I'm sitting on the curb outside my house at 3 am almost falling asleep, I've got my two suit cases with me and I'm aware I'm in fuzzy pyjamas but considering I'm probably going to die I can't mind.
I glance back at my house and see my parents waving in the window.
I wave back and turn at the sound of a car engine.
I stand up and knock on the window.
"Elle Winters?" I ask him politely.
He nods and before I get in the back I ask.
"Is Ivan in the backseat or back area?"
I think he might suffocate me.
"Да, мэм, и он действительно зол на вас, так что я готов смириться с этим." He tells me.
"I don't speak Russian" I tell him.
He rolls his eyes. I huff as I walk to the back.
Why would I speak Russian? It's not a language I just know. Or ever thought to learn.
I open the door and see Ivan there, glass of champagne in his hand.
"Oh" I say.
"Oh" he repeats.
"Well I'm glad your alive" I call cheerfully sitting as far away from him as I can get.
He doesn't speak to me. Just stares.
"If you try and kill me or hurt me again, I will shoot your family dead malysh"
I blink at him. I cant really be mad.
"Why not me?"
"Cause your my wife now"
"Doesn't mean you can't kill me"
"No but I also don't want too"
"Whys that"
"When I figure it out I'll let you know"
I nod at him and look out at the window as we drive.
"Did your family enjoy the wedding?"
"Yes they liked it a lot, why did none of yours come?" I ask him.
He squints out the window and goes silent for a couple seconds.
"My father is dead so is my mother"
"I can't imagine"
"Don't give me your pity"
"I am not. I'm simple understanding the sadness of the situation"
He looks at me again tilting his head.
"Are you tired?"
I nod and he laughs quietly.
"I can tell your dressed as someone who just woke up"
"Well I did wakeup 10 minutes before you picked me up"
He doesn't say anything to this and we sit the rest of the journey in silence.
I don't like moments like this. When I cant decide if I do hate him or if I convince myself I can tolerate him.
We climb out the car and there's a plan waiting outside. Private jet.
I climb inside quickly and sit near the back at a window seat.
Moments later Ivan sits across from me.
I roll my eyes and he grins.
I tuck my feet up and lean my head on the little window and quickly fall asleep.
When I wake I feel very disoriented and I also find a blanket has been wrapped around me as well and a pillow placed between my head and the window I was leaning on.
I look out the window and see fields of yellow and green. Some big houses and so many with little pools inside them.
Ivan is on his phone but seeing me wake he puts it down.
"Sleep well?"
I nod in response still a little confused.
"We need to go over rules of us together"
"Right" I say sitting up.
"You lay yours first"
"I'm allowed to have rules?" I ask slightly shocked.
"Well as long as they're reasonable why not?" He asks equally confused.
"Well I didn't think someone known to be crazy and psychopathic would allow me to make my own rules"
"I'm not going to be psychopathic to my own wife malysh"
"Okay" I say swallowing. I think for a moment.
"We sleep in separate rooms. If I go out only one guard is allowed to come with I don't want to be flocked. I am allowed to go out I'm not a prisoner. And if we have fights..we try to solve them in a healthy way" I add the last part stifling a laugh.
He nods slowly. "Okay sure. My rules now.."
I hold my breath.
"We eat at least one meal together during the day, you must come to all my business meals with me, you must come to social events with me and you must travel to Russia with me. Oh and you must stop trying to kill me"
"Okay that all seems fair. Okay sure" I reply to him. He nods and I feel the plane drop as we land in America.
"Welcome home" he says getting up.
Home.