Once Upon A Lie

Fourteen:

Fourteen:

His mother was waiting outside of the bathroom when he finally emerged. Aleksander jumped when he saw Baghra. She had served in the military long enough to make it to Captain until she had gotten injured. She was a formidable woman, and Aleksander got his looks from her. Grey eyes, high cheekbones, and jet-black hair.

"Did you enjoy your evening?" Baghra asked.

He sighed. "If that's your subtle way of asking if there will be grandchildren, no, not yet."

Baghra sniffed. "Of course not. I would think less of Alina if there were as long as you're fucking that Nazyalensky girl. Are you at least using protection?"

Aleksander leaned up against the hallway wall. "I'm not trying to hurt Lina, mother. I'm trying to keep her safe from things she's not ready from."

"Such as?"

"The things I do with Zoya are things that I can't do with Alina. Father's obsessed with heirs. You know that the minute he finds out that I've been intimate with her, the expectations will start. I am trying to give us a little more time."

Baghra's face softened. Something that didn't happen often. Aleksander almost wondered if she had eaten something off that caused her expression. Until she spoke again, "We have placed a lot of responsibility on you children. But that is because your father and Alina's built something that is hard to attain. An empire. And there are plenty of people that would like to take that away from us. The Lantsov empire, in comparison, did not make strong connections and is failing. You know that. After what happened with Tatiana...."

Aleksander sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Tatiana is why I am trying to keep my distance from Alina. I'm terrified someone might hurt her the same way if they know that she's mine. Alina's always been with me. I don't know what I would do without her. She's sunlight. She makes me happy. And I'm shadows."

Baghra leaned against her cane. She had been injured when Aleksander was six. A bullet had lodged itself in her ankle and never come out. The doctors said that if it did, Baghra would never walk again. So, they kept it in there. It caused her immense pain, but his mother always said that the pain was a reminder never to fail again.

"Do you know why Tatiana Lantsov ended up in that car accident in the first place?"

"The wires were cut," Aleksander said, "corporate espionage."

Baghra laughed. "That's the newspaper version of the story. Petyr managed to control that much. She was leaving Opjer Industries after fucking her lover. A nosy little journalist found out and threatened to tell, so Tatiana was ending the affair. You know Magnus Opjer. He's not a man that let's things go lightly."

Aleksander paled. "She was having an affair?"

Baghra nodded. "She's been miserable with Petyr for years. Their parents arranged the marriage, trying to do the same thing that we are for you and Alina. The difference was that Tatiana didn't meet Petyr until she was eighteen. They had no solid foundation. You two were friends. You used to watch her like she was the most precious thing in the world."

"She is," Aleksander insisted.

"Then," said Baghra, "do better. End things with the Nazyalensky girl. If you are worried about your father's expectations, as long as you do not get Alina pregnant, I will see to it that he does not get any ideas about pushing the two of you. And if Zoya gives you any trouble---because I know how formidable she can be----you come to me. I'll take care of her."

Aleksander paled. "How?"

Baghra reached out and pulled him into a hug. A rarity from her. "Never you mind, my dearest boy. You are everything. The future of the Morozovas. and I made a promise to myself long ago that you would want for nothing. Not the way that I did. And if someone tried to hurt you, I would hurt them myself. You do as your told and end things with Zoya. If she gives you any trouble, your mother will take care of it."

Aleksander smiled. "Thank you, mother. I'm going to go call Zoya now."

She reached out and pinched his cheek the way she used to do when he had been a boy. "There's my good son. Keep Alina happy. Do whatever you must. After all, you might inherit the world, but she's the future of it."

"Yeah," he said, "yeah, she is."

He went back to his room, and he texted Zoya that night. He figured it would be less messy that way. When he went to pick Alina up tomorrow, he would tell her the good news. And convince her to cancel that stupid date they had this Saturday. There would be no more fooling around. There was only Alina. She was the only one that mattered in his whole world. And he wasn't going to let anyone or anything take her away from him.