𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔫'𝔰 𝔇𝔬𝔩𝔩

Part 35

"There is one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings."

- Fyodor Dostoevsky

Kate woke with a gasp, too weak to sit up properly. She looked around to find herself back in her room once more, her clothes changed and her hair messily braided. She had been taken care of by the Russians yet again. She slowly retraced her steps to find what had happened right before she had passed out. Ah, yes, she had made herself sick with worry, then she fought with Fyodor only to run away and make herself sick all over again. She was disgraceful for having done this so many times already.

If she was in the bathroom, this must've meant that Fyodor or Ivan was waiting outside for her to exit. They had already grown into this nasty habit of hers, knowing it was unsafe to leave her to herself when in a state such as the one she was in. Ivan was downstairs though, she didn't hear him walk up the stairs so that meant that Fyodor was the one who waited for her. Even when he was displeased with her, he still looked out for her. She remembered her aunt telling her that marriage was simply choosing who you wanted to spend the rest of your life fighting with. Kate didn't entirely understand until now. Fyodor was the one person who, no matter if they were fighting or not, would always check on her to make sure she was still okay. If she argued with anyone else, they would have left her but he didn't. She loved him more than anything and she was upset with herself for forgetting this.

"Fyodor," She called out softly as she struggled to get up. Sitting up took such tremendous effort that she wanted to lie back down as soon as the action was completed. However, she knew she had to keep pushing forward.

Kate's limbs shook as she dragged herself to the edge of the bed. She would have achieved the same result if she had worked out for the entirety of the day before without any breaks. Yet, she knew that her mind was stronger than her body, it would will her to get up. She stood and her knees could barely hold her weight, suddenly having been made of Jell-O. Yet, she found the strength to move her legs one at a time, moving ever so slowly to the door.

"Kate, what are you doing?" Fyodor asked from the bathroom threshold. Right, the Jack and Jill bathroom that connected them.

"Fyodor!" She cried out, lunging towards him but failing to make the gap. She began to fall but Fyodor rushed forwards to catch her in his arms. He was able to catch her before she touched the floor.

"Come on, let's get you back in bed." He sighed as he helped her back to her now cold bed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She began to cry. She had caught him off guard once again.

"Sorry? For what?" He asked, scrunching his face up in confusion.

"I'm so sorry for everything. I was dishonest and never told you my original goals. Then I've fallen ill only to have you take care of me yet again. I'm so sorry, I told you I didn't love you but I do! I do, I promise!." She buried her face into his neck, holding onto him as tightly as she could muster.

"Come now, there's no need for such dramatics. You did what you were supposed to." He patted her head gently.

"I love you, I always will; now and forever." She looked into his eyes, pulling away from his embrace. His eyes widened in fear, something Kate had never seen him do before.

"You don't have to say it back, I know you don't like to, not when you actually mean it." She whispered, placing a hand on his cheek. A small smile broke onto his face as he leaned into her touch.

"I love you too, always." He spoke softly before continuing in his normal volume, "Now let's get you in bed, you're still sick after all." Kate nodded her head and let him help her into bed.

"Let me get you some soup and we'll see if that makes you feel better." He held his hand onto her forehead, feeling her fever. She nodded while smiling up at him.

"Kate... when you were sick and we were in America, I... your butler gave me the very last pill of your sickness medicine." He confessed. He didn't know why but he just couldn't keep this a secret from her any longer.

"Really?" She frowned slightly. "I thought we didn't have any more..."

"The one I have is the very last one to exist. If you want it, I can give it to you." He offered.

"No, keep it for now. I'm not that sick yet." She shook her head. Fyodor nodded before leaving her to herself once again.

The very last pill was given to Fyodor? She didn't think anyone from her family would have trusted him like that nor would they have expected her to have stayed with him for so long. They liked having the control over her, it seemed nearly impossible that they would have ever given up the final pill to Fyodor. She didn't question it too much, her brain was still foggy and didn't make connections that well.

Ivan was the one to bring the soup to her. She wasn't very surprised by this though, Fyodor was a busy man and she didn't ever think he would make her his first priority. In fact, she understood this and was okay with it. She was never anyone else's top priority before so why would that ever change? She knew very well that work was always supposed to be the first priority and anyone who didn't agree with this confused her. How was it that someone could invest their all in someone else and get the same returned? It seemed far too good to be true.

A/N : From here on out, chapters will vary in length and have the capability to be shorter than normal. I might even post two chapters if they are shorter but I haven't decided just yet what I am going to do, it all depends on how many chapters I have available to release. I thank you guys for sticking along thus far, you are all so amazing <3