Chapter 609: Diamond in the rough.
Rasmus and the others walked into the carriage and Anastasha had been waiting for them inside. Their departure was unannounced, but since they were in the Asghar family’s territory, nothing was unheard of. When they were about to leave, the carriage was blocked by a group of personal guards of the eldest son. Anastasha looked out of the window and let out a scoff before she decided to get out to greet her brother.
"This reminds me of that day, my dear brother," Anastasha crossed her arms as she watched the guards split, opening a path for Zayn to walk through. "Are you going to stop me from leaving like last time?" She asked with a smirk on her face.
Zayn looked at his guards, and without saying a word or moving a muscle, all of his guards walked away to give him privacy. He then looked at the carriage, knowing that Rasmus was in there, the man that had made him question himself more than necessary.
"Where are you going this time, Ana?" Zayn asked, his voice was deep and relaxed, nothing like when he spoke in the hall in front of the guests.
"Khan Empire," Anastasha answered as she shifted her weight to her left leg.
"Khan Empire? Surely that wasn’t your decision," Zayn narrowed his eyes slightly when he stared at Anastasha. "I remember back when you were still a young adult that you wouldn’t set foot on the Khan Empire ever again. Seeing that you take back your words, it seems you really like him," he pointed out as he glanced at the carriage.
Anastasha glanced at the carriage over her shoulder and she put on a bit of a smile. She then took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, staring at the view of the city from the mountain.
"I like my family more, don’t get too jealous, dear brother," Anastasha chuckled softly and rested her hand on her waist. "Blood is thicker, my dear brother," she stared into Zayn’s eyes, her voice quiet to hint at honesty and truth in her voice.
"I won’t make the same mistake as last time," Zayn said with a serious expression. "I won’t send anyone to harm you again. I know what I want to do, what I have to do," he added.
Anastasha stared at her brother without showing any reaction at all. She stayed quiet and let the silence pressure Zayn.
"Blood is thicker. Father repeatedly said those words when we were still a child, and yet he never told us to not kill each other..." Zayn nodded slowly as he looked on the gravels around his feet. "But you shouldn’t trust him that much, Ana," he said with a serious expression as he stared into Anastasha’s eyes. "He’s not someone you want to be around with. You’re going to get dragged by the current that you’ll end up devoured by it," he warned.
"I know, my dear brother," Anastasha answered. "He warned me about him long before you knew him. I’m aware," she pointed out.
Zayn chuckled as he nodded before it turned into a shook, he knew how smart his little sister was, the golden daughter of the Asghar family. She was the only lady in the whole Asghar family that had the ability to make even the elders lose for words. He always imagined what it would be like if Anastasha was a man instead of a woman, he wondered how much she would resemble their father or perhaps more powerful and more dangerous if she wasn’t treated differently because of her gender. He wondered if he should be grateful that Anastasha was a woman or if he should be terrified that she was a woman and not a man.
"Is this what you want or is this something you have to do?" Zayn asked, the question that resembled the question his mother asked him the night before. "What I mean is..." he paused, not knowing how to put it in words. "Are you still being true to yourself even until now?" He asked.
"Of course, my dear brother. I have always been true to myself, and that’s something that I realized a long time ago when I knew that I’m just a woman in the Asghar family," Anastasha answered as she walked toward Zayn.
Zayn was mildly surprised by Anastasha’s answer that somehow connected with his thoughts, as if she was reading his mind and anxiety.
"At first I felt like it was unfair, I despised myself for being a woman in this family, and I found this body as a curse. However, the more I see it from a different perspective, I realize this is a blessing. I don’t need to pretend, I’m not judged by how I breathe. I’m free from expectations," Anastasha explained as she stood in front of her brother with a smile on her face. "If I can be honest, my dear brother..." She paused as she placed her hand on Zayn’s shoulder. "You’re less pretentious than the other brothers. You’re naturally similar to the patriarch. No, not similar, you’re the spitting image of the patriarch when he was young," she revealed as she stared into Zayn’s eyes, forcing her neck to look up at her brother’s face.
"Is that a warning?" Zayn asked, it wasn’t a sarcastic question or a playful question, it was an honest question.
"Does a diamond know they’re not a diamond but a stone? Can they change back into stone even if they knew that they were being pressured until they finally became something else entirely? Rather than asking if you’re not yourself, you should make sure you’re a diamond in the rough instead of one of the many," Anastasha tilted her head with a soft smile painted on her face.
Zayn remembered his mother’s words and had been pondering about it the whole night, and now with Anastasha’s words, he finally found a meaning. Slowly but surely, smile formed on his face, something that he had forgotten that he was capable of doing.
"You shouldn’t open the eyes of your opponent, Ana," Zayn said in a playful tone.
"Where’s the fun when I can easily dominate the game," Anastasha winked at her brother as she pulled away. "I really have to go now, my dear brother. My esteemed guests can’t idle when they’re going to change the world," she smirked as she took a few steps back.
"I won’t stop you," Zayn nodded as he took a few steps aside.
"Welcome back, my dear eldest brother. It has been a while since I saw you," Anastasha smiled widely at Zayn before she turned around and got into the carriage.
Zayn watched the carriage move past him and he continued to watch until it disappeared into the distance. He exhaled deeply and his head felt a lot lighter the moment he inhaled the smell of fresh grass and the dew of the morning. He stood there longer than he should, and finally he lifted his head to look at the vast sky without having to pretend that he could see right at the sun.
"What a pleasant morning walk," Zayn said before he walked away and the guards immediately followed him from behind.
