Chapter 41

ANYA

~FIVE YEARS LATER~

“You’re the best I have worked with so far. You’re doing great with the translations, Anya. I barely have to work when it comes to you.” My editor, Imogen, gushes over my recent project over the phone.

She has been with me for the last two months, working with me to turn an English novel into a script for a webcomic.

The app that I work for has recently launched its brand across the US and UK. Although the majority of the works on the app are written by English-speaking authors, we have a special collection of adapted works.

Imogen does my editing, and so far, she hasn’t had to make a single change in any of the scripts. That is, in two years’ worth of scripts.

I am so proud of myself. I wish he could see me. He would be proud of how far I have come.

“The only thing I’m good at,” I say, my mouth curling up to a smile as I take a sip of my red wine. My gaze then flicks to Vanessa, who is on my laptop screen, eager for the news.

She has a wine glass too, ready to drink with me.

“Will it be possible for you to send the script by tomorrow night?” Imogen asks, her voice laced with so much excitement that my pride beams within me. “I’m going on a break, so I won’t be available very often.”

“Tomorrow night is fine.”

“Your hard work never fails to amaze me. I hope to see you grow in our program. You’re a promising star.”

“Thank you, Imogen.”

I hear a clatter on her end followed by her sighing. “Okay, my kid found the secret chocolate stash. Gotta go. See you tomorrow!”

“Bye.” I drop the call, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over me.

It feels nice to spend a Friday night relaxing with my best friend after a long week of work. Although she isn’t physically present here, now that she has a high-paying job in LA, she is always here for me virtually.

Her son is in the background, playing with his toy train on the bed. He is the product of the one-night stand she had with the astronomer guy. We have no clue who the father is, but Vanessa claims that her son is the best thing to ever happen to her. He gave her life purpose.

“Didn’t she tell you how great you are?” Vanessa winks, swirling the liquid in her flute even though she isn’t a fan of drinking anymore.

Her words. Not mine.

She began controlling her drinking habits after the act she pulled at that Halloween party all those years ago.

~A lot changed after that night.~

My happy nerves deflate a little at that thought. That was my last night with him.

I clear my throat, hoping it will clear my mind. “Yeah.”

“And?” Vanessa quirks a brow, awaiting the news she has been hyping me up for.

“And, I think I just got invited to the incentive program,” I reveal, and she and I both let out a shriek.

“Holy crap! Yes! I’m so happy for you, babe.” She squeals, her joy knowing no bounds. “This is the best! You worked so hard for this.” She has been the only one so supportive of my work.

After I graduated, my parents wanted me to get a job that I thought I was too lazy for. So when this opportunity dropped into my mail after an application, I couldn’t resist jumping on board.

My first instinct was to share the news with him, but then I remembered that we don’t talk anymore. Since our breakup, we have lost touch completely.

Dimitri never texted, and I didn’t have the guts to text him. I still stalk him shamelessly on his socials, my heart skipping a beat every time I see a woman accompanying him. And while the women he is with keep changing, his status always remains single.

“I know. I almost can’t believe this,” I mutter. “It’s the result of two years of work.”

Vanessa looks like a proud mom on the verge of tears. “You have changed so much. I’m so proud of you.”

“I am too.” I smile and pat myself on the back.

She chuckles. “How’re things going with Shane?” she asks, referring to my fuck buddy of two months.

Shane and I met during the yacht party of a casual acquaintance. We got drunk and hooked up. After I discovered that Shane actually knows how to work his cock, I indulged myself in continuing the situationship.

He is an older guy, too, in his late forties. Having stamina at that age is something, and although he is better than the others who came after Dimitri, the sex isn’t as satisfying as it was with Dimitri. It never is anymore, really, but as long as I get a quick orgasm, it works.

I was supposed to meet with Shane tonight—that is the reason why I am dressed all sexy—but at the last moment, I ended up breaking it off with him.

Today is the anniversary of the day I made Dimitri choose Blake over me.

My thoughts are all twisted up in him; he did something to my brain that has me hardwired only for him. Even after five years.

At the mention of Shane, I wave a hand lazily. “He wanted to take the relationship farther. I broke it off.”

Vanessa drops her jaw open. “Oh, no. I liked him. Why?”

“Because it’s just sex. I don’t want the complications.” I shrug and shake my head.

She squints her gaze, scrutinizing me. “Just that? Or is it because of a certain professor who has you entrapped in him without even existing near you?”

“It’s not about that.”

“It’s been five years, Anya. It’s time to move on. You guys don’t even text.”

“We’re Facebook friends.” I give a little shrug, which has her rolling her eyes.

“Where you stalk him endlessly,” she points out. “Although, guess he does the same.”

I know he does. He once accidentally liked a picture of me in a bikini, and I have a screenshot of it still saved. I am so gone that they will have me on a list of women who died due to obsessing over their exes. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“I still think you breaking it off with him was a mistake,” Vanessa remarks, inspecting her red-painted nails.

“Nessa, drop it.” My voice dips an octave as I give her a side-eyed look.

“Okay…anyways, I have news. You heard what happened to Sage?”

The mention of Sage brings a bitter taste to my tongue. “You mean that bitch who ruined everything?”

“Yep.” Vanessa clicks her tongue. “That exact bitch.”

“No.”

“She was caught plagiarizing her students’ papers,” Vanessa says. “She got fired.”

The satisfaction I feel at the news brings back my high spirits. “Okay, wow! That’s so well deserved!” I raise my glass to the screen. “Cheers!”

We sip our wine together and laugh, treating Sage’s destruction as a reason for celebration.

Another hour goes by while we talk, and I realize how much I miss her. Ever since she moved to LA with her son, I have been missing both of them. Sure, she flies here constantly, but it is not like how it was when we were neighbors.

The ring of my doorbell puts a halt to our conversation.

“Okay, I have to get that,” I say, getting up from the couch.

“You do that. Arnold wants to get some ice cream,” she replies. “I’ll call you later, okay? Bye!”

The screen turns off, then I shut my laptop before walking to the door. I turn on the security monitor, and the face I see on the screen leaves me stunned.

It’s him.

I hurry to open the door, and my eyes collide with the amber irises that haunt my dreams.

He stands there, as real as I imagine him to be.

Clad in jeans and a crisp black shirt with the sleeves folded, which reveals intricate black-ink designs, he torments me from a distance of a few feet. His neck tattoos peek from beneath his collar while red and blue lights cast a dual glow over his features.

His face, with just a shadow of a beard accentuating his jaw and cheeks, has its same cut-throat sharpness. His hair is longer now, tied into a bun behind his head. With his hands tucked in his pockets, he stares with a glint of amusement, studying me with intense scrutiny.

His presence is more magnificent than ever. He is so real that I remain frozen, gawking at him.

Dimitri delves into my very soul as a smirk slowly curls a corner of his lips. “Tell me you missed me too, babe.”