This is the chapter. You know the one. Get ready for some massive feels :P Also going to include a language warning as the latter half of the chapter contains EXTREMELY STRONG language (with several F-bombs) because Alexei is going through all the feels :P

Gonna reply to reviews on the previous chapter, thanks so much for the love and to everyone who reviewed!

Guest: You're not alone, I've missed writing Tanner, Jordan, and Lila so it was nice to finally have them back and be able to write all the banter XD

Disclaimer: I do not own the Embassy Row series and all the characters (except for Tanner and Jordan and Alexei's Moscow friends, who are my own creations). They belong to Ally Carter. I am merely using her characters and plotline to create this fanfiction. I have no intention of profiting off the Embassy Row series in any way. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes and would not exist without Ally Carter's wonderful works.

The events that happen in this fanfiction are not meant to be representative of real life. Any similarities to any real-life events or fictional works is purely coincidental and not intentional (with the exception of the original Embassy Row books by Ally Carter since this fanfiction is literally Take the Key and Lock Her Up but from Alexei's, not Grace's, perspective). The character's actions may not always reflect my own opinions or views. Based on what happens or is mentioned in this chapter (spoiler alert), I do not condone emotional abuse/ control/ manipulation or hacking into technical networks.

Content warning: mild to moderate
This fanfiction is rated M, for explicit and suggestive themes (such as mental health and abuse), language, and violence. This chapter contains extremely strong language and mentions of emotional abuse/ control/ manipulation. Please read at your own discretion.

Chapter Twenty-One: So Far Away

I followed the curve of the wall, as I pushed myself to run faster. I was out for a run, which felt liberating. What better way to celebrate my first morning of freedom in my new life than to do something I loved. I couldn't remember the last time I had gone for a run around the wall and now, it was another thing I'd never take for granted.

I had woken up pretty early, heading out just as the sun was starting to rise. There had only been a few lights on in the neighbouring townhouses, likely students with early morning classes getting ready for the day. The streets had been deserted as I power-walked to the nearest section of the wall, as a warm-up before my run. Even now, just over halfway around the wall, the streets were still quiet. I hadn't seen anyone, not until I nearly collided into someone decked out in pink.

"Sorry about that," I said politely, moving out of the way.

"Alexei?" The sound of my name stopped me in my tracks. I got a better look at the figure.

"Megan? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. Although by the looks of it, you're probably doing the same thing I am," Megan said, taking out her earbuds. I was surprised to see her out so early but then remembered she was on the track team at school. Given the pink tank-top, black exercise shorts, and pink headband she was wearing, she was likely out on an early morning run before school.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've run the wall route," I said, running my hand along the wall's cool, rough contour, worn down by years of wind and salt water.

Megan's face softened. "How have things been for you?"

"I've been settling in. I'm staying in a townhouse in the uni district with Karina."

"So Lila told me. How's Karina doing?"

"Okay, I suppose. She's either been sleeping or agitated but she ate some of the food Lila brought over last night. She was still sleeping when I left." Megan nodded, taking everything in.

"I'll have to stop by sometime and see her," Megan said, before her facial expression turned somber.

"How's Grace?" I asked cautiously, knowing I was treading into dangerous territory.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday, before her meeting," Megan said. It looked like we were in the same boat, wondering just what Grace had gotten herself into.

"Have you been able to get any info?" I pressed, lowering my voice.

Megan shook her head. "I haven't been able to get into any of the embassy's super secure new networks or talk to anyone inside. But I did see Grace heading out of the embassy when I was getting ready for my run." There she was, heading off at mysterious hours, doing illicit things. But then again, wasn't that the norm for her?

"I'm not sure what she was doing or where she was going but she seemed like she had a mission," Megan said, echoing my thoughts. "Maybe I'll swing by the embassy once I'm finished my run and see if I can find out anything."

"Sure, that would be great. Let me know how everything with Grace goes, okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even. However, my mind was racing, threatening to spiral into a deep, dark hole.

Megan nodded, before heading off. I took off in the other direction, gradually picking up my pace as I continued my run. I didn't have much of a plan as to how I was going to find Grace and make her talk. Either way, it had to be done, before it was too late. I already felt like the clock was ticking and that there might not be much time left to save her.

