Mafia's Princess (Under Editing)

Chapter 36

Third Person's POV

Viktor stood in the room, sparing Anastasia no glance, while he kept talking to others present there. Anastasia was devastated by how cold his aura seemed. She felt torn to the core by the way he ignored her presence and didn't even look at her.

It's all your fault, Ana.. her conscience reminded her, and she couldn't agree more. After all, this entire situation was the result of her own ignorance and stubbornness.

He came back hurt and injured because of her... because she had spoken so harshly to him. The regret sitting in her heart was unbearable. But what was done was done. One couldn't turn back time and redeem themselves for mistakes already made.

Ana felt like collapsing and cry her heart out while he stood there. Somehow, she managed to hold herself together, refusing to let anyone see the turmoil raging inside her. She didn't know why her heart hurt so much. Was it because she felt responsible for Viktor's injuries? Or was it because she truly cared for him, and now her heart and mind were finally colliding, forcing her to acknowledge just how deeply she had been affected by the damage caused by her own words?

She maintained a neutral, unaffected facade in front of everyone, but the pain bubbling inside threatened to spill over at any moment. Unable to bear it any longer, she quietly excused herself.

Taking quick, hurried steps, she marched through the massive hallway and past the staircases before pushing open the large French doors. The cool night air immediately struck her face, almost as if it were angry with her too, reminding her once again that yes—this was all her fault.

She made her way across the front lawn toward the one place she occasionally found solace. Walking through the rows of trees, she eventually reached the pond, its surface shimmering beneath the moonlight and casting a beautiful glow over the surroundings.

She sat down hurriedly on the bench beside the pond, and that was the final thread holding her together.

The moment she was alone, Ana finally let her facade crumble. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, unable to understand why the recent events affected her so deeply.

She had never been the type to share her feelings. Reserved by nature, she kept her struggles buried deep within herself. Not even her best friend knew everything she carried inside her heart. The only person she had ever truly opened up to had been her papa.

And he was gone.

Since then, she had kept every painful thought locked away. But right now, she desperately needed someone. Someone to guide her. Someone to tell her that it was okay to have feelings for someone. That it was okay to fall in love. That losing someone once didn't mean she had to spend the rest of her life fearing the loss of everyone else.

This was only the second time in her life that she had cried like this. Ana hated crying. To her, crying had always been a sign of weakness. She had spent years convincing herself of that. Yet when she was younger, her Papa had always told her the opposite—that it was okay to cry when you were hurt, that letting the pain out didn't make you weak.

Tonight, however, she felt weak.

And exhausted.

Meanwhile, Isa and Katerina had noticed enough to know something was wrong. They didn't know exactly what had happened between Viktor and Ana, but they knew there was bitterness and unresolved tension between them. When Ana excused herself, both girls followed her outside and eventually found her sitting by the pond, crying.

They waited patiently, giving her time to calm down before approaching.

After several minutes, Ana's sobs had quieted, though her heart still screamed at her to go find Viktor and tell him everything.