𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒗

Chapter 51 - Marcell & Maria

Maria could not clear her head of Marcell.

She had told her sister about her time with Marcell and Anastasia had been happy that she had found love.

"Are you going to marry him?" she asked once she and Maria had gotten home that night and were back in their room. Even though Anastasia was married, she and Andrei slept in different rooms.

"I want to very, very much, but don't know anything about his family or his life-" Maria started.

"You don't know one single thing?"

"No. Only that he is thirty and the most charming man I've met." Maria insisted. Once she had said that, she remembered the drawings.

"Look," Maria said as she gave the drawing to her sister who was sitting in her bed.

"Wow!" Anastasia exclaimed. "That's me!"

"His drawings are wonderful, aren't they?" Maria yawned as she lay her head on her pillow.

"I know you don't know much about him but I do like him, Mashka. I hope if you marry again, you will be happy. Truly happy...this time."

"I think I'll be happy," Maria answered. "But i'm too old to marry again."

"No, you aren't!" Anastasia laughed. She had married at twenty-seven. Maria was only a year older. "We have to go back to London!"

"Why, Nastasia?" Maria asked, alarmed at her sister's burst of energy this late at night.

"So you can see him! Confess your love for him! Ask him to marry you!"

Maria was shocked. She couldn't find the words to express her feelings. "It's way too early in a relationship to ask that person to marry you! You-you have to meet a few times-"

"Oh shut up, Maria!" Anastasia interrupted her.

"Please, I know you want to marry him. I just want you to be happy. Now it's your choice to marry. You don't need guidance from Olga or Xenia, or me. Do it, Mashka." she smiled, her eyes gleaming in the faint lamp light.

Maria nodded hesitantly but became more confident. "Yes, Shvibzik. I will! We'll go to London tomorrow!"

-

Maria shook with excitement as she tried to think of what to say to Marcell when she arrived.

Anastasia, who didn't care as much about matters of love, found herself bursting with aspiration. She thought of this journey as an adventure. A quest for love.

As Big Ben chimed twelve in the distance, the girls stepped out of their car. They both walked into the lobby only to find that it was much quieter and emptier than last night.

"Where do we find Marcell?" Anastasia whispered.

"I'm not sure," Maria answered. Just then, she remembered. He could be in one of his secret spots he had shown her last night!

"I know a way." Maria led Anastasia to a wall, trying not to bring attention to themselves. She placed her hands on the wall.

"What are you doing!" Anastasia hissed under her breath.

"Just trust me, please."

A few seconds later, she pushed open the secret door, leaving Anastasia bewildered.

"What..." she breathed.

There was no time to waste.

Just as Maria stepped into the door, they heard someone shout.