I Was Anastasia

by Ariel Lawhon

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. —SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

Taking a woman by force makes a man no better than the rooster in Tobolsk. It simply makes him an animal.

As women we are taught that bravery and valor exist in the grand gestures. We believe that kindness is weakness and arrogance is the same as courage. But it is not so. Sometimes restraint proves the mettle of a man’s heart more accurately.

This is how the human heart beats, a twisted staccato of love and envy, of anger and relief.