."
Viktor Sokolov — Head of Security:
Without turning around, Viktor resumes walking.
I suppress a smile before looking back toward 你.
"Just be yourself."
My voice drops, warm and private.
"That's the man I fell in love with."
Then my gaze flicks toward the front doors.
My smile freezes.
The doors are opening.
"Oh."
My shoulders square instinctively.
"Here we go."
💭: "I've negotiated contracts worth millions without blinking. I've stared down men twice my size. So why does bringing the man I love home feel like I'm walking into my own execution? Please, Father. Just once in your life, behave like a normal human being. And Viktor's already ruined that possibility."
💡: "I want to get 你 inside, introduce him to Mother and Father, and survive the first ten minutes without anyone interrogating him, threatening him, mentioning Dmitri, discussing security protocols, or accidentally revealing what this family actually is. Ten minutes. Surely that's not too much to ask."
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