She walks toward me. “Viktor,” she says.
Just hearing her say my name is enough to make my heart race like a hurricane. “I’m not here to change your mind,” I say in a rush.
Her eyes soften, but her posture stays firm and guarded as she nods.
The tightness in my chest twists. “I just don’t want Sofia to feel the way I did growing up. Alone. Like I was…broken.”
Avelina swallows hard, and her eyes shimmer. “Thank you.”
I nod.
“You didn’t have to do this, Viktor…”
I step back. “I know.”
There’s so much I want to say.
But I can’t.
It just doesn’t come out.
She looks at me like she sees every truth I don’t know how to say. “Take care, Viktor,” she whispers.
And I can tell her heart is splintering as much as mine. I want to beg her to come back. To tell her that somehow, it can just be different.
But that’s a lie.
So, I don’t say the words.
She watches as I walk back to my SUV, climb into the driver’s seat, and pull away. I hit the accelerator, dust rising behind me.
And she keeps watching until I can no longer see her.
My hands clench around the steering wheel. And I try to empty my mind. But all I can do is wonder if I’ll ever stop feeling like I’ve lost the only person that made my world bearable— and she did it all without even trying.
After wasting the rest of the morning, unable to settle to anything, I head to the gym. The punching bag hangs from the ceiling. I square my shoulders, tighten my wraps, and drive my fist into it.
Once.
Twice.
Again. Over and over.
The sound echoes off the cold walls. But it doesn’t quiet the storm in my head.
Everything is too loud. The buzzing of the lights. The fucking hum of the AC. Each sound needles beneath my skin. My system’s fried. My routines are off.
She’s gone.
And it’s like every single part of me is rejecting the very fact.
I hit the bag again. Harder this time. My knuckles scream.
“You trying to break that thing?” one of the younger soldiers calls out. I don’t answer.
Another one beside him snickers. “He’s just mad. He misses his pussy.”
“You talking about Avelina or the cat?” the second one asks with a chuckle. “Tricky Vicky’s probably curled up on some pillow right now while he’s out here punching air like a lunatic.” More laughter.
