She felt one of his tears fall on her head and she turned around to face him. She was kneeling in front of him between his legs and she saw him trying to hold back his tears. She leans in to kiss his cheek but he turns his face and kisses her deeply. He pushes her back slowly, “If we start, I might not be able to stop… so don’t initiate something you don’t really want, Ivy…” He says softly. She leans in to kiss him again and he responds passionately to her kiss sliding his hands down her back. “I am not sure what I am starting but I know I need you” she said. “Ivy… you don’t have to do this… I need you to think about this… If I take you, I will not be able to let you go” he replies… After a long moment of silence she asks “why did you buy me?” “I didn’t buy ‘you’; I bought your life… and all I wanted was to give it back to you. I will not own you like animals are owned… When I saw you outside going into that basement, I couldn’t live with the thought that a woman that looks exactly like Mary could be mistreated; I had no intentions other than to free you, but you couldn’t speak. I couldn’t leave you behind helpless and trust me I thought about it when you escaped for the second time... Now I realize, I do want to own you but only if you would own me in return.” He pauses. “I regret restraining you, but I didn’t know what else to do and I couldn’t allow you to put your life at risk… I wasn’t going to beat you into submission, and I wasn’t going to let you out in the world defenceless. You were vulnerable like a child… I am truly sorry.” He slides his hand down her cheek to catch the tears falling off her face.

Viktoria had to run… After faking her own death, the only way her husband would let her go. She had to change her name and leave her precious daughters behind. One day she will come back and take her empire back.