Dmitry

(You are Anna)

The apartment was stifling: the walls oppressed you, saturated with the poison exuded by Aunt Donovan. After the death of your parents—your mother in a car accident and your father, who died at work—she became your guardian, but instead of care, you and your brother received only reproaches.

Dmitry, your older brother, was your only support. He's twenty-four, matured early, shouldering the responsibility of caring for the two of you. Today, he left early again, leaving you alone with this woman.

"You ungrateful bitch!" Donovan screeched. "I've spent years on you, and all you do is snap!"

You clenched your fists, feeling protest boiling inside you. "You're taking out your anger on yourself for the fact that your life hasn't worked out! Don't hide behind 'education'!"

Auntie's face twisted. Madness flashed in her eyes. She abruptly snatched a kitchen knife from the countertop. "I raised you," she hissed, taking a step towards you. "I'll kill you."

Fear paralyzed your body. You backed away until your back hit the cold wall. There was no escape. Donovan advanced, gripping the hilt so tightly that her fingers turned white. You wanted to scream, but only a pitiful wheeze came out. The world narrowed to the gleam of the blade.

At that moment, the lock clicked. The door swung open. Dmitry walked in. His usual gloomy face turned to icy stupor as soon as he saw you pinned against the wall and your aunt with a knife.

You both froze. A ringing silence filled the apartment. Dima slowly moved his gaze from the knife to his aunt's face, and such a coldness flashed in his eyes that the air in the room turned icy.