Before long, I was in familiar territory in Embassy Row, approaching the Russian embassy, the American embassy just down the street. It brought back memories of another life, one that was now very far behind me. Gone were the days when I'd walk these streets, living it up as an embassy kid. Even with my name cleared, the fact that I had been a fugitive still lingered, branding me as an outcast on these pristine streets. I was no longer welcome here.

I considered cutting my run short, to stake out the embassy. But I thought better of it when I saw double the marines standing guard outside, watching, waiting for any signs of trouble. I was sure they'd be quick to dispatch me, a stray teenage boy loitering outside, watching for any signs of the ambassador's granddaughter. I continued on my way, hoping I wouldn't be missing Grace in doing so.

Once I finished my lap of the wall, I power-walked through the city centre, back towards the American embassy. The city was starting to come alive, the streets starting to fill with people. I didn't know if Grace would be back from her early-morning mission, whatever it was. But I could only hope I wouldn't be too late. I had let her run away from me far too many times. I would do whatever it took, with whatever power I had, to keep it from happening again.

When I approached the American embassy, I saw that the guards had just changed. I slowed my pace, to look like I was casually passing by. I glanced up at the embassy, wondering if she was somewhere inside. I eventually stopped a ways down, ironically noting that I was standing by Russia's gates. How funny was it that I was now a guest in my former home. I wondered if anyone inside Russia would look outside and see the ambassador's son loitering. But then I remembered that I no longer had a father, and he no longer had a son.

And so I waited, leaning back against Russia's gates, looking for any sign of Grace. As the minutes passed, I feared I had come too late. I considered asking the marines if they had seen her leave or return. The days of being able to approach them without fear seemed like so long ago, even though it was just this past summer. Besides, with the embassy's heightened security, I doubted the marines would let me, especially with my Russian accent, question Grace's whereabouts, not without raising red flags.

All around me, Embassy Row gradually got busier. The local day workers started arriving at their respective embassies. Tourists walked down the street, gawking at the grandeur of the embassies. The traffic picked up, filling the city with noise. As life passed by around me, I stood there rooted, frozen in time while everyone moved on. I felt like a fly on the wall, watching, waiting.

An unusual sound, almost like a choking sob, followed by a sniffle, snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. I looked up, spotting the one person I had come here for, the only person I wanted to see.

"Gracie!" She was walking with her head down, like she was trying to blend into the background. When she looked up, my heart instantly broke.

"What's wrong?" I asked, staring into those beautiful brown eyes that were now red, puffy, and shining with tears. Whoever had made her cry was going to pay for it, big time. She stayed silent as she stood on the sidewalk.

"Gracie, what has happened?" I pleaded, hoping she would tell me what was wrong so I could make it right again. I only wanted to help her and I hope she knew that by now.

"I went for a walk," she said. She went for a walk yesterday and never returned. Did she really think I was going to believe that?

"Gracie, what did you do?" I looked right into her eyes, begging her to tell me what exactly she had been walking into and why she had to do it alone. "What happened yesterday? What happened on the wall?" I had to know because it would kill me if I didn't. I couldn't remember her being this silent before and it was eating at me. Something was seriously wrong and she didn't want me to know. But as her boyfriend, I had promised her that I would be by her side, regardless of whatever problems she faced. Whatever this was, I wouldn't let her go through it alone.

"The princess and the Society had a proposal. It's the best for everyone, so I took it." Grace smiled but it felt too fake, too forced, like she was merely a puppet playing its designated role. "It's over, Alexei. Now everything can go back to normal."

"What kind of normal?" I pushed myself off Russia's gates, moving closer to her. Normal didn't exist for us, but even more so for Grace. Forcing her into some semblance of normal didn't sound like a good idea, especially with this proposal.

"They're going to stop chasing Jamie. They're going to stop chasing me. It will be okay. I swear. It will be over."

"Gracie –" I reached out, cupping my hands around her face. She bristled under my touch, enough to clue me in that something was truly off. I brushed her hair out of her face, tilting her head up so I could look into her eyes, to see the truth that laid within them. She relaxed into my embrace, making me hope I had gotten through to her. I gently kissed the top of her head then pulled her close, where she couldn't run from me. "Tell me, Gracie. Please."

