When We Were Young

Ninety-four:

Ninety-four:

Aleksander didn't go directly back to his hotel. He stopped off at his mother's office. She was sitting at her desk on a call, and he burst in, not caring about propriety or anything. He walked over, pulled the phone from her hand and said, "She'll call you back. Baghra Morozova has to explain why she's such a fucking bitch to her son right now." Then he tossed the cell phone on the ground, and stomped on it with his foot.

"Aleksander!" Baghra said. "What in the name of the Saints has gotten into you?"

Aleksander glared at him. "I could as you the same question, mother. Why is it, after all of these years, you are still trying to control me?"

Baghra glared at him. "Have you been drinking again? Or perhaps is it drugs this time? Last time the stad watch pulled you home, they said you were high and that you had been using cocaine."

Aleksander glared at her. "I'm clean, and I've been for over a year and a half. You know that based on the weekly piss tests you make me take to work here at this forsaken place. I know that you've been trying to control my life since college. Tell me, how long did it take for you to rope Zoya into working for you?"

Baghra leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "You used to be such a good, little employee Aleksander. You seduced Genya's mother no problem when you were younger. You did exactly as I wanted. Now, of course, the Safin's managed to work out their issues but then...then you were supposed to help deliver little Alina Starkov over to the Fjerdians, and you suddenly went and developed feelings for the girl. I had to incentivize you. I thought that if you were paid, handsomely, you might get back on track and stop obsessing over the girl. But then you got her pregnant. And I knew that when she managed to escape Fjerda you would go running back to her, so I had to make it seem like there was still a threat out there. You have such a bright future son. Why, I'm sure if you really wanted, you could even get Luda back. She was a bright, lovely young woman. The kind of girl that you should really marry."

Aleksander glared at her. "I'm not marrying Luda. I'm marrying Alina. We're going to be together mother, and there's nothing that you can say or do that will keep me from being with her. And by the way, I quite."

Baghra stood up from her chair. "If you marry that girl, I will make it so that you never get another job as a lawyer ever again."

Aleksander snorted. "Good. I didn't want to be a fucking lawyer anyway."

"You'll have nothing. No apartment, no car----"

"As long as I've got Alina, I've got everything I need. And you forget, Baghra. I've got my dads money now. I don't need you. I won't need you for anything ever again, Baghra."

Aleksander stormed from the office. He knew he should have gone back to the hotel to grab his things and change, but all he could think about was seeing Alina again. He made his way up the stairs of the hotel and knocked on the door. He found Alina there, already wearing the blue bridesmaid dress she was going to be wearing for the wedding.

"Aleks," she said, "is everything okay? You were supposed to go and change, and you said you had figured out who---"

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. "It was my mother."

Alina pulled away from him, startled. "What do you mean?"

"My mother knew I was getting close to you. In college, she paid Zoya to convince me to help me ruin you, thinking that once you and I were together, I would be satisfied and drop everything. Zoya stopped once we got out of college, but she told me that since then, it was my mother. I quite Alina. I quite working for her. I...I won't ever be able to be a lawyer again, but I don't want to be a lawyer. I've got my dads money, and I'll be fine that way, and I can...I can figure something out, if its really important to you that I have a job but---"

Alina shook her head. "I don't care what you do, Aleks. All I want is you. Are you telling me that we get to be together?"

Aleksander nodded, and he kissed her deeply again, messing up her hair in the process. "Your hair stylist is going to hate me."

Alina laughed. "I don't care. I.... we get to be together? You really mean it?"

"I mean it, sweetheart. We get to be together."