"Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
-Unknown-
***
Ana had several pleasant hours hanging around with Galina until the sky was getting dark and she knew she needed to go back home before her father spammed her with calls. Grigory knew she was still at a vulnerable point in her life and had paid closer attention to her these past few days, so were her brothers who felt sorry for her. Every men in her household had grown quite overprotective toward her and if she did not arrive home by the evening they would definitely be worried.
She had to bid goodbye to Galina who felt a bit sad that she had to go home so soon. She had wished to spend more time with her, but she also understood her current circumstance and did not wish to trouble her further. So she only asked her to wait for a bit because she wanted her to bring over some of the baked dessert she made earlier bef
"Survival is the ability to swim in strange water."-Frank Herbert-***There was a bit of silence inside the car before Ana started a conversation after she had stabilized herself a bit. She was not supposed to be surprised when she heard that, because he did have a military past and if her father recruited her to be a bodyguard it must mean he was working straight from the field. Lots of things could happen in places like that so it only made sense, but it was still weird that people could kill others without any consequence, although in this case, it was an act of self-defense.“Is there anything else that I am supposed to know about you, Alexander? I think I don’t know much about you after all.” Alexander could not help but grin upon that question, of course there were many things she did not know about him and he did not think it was that important for her to know considering that he had spent more time wit
"Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it's the place where we find the deepest heartache."-Iyanla Vanzant-***Anton had not met Ana in forever and he was starting to become really anxious, it was difficult for him to really concentrate on anything else. His life prior to meeting her was really perfect, scheduled and balanced, it was much easier for him to get anything he wanted, but ever since he knew her he felt like his life had turned upside down in terms of sanity. He was in his office trying to distract himself with work but for some reason it was very difficult for him to finish even the simplest task without drinking any pills to calm himself down. It was possibly one of the strangest thing he had ever experienced, he knew he was not obsessed. His feelings for her was not quite an obsession because clearly he was still alive without her.If he could define it, it was more like a yearning to possess, he co
"The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that things are not mended again."-Alan Paton-***Ana found herself unable to sleep that night because she had this gut feeling that was telling her that something was not right and she was a very intuitive person, therefore she would usually listen to her intuition and at the moment her intuition was telling her not to sleep because something bad was about to happen and she could sense it in the pit of her stomach.She sat on the edge of her bed and prayed to God, asking Him for guidance on what she was supposed to do next while holding the bible when suddenly she got this rush from nowhere to call Alexander. Something in her kept on telling her to call Alexander at 11 PM and she did not even have any idea if he was still awake but she listened to the voice and did it anyway.Fortunately, it turned out he was still awake and he asked her if there was anything wr
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."-Andy Warhol-***Ana could feel herself shivering against the cold air which forced her to wake up. She battled it so hard because at the moment she really did not wish to wake up. The memory of what happened returned to her in her dream. Deep down she still did not want to accept the death of her father. She was crying and grunting in her sleep, her whole body quivered against the blanket, she was restless yet her eyes remained closed. The sounds of her grunts was so loud that Alexander who was still outside could hear her and he quickly rushed into the room to wake her up. He held her hand and pulled her in to hug her. Hushing her gently and reminded her that everything would be okay.She snapped out of her nightmare to find Alexander’s eyes staring at her as his arms wrapped protectively around her body. She looked up to him and did no
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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