"But you didn't," Anatoly pointed out gently. "And even if you had... how could I throw stones? He was an important part of your life for so long, and you loved him."

He grew quiet for a moment, thinking of Svetlana and Florence, the two women he'd once (and maybe a part of him still) loved. What would he have done if he'd been in Lex's postion and it had been freedom they've offered. He wasn't sure he knew the answer.

"I tell you, it doesn't matter what did or didn't happen between you and him. You and I - we've been this road before, with marriages. What matters is how we feel about each other." He leaned forward to kiss Lex again, a slow deep kiss. "You know, Sascha, don't you? How much you mean to me? You're my sun, my light, my life."