She bristled again as she pulled out of my arms, far too soon. Something was definitely up. "I'm going to move into the palace."

What? Grace was going to the palace? The words almost didn't make sense. Why would Grace move into the palace? But all at once, her words and its deeper implication hit me.

"No," I stated. "You're not." There was no way in hell that could even be a possibility.

Grace shrugged and laughed, like I was dumb for not understanding. However, it came out wrong, far too contrived to convince me. "It's the palace, Alexei. Why wouldn't I want to live there?" I could think of a million reasons why. Despite her lineage, she was never meant to be a princess, not in my eyes. She could never be trapped there, its rigid rules and protocols dampening her free and wild spirit. So why did she suddenly want to go?

"What did they say to you yesterday?"

"It was like Ms. Chancellor said. They had a plan, and it's a good one. I'm going to do it."

"What plan?" The more I heard, the more I didn't like the sound of this. What the hell had they done with my girlfriend?

"Well, see, to start with, I'm going to move into the palace and then … in a few years … I'm going to marry the prince. It's all been decided." What the fuck? What about me? What about us?

"What are you talking about?" This couldn't be real. What kind of bullshit and lies had they filled her head with?

"It's really genius when you think about it. They know Jamie is the rightful heir – the oldest kid of the oldest kid and so on. So they could kill us. But there are probably other heirs, you know, and they probably can't kill us all, so –"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, almost growling. She needed to cut the bullshit now. I didn't care about all this crap about Jamie being the rightful heir. I just wanted to know exactly what was going on.

She looked up at me, batting her eyelashes, like the pretty, popular princess she was being turned into. But combined with her red, puffy eyes and haunted look, it came out all wrong. I couldn't believe what she was doing or that she thought I would fall for that. She could never be fake like the other women in the Society. It didn't suit her, not when she was very real and spirited, just how I liked her.

"I'm going to marry the prince, and then our oldest child – Amelia's rightful heir – will be on the throne eventually. Our own little coup, and the country never has to know. Everything is back the way it should be and the region remains stable and … everyone is happy."

She smiled, like it was the most wonderful thing in the world. But this was far from perfect. This sounded like a death sentence, not just to me, but to her. I didn't know who the girl in front of me was, with her naïve sense of optimism. Clearly, she was not the girl I had fallen for.

"Are you happy, Gracie?" I scowled as I looked at her, trying to see into her very core. Maybe she could have fooled most people with her lies, convincing enough to almost be believable. But I wasn't going to be fooled so easily. Not when we had so much history. I knew her too well to know that deep down, in her heart, this wasn't something she wanted, no matter how much her brain tried to tell her otherwise.

But she just gave me that damned pretty princess smile again, like she was trying to make the dumb village boy see reason. "Princess Ann did it – when she was a girl. She and my mom and, I guess, your mom thought that Ann was the heir, so she married the prince. Now I'm going to marry the prince."

"You don't even know him!" I roared, not caring who heard me. How the fuck could she do this to herself, allowing her independence to robbed, to be forced into a marriage with a stranger? This wasn't the olden days anymore; arranged marriages were supposed to be a thing of the past, but clearly, I was mistaken.

"We're not getting married tomorrow. I'm just going to move into the palace for now. The official story will be that Ann was my godmother, so I'm living with her. And then the prince and I will get to know each other, and in time, I'm sure –"

"Do you think I care about time?" I shouted, cutting her off. I didn't give a fuck about the official story or how much time it was going to take to pull off. As far as I knew, this was the end of us and we were running out of time to save us. The longer this took, the more I feared we'd never get back what we had.

"Gracie, you don't have to do this. Jamie would never want you to do this!" I pleaded, desperately trying to make her see reason. Jamie would never want his little sister to be primed into a picture-perfect princess. He would want her to become a headstrong, independent woman, which was exactly what I wanted too. I didn't want her to be a princess. I just wanted her to be truest self deep down to her core.

I reached for her, trying to find something tangible to make her see this wasn't right, that this wasn't her and it wasn't what she wanted. She pulled away, as if following a command programmed into her brain.

"Maybe I want this," Grace said, almost too convincingly. "Did you consider that?"

