"The search for human freedom can never be complete without freedom for women."
-Betty Ford-
***
Ana was making her best attempt to catch her breath as she entered the helicopter, she had been on the plane multiple times before but strangely enough in her entire existence she had never entered a helicopter before. His brothers both had gone to one before, it was going to be her first time going there and she was quite excited, although she was not showing it directly. They had decided to go on a geothermal helicopter tour, it was all his idea, she was a bit afraid if she was to be honest but then again he had booked in and they were already there. She had no choice but to get in the chopper.
The whole time Anton was waiting behind her so she could get in first, once everyone was in, they took off and she subconsciously held on tightly to Anton’s hand. She did not know why she did it but at that moment she did not want to le
"Things are never quite as scary when you have a best friend."-Bill Watterson-***The men stared at each other in silence as they were seated across each other inside the jet. One of them was busy reading a book on finances, the other was staring out the window in silent agitation as he crossed his legs and leaned his fingers against the temple of his forehead. One of them was calm, the other could not stay calm despite his usual calm demeanor. It was starting to bother the other man so much he had to eventually break the silence.“What are you so worried about, Alexander? Don’t you know that being panicked does not help in any circumstance? You taught me that a long time ago, buddy.” Alexander removed his gaze from the window to his old friend, Sergey.“I know that much but this time it is different. I cannot seem to relax whenever she’s not with me it’s strange. Sometimes I wonder if
"You save your soul by saving someone else's body."-Arthur Hertzberg-***Ana was sitting in the balcony of her hotel when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. She thought it was just Anton who had returned from his business there. They had taken the day off since Anton needed to manage his business for the day. After all they did not just come there for vacation. For the day she just planned on staying at the hotel and exploring the nearby shopping centers but it would all change very soon.She placed her tea mug on the table and went to pick up the door, only to be surprised by the man behind it. There stood Alexander, looking all proper in his guard attire. A huge relief washed over her as she hugged him. Her body felt warmth against his skin, Alexander hugged her back and caressed her hair gently. How he had missed her, of course, he would not admit it just yet, at least not in public, but he did miss her so much. He knew
"No one can be good for long if goodness is not in demand."-Bertolt Brecht-***It was evening and the sky had turned into the twilight shade, Anton had just returned back from his business deal when he walked into an empty room with anxiety running through his skin. He had had a feeling that something was terribly wrong, when working he had this gut feeling which told him he needed to go back as soon as possible, which he followed. He ended the meeting much earlier than scheduled that day and immediately drove his car back to the hotel. Turned out his instinct was right.Anastasia was no longer there, she disappeared and he knew she was not just talking some walk to get fresh air or something because all of her belongings were gone. She had left the clothes he had provided and only brought the items she initially had in her bag. He could have sworn he nearly gone mad, but he was not the kind of man who would throw things whenev
"It is the passion that is in the kiss that gives to it its sweetness, it is the affection in the kiss that sanctifies it."-Christian Nestell Bovee-***Ana was trying to get herself out of the plane’s bathroom door which was located on the back of the plane when she realized that Alexander had moved from the main room and waited for her on the back. He was seated in one of the spare seat available there and she asked him what he was doing in there. The man stared at here with a certain look on his face, he stood up and slowly walked over to her.Something about the way he was walking, his gaze, his expression, it was all slightly different from the usual one he had. The Alexander in front of her appeared more assertive. He was like a hungry lion seeking for a prey, he locked her in on the corner without even touching her, because she was already too far influenced by his presence she had cornered herself according to his
"Nothing can justify injustice."-Ayn Ran-***Anastasia finally arrived back at her mansion after a flight and she could not wait to meet her father and demand an explanation from him. However, before that she planned on going back to her room and take a shower because she could not stand the sweat and dirt from the airport and everything. Once she stepped into the mansion, she asked Alexander to accompany her to her room and waited so he would not be seen by her father just yet. Both knew they would have to face the consequence of their actions later but she was simply too tired to deal with all the drama that she knew would come.Alexander waited in her room as she took the shower while thinking of their next move, he had a feeling that Grigory would summon him and there would be a disaster coming, he needed to prepare himself for the worst. Fortunately, he had prepared himself all these years for situation like that because h
