"What!?"

Maria's heart started pounding and her palms began to sweat. She felt this feeling that brewed in her stomach, rising to her throat which made the next words she said so hard to get out.

"You're-you're divorcing me?"

"Yes," Valentin said, ashamed. Clarice stood next to Valentin, thrilled with Maria's reaction.

"Valentin, you have children!? How can you leave them!?" Maria shouted, voice broken with rage.

"I already kissed them goodbye."

"What about your family!? You can not leave them like this?!"

Maria turned around to look at Valentin's family. Milana and Egor wore horrified looks on their faces while their sons looked at their brother with shame. Catia comforted Sinvoia who was crying into her shoulder. Even though Valentin had tried to talk quietly, the family had heard him.

"Just why would you do such a thing?! You already know I have lost so much! My family, my home, my country, now thousands of pounds Alexandra had left especially for me! Just as I thought, my life was going perfectly! I had a husband! Three children! Now you betray us all!?"

"Maria, I'm sorry-"

"No. You can't be sorry after all you've done. Go spend your money. Have a wonderful life with your new wife. Get out! I never want to see you again!" Maria yelled as tears attacked her. She didn't even care that people in the lobby had heard their entire conversation.

"Goodbye, Maria," Valentin said as he leaned in for a kiss. Instead, Maria slapped him across the face.

Valentin, surprised by this reaction, raised his hand to strike her. Maria stood in place, not scared at all. She closed her eyes, ready to endure the pain.

But unstead of hitting her, Valentin and Clarice simply walked out of the hotel. Once she knew he was gone, Maria ran into Anastasia's open arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Mashka, I'm so sorry," Anastasia whispered in Russian.

"How could our son do something like this?" Milana whispered to Egor, heartbroken.

"Now he's never coming home!" Sinvoia cried harder into his sister's shoulder.

Maria broke from her sister's hug, wiping her tears. "I shouldn't be crying over him."

Maria calmed herself. "Let's go home."

-

The four-day ship voyage from France to England was spent in silence. Maria's six years of marriage was annulled and she threw her rings off of the ship's deck, ready to let go.

It was around four in the afternoon that the family finally arrived back at the Sandringham house.

"Mama! Mama!" Vivianne and Elena squealed as their mother walked into the saloon where they were playing. Tikhon and Guri were on the other side of the room, playing with tin soldiers. Liesel sat on a couch looking after them. Anatolii lay fast asleep in a crib next to her.

"My darlings!" Maria bent down to hug them. After hugging her daughters, Maria walked over to Anatolii's crib.

"No accidents." Liesel smiled.

"Thank you." Maria sighed in relief as she sat on the couch.

"Where's Papa?" Vivianne asked as she played with blocks. Maria didn't say a word.

"Papa! Papa!" Elena bounced up and down happily, awaiting his arrival.

"Is everything alright?" Liesel worried, noticing Maria's hesitation.

"I'll tell you later tonight. A lot has happened while we gone."

-

"Is there any way to get the money back?" Anastasia asked later that night. The family had gathered in the saloon to talk more about this scandal.

"It's gone for good." Xenia replied.

"I know the money was to be used for the children, but I was also going to use it for the house." Maria revealed.

"I definitely don't want to lose this place. It's our second home." Anastasia consoled as she lay against Maria's shoulder.

"When should we pack our bags, Maria?" Egor admitted.

"Pack your bags?" Olga gawked, perplexed.

"Well, we thought it would be best if we went away. We don't want to remind you of the cruel thing our son did. We've sold our home back in Russia. We've thought about living in London." Milana explained.

"No! Please," Vasili pled. "If Leonid and Mikhail leave, I'll be stuck with all these girls!"

"Leave? That's not necessary! I know you all had no part in Valentin's plan. Please, stay. I enjoy having you all here." Maria objected. "You are my family."

The sisters were overjoyed the Golovin's weren't leaving for they had grown to become a second family to them.

-

Fall arrived and Christmas passed.

June 29th, 1927

A few days after Maria's birthday, Anastasia awoke, her nerves jittering with excitement.

She sat up in bed to see Maria sitting at the room's desk, writing in her diary.

The Romanov family had kept diaries. They all wrote in them from the time they were little to their house imprisonment in Ekaterinburg years later.

Unfortunately, the family had to burn their diaries for the sake of privacy. The sisters had spared a few of theirs from years past but Anastasia had burned all of hers. Maria wanted to start a diary to mark this new time of her life while Anastasia had kept a new one also.

"You slept late, Nastasia! It's eleven." Maria pointed to the clock on her nightstand. Ever since Valentin had left, Maria had moved back into Anastasia's room.

"I couldn't sleep all night!" Anastasia lept out of bed, happier than usual.

"Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov, what is going on?" Maria put down her pen.

"What?"

"You're usually so grumpy when you wake up. Why are you so happy?"

"Nothing!" Anastasia laughed.

But, she was hiding something. She had a surprise for Andrei that would turn his world upside down.

Anastasia dressed, ate a late breakfast, and spent the rest of the day painting on the terrace with Maria and her Aunts. They painted the garden with watercolors. Joy sat at Anastasia's feet the entire time, not moving once. The sky was becoming gray - it was feared it was going to storm.

"You've both improved since I've last seen you both paint!" Olga marveled at Maria's parterre painting.

"Maria has. Not me." Anastasia sighed. She felt her lines on her flowers were too sloppy.

"Didn't Olga, our sister Olga, once say that one of your paintings looked like a pig riding a donkey?" Maria remembered and giggled.

"She was right, Mashka. She was entirely right." Anastasia smiled. Just then, the house door opened behind them, Andrei stepping out.

"Ready for our walk?" Andrei asked Anastasia.

"Yep!"

The two sprinted into the garden, racing to the willow tree. As they ran, Andrei noticed the dark clouds that approached the house. He feared they would not make it back to the house in time to avoid the storm.

"Anastasia, we should go back."

Anastasia didn't listen, running further away. They made it to the water garden which was a large pond filled with flowers of all colors. They made their way off of the main path and onto a stepping stone trail which led them to a small secret stone gazebo overlooking the pond.

"At least if it rains, we'll be covered under here," Andrei chuckled.

"I've brought you here because I have some very special news. I know things were very confusing last year. I didn't think it through enough. Well, I've listened to my heart-"

"Wait, wait, wait! Did I just hear Anastasia Romanov start to become sappy?" Andrei joked. Anastasia punched his shoulder. Andrei winced in pain.

"Okay, okay." he quivered, covering his other shoulder.

"I've thought it through. I've been thinking about it since our trip to Paris last year and I've decided that I do want to marry you."