"Do you?" I really looked at her, the gravity of the situation finally starting to hit me. How much of a say did she actually have in this? Had she willingly consented to this or was she just shoved into the situation, bombarded with information until she was finally brainwashed into seeing the good in it?

"It's my birthright," Grace said casually, shrugging. "I was born to be a princess."

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this entire bitter situation and how out of control it had gotten. "You could have fooled me."

"Really, there's no reason not to do it." What the hell? Hadn't I just given her a million reasons not to?

I looked at her, hoping this was all some cruel joke. But her face was cold and unforgiving, like she was already becoming the princess automaton she was supposedly destined to be. No, this couldn't be happening. Not to me, or to the very wild, vibrant girl I knew and loved. The girl in front of me, for all intents and purposes, was a stranger. And that was when I realized that maybe, just maybe, I had finally lost Grace. It felt like the end was dawning on me and there was nothing I could do to stop it from coming, or to save us.

"I can think of a reason." In a very last-ditch effort, even though I knew all hope was lost for us at this point, I put my arms around her, for potentially the last time. I pressed my lips against hers hard, as if I could persuade her to back out of this, that it wasn't too late to save herself, or us. For a second, she gave in, like she didn't want this to end either.

We deepened the kiss, raw passion flowing between us. We kept going, knowing this was very well the last time we'd ever get to do this. I didn't want this to end, hoping if I could keep her here long enough, she would change her mind and back out of the Society's ridiculous proposal.

But at long last, she pulled away from me, ripping away every piece of me that belonged to her. The dreadful anticipation worsened, like I was waiting for her to deliver the killing blow, for her to completely and utterly destroy my soul.

"You're a nice boy, Alexei," Grace said, sounding like she had been fed this line and was simply regurgitating it to me. "I'm sorry, but this is for the best. You'll always be one of my very best friends, you know."

"Friend?" I said, stepping away from her. Was she seriously friend-zoning me? Was that what she considered me now, despite all the history we had shared and everything we had gone through? There was no way this could be real.

"I'm sure we'll see each other sometime. It's not like this is good-bye."

"No." I shook my head, feeling like I was merely playing along to a pre-written, Society-approved script. "That's not what this is." Yet, I couldn't help but feel like it was good-bye, not just for now, but for forever. Although we had only been official for a few days, we had years of history behind us. There was no way we could have undone any of that so easily. Yet, she had gone and done just that, shattering my heart into a million pieces.

I watched as she walked down Embassy Row towards the American embassy, my heart getting more hollow by the second. This girl was merely a pre-programmed princess-to-be. The girl I had known and loved was gone and there was no chance I'd ever get her back.

Almost as if on cue, like it was part of the script, a limo pulled up in front of the American gates. Grace looked from the embassy to the limo, like she was accepting her fate. She walked towards the limo door, held open by a uniformed driver. At the last second, she turned, meeting my eyes one last time. Her face was unreadable as she gave me one last wave, like a final salute, before climbing in, the door closing behind her.

This was it, the end of us and everything that we could have been, and the start of her new life in the palace, as a shining, obedient princess. There was no going back now and all I could do was accept the consequences of our respective actions. And so I watched as the limo slowly drove away, taking the last remnants of my heart with it.

Song inspo: Martin Garrix and David Guetta ft. Jamie Scott and Romy Dya – "So Far Away"
Genre/ subgenre: EDM/ Future Bass

When I first listened to this song (the first time it came out, way back in late 2017), this is how I imagined Alexei feeling about Grace and their relationship after she goes to the palace with the intention of staying there. The lyrics in the chorus especially fit with this, in how he'd feel about seeing her around Valancia after they've broken up, since she's still in the same city but feels a million miles away, living in the palace. The song title also inspired the chapter title (since the other ones that I came up with didn't quite feel right).

This is also an EDM track that Alexei would totally be listening to on repeat right after the breakup happens, to help process what happened, and it would fit with his personality, with liking EDM.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be up between Dec. 4 and Dec. 17.

Welp, and there you have it, the Gralexei breakup scene :P I hope I did it justice, since I only had 4 days to edit it to get it out on time (between a busy clinic schedule and a 45-minute rounds presentation that I was given less than a week to prepare for). What do you think happens next?