"The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again."-Charles Dickens-***Ana woke up that morning all breathy, gasping for air as she felt like she was choking although nothing was really happening to her. She did not know why but she felt extremely tired, perhaps it was due to all the crying from the previous day. Then the realization hit her, it was the day Alexander would leave the house. This immediately woke her up and she went to take a quick shower before dressing in her everyday casual attire, a white blouse with black skirt and black faux fur neck warmer and ran out to seek for Alexander.She had managed to calm herself down a bit and wanted to seek him to talk for the last time in a while, because she was determined it was not going to be the last time they spoke to each other. When she was walking some of the staff had called her out saying her father was waiting for her in the dining room to have breakfast
"All broken relationship can be traced back to broken agreements"-Stephen Covey-***Anton had not heard anything from both Ana and Grigory for several days already. He did not know why but it made him anxious. Even when he was playing with his pet he was still unable to relax, when usually it was the best way for him to relax. He did not feel the usual serenity he felt whenever he was in his garden. It was such a strange feeling and he was not enjoying it.Anton thought he was a well-articulated man who had little to no limit but then he felt like he had spent the majority of his life improving himself, cultivating both his physical and mental strength, so for him to be so bothered by such a minor thing was quite unusual. He could not sit still anymore and decided to do something. Picking up his phone, he made a call toward Grigory who took much longer to pick up. Soon his voice was heard from the other line, Anton did not both
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."-Theodore Roosevelt-***Alexander walked inside the house which was still not quite organized yet after he had just moved there one week ago. It was one of the few houses and properties he had acquired over the years. Though he was by title a bodyguard, he had invested in property and did coding on the side as well, something none of his employer knew about. The house he had chosen to reside after leaving the manor was a two floor house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a dining room with a spare storage and attic area located on quiet area right outside Moscow. It was meant to be a small nuclear family home that was rented to someone else, like a coincidence, the previous tenant had their contract off a month before and Alexander was able to stay there.Although he had been there for a bit he had not fu
"Anyone can have a once upon a time or a happily ever after, but it's the journey between that makes the story worth telling."-Chris Coffer-***It was a quiet and sunny Sunday afternoon, In the vast graveyard lane, Ana was dressed in a soft black gown with two bouquets of red roses in her hand. She slowly walked over to her parent’s graves and gently placed the bouquet on top of the tomb. When Grigory was murdered he was buried right beside his wife whom he loved so much so the two of them could keep each other company even in death. She found it quite touching and to this day, Ana still regretted the fact she could not be there during his burial, which was why every few months she would come and visit their graves and laid a bouquet of fresh roses in their memory while pouring her heart to them, knowing they were probably listening to it.That afternoon was no exception. She knelt down and touched her parent’s tomb
"My love for you is a journey, starting at forever and ending at never."-Anonymous-***Ivan and Mikhail agreed that before they make any decisions they needed to talk with Alexander because as men they prefer to get things out of the way in a straight forward manner without covering anything up. So at night after Ana was asleep, Ivan called him to the room and it was the first time since his arrival there did the three of them was able to gather together in a room.Did not take Alexander long to figure out Ivan wanted to discuss something serious sjuts from his facial expression alone while Mikhail who was the more even tempered out of the two made the perfect balance as a moderator for the conversation. That way there would not be any fights between the men because both were equally as fierce when it came down to their decisions. Although Alexander returned to a mere bodyguard status, the amount of respect he garnered was enou
"Bonds of love never make the wearer weaker, they give him greater strength."-Wonder Woman-***It had been a few days since Ana’s return to the manor with Alexander and they had re-hired him as her personal bodyguard and the relationship between the two of them had been closer than ever before. They were already like a couple even before the crazy incidents which had been going on lately but it became even more noticeable after their return from the countryside house and Ivan, as the head of the family who moved back into the main manor had been watching over her and could not help but feel slightly bothered by it.The relationship between Anastasia and Alexander bothered him so much that his wife saw him awake at night unable to sleep just because he was constantly thinking about his younger sister. He found it slightly disturbing how something that started off as a professional relationship could turn into something per
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."-Norman Cousins-***Maria was sitting in her house drinking tea while reading one of her favorite book by Dostoyevsky while relaxing. It was late in the afternoon and she had finished her work for the day, there was nothing she wanted to do more than to just relax and enjoy herself for a few days before she had to go to Italy for a friend’s son wedding. She did not expect much noise to happen for the day but suddenly one of her maid knocked on her bedroom door and informed her that a man came to look for her.“Does he say where he’s from?” The maid wished she could help more but she shook her head. Maria sighed as she put down her book on the table. Who could possibly come to her house without prior notice? Grabbing her robe from the shelf, she put it on and walked out to the living room where she saw one of
"Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure."-Bob Marley-***Ivan arrived at the house to find Ana being hugged by Alexander who was making an attempt to calm her down. There was a gun on the floor right in front of them and Ana was sobbing uncontrollably. It was her first time shooting someone and she was not sure how she was supposed to feel. She was scared but Alexander comforted her, saying that everything would be just fine. Ivan was speechless as he saw Anton corpse laying cold on the ground.“Alexander, did you just take these men out yourself?” Ivan asked. Alexander did not reply, instead he focused all his attention on Ana. Ivan noticed her sobbing and approached her as well, asking her what was wrong, but she did not reply. Instead, she buried her face on Alexander’s chest.Ivan did not understand the whole picture yet but he gave an order to his men to clean up
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."-Wayne LaPierre-***It was not even dawn yet when Alexander woke Ana up. She was still in a deep sleep when she felt him shaking her body with a noticeable force before actually opening her eyes. She always hated one of those scenarios where she did not wake up naturally but instead had someone to wake her up, forcibly and so early. She was still in a daze but the stern expression on Alexander’s face meant something serious was actually happening and she knew it was not the time to be sleeping. She had asked him what was wrong and Alexander seemed upset to even have to announce the news but they had no time to waste.“Listen carefully Ana, Anton has found out your location and he is planning to come here soon with his men. We can’t just move because he’s already coming close and the chance of death on the road is much higher. So, I
"Thinking will not overcome fear but action will."-W. Clement Stone-***The sky had turned dark and rain was pouring heavily from the sky. There was a loud sound of thunderstorms which appeared almost as if it was trying to barge into the room. Ana had only finished dinner and was about to go into her room when another loud thunder sound made her jumped from the ground instinctively. Her heart was racing and she quickly ran to the room and hid under the sheet.Ana was not easily scared but if there was one thing she feared it was the sound of thunderstorm, because he once almost got hit by it when she was on vacation and ever since that she was scared of being attacked by a lighting. Hence why, each time there was a thunderstorm outside she would stay in her room and hide under the blanket, this habit had always been repeated over and over again and even to her adulthood she had not managed to overcome her fear. No matter how h
"In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine."-Maya Angelou-***It had been a week since she lived with Alexander in safety, she had gotten herself used with the quieter life although she was yearning for the day when she could return safely to her house. No matter what she was still a city woman, there was no way she could survive living in countryside because there were just too much things she enjoyed doing that only the city could offer her. That morning she woke up wearing her cotton gown and walked out from the room to see Alexander making breakfast like usual. It was only since she stayed with him did she know he actually had amazing cooking skill, not on the same level as some professional chefs, of course, but generally his cooking tasted quite good.She started to remind herself of the household dynamics they had been having for the past weeks. Things had
"Family is not who's blood is in you, is who you love and who loves you."-Jackie Chan-***The coffin where Grigory Orlovsky was closed for the last time and the funeral staff buried him on the ground as the people who dearly loved and respected him stood around the soil watching as the one feared mafia leader was no longer with them. In their heart they also silently knew that his death would create a ripple of chaos for everyone. Ivan and Mikhail along with their wives were present and they were standing closer than anyone to the ground. The staff quickly covered it up with soil and they placed his tomb stone above it. The men were not crying at all but inside they were devastated by their father’s death.Although considering their field of work, he would be considered lucky enough to live that long, the way of his death was still unfair to them. He could have died of anything but instead he was killed by the men ordered by his supposedly son in