The boys?
“They’re all fine, Sienna. Everyone’s okay. Everyone except you,” he added the last part in almost a whipser, as if he was scolding himself. His gaze flicked to my throat, then returned to mine. I squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile before typing again.
Are you going to cry?
His eyes widened, completely caught off guard, which amused me far more than it should have. I pointed at the tissue box on the nightstand and typed again:
You can use those. I’ll find something else for my pedicure.
A corner of his mouth lifted slowly, his gaze darkening as his hand slipped beneath the blanket to gently grasp my ankle. “Pedicure? No need. I like them just the way they are,” he murmured. My eyes widened as heat rushed through me, memories surfacing far too vividly. Seriously… that was what he remembered? I shook my head, smiling despite myself. “You…” I tried to say, but the words dissolved into a coughingfit. “Sienna, breathe…shit,” Sasha panicked, sliding his arm behind my back to help me sit up. He grabbed the bottle beside the tissues and handed it to me. I pulled my hand back to take it, then froze at the sight of blood staining my palm.
Double shit.
“Sienna?” his voice tightened as his eyes locked onto my hand. “It’s fine,” I whispered hoarsely, forcing myself to drink a few sips. The metallic taste made me grimace, but I swallowed anyway, he eased me back down, exhaustion crashing over me. “It’s going to be okay, Sienna. Everything will be okay. I promise,” Sasha murmured, his rough voice soft as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. The last thing I saw before drifting off was the darkness of his eyes watching over me.
“Uncle Sasha is waiting for me to help me with my maths,” Mikhail said, and the name of the man who never left my thoughts yanked me back to the present. Mikhail slipped out of the room quickly while Selina started drinking her smoothie, letting out a long, blissful moan. “I swear this little one’s going to wear me down, look at her getting all excited over a smoothie,” she said, taking my hand and pressing it to her belly. I laughed as I felt the vigorous kicks my niece was delivering. “Like mother, like daughter,” I scoffed, and Selina rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait for her to get here,” Elif said, nodding serenely. “She’ll bring some softness into this house with all these savages around us.” The calm in her voice made me burst out laughing again. “In that case, I hope Ivanov women are naturally gentle, because we were absolute furies when we were kids,” I said, and my sister nodded, confirming it. “No way, are you kidding?” Elif asked, and the despair on her face almost made me pity her. Poor woman. “I think it’ll be a good thing she won’t let anyone walk all over her,” Selina said, stroking her belly with a smallsmile. “Otherwise she’ll never get to enjoy life with all those men around her.” “You’re not wrong,” Elif finally agreed, “she wouldn’t last long with those savages”. Then she added, “and who knows… maybe she’ll grow up with a girl cousin,” and Selina and I stared at her, wide-eyed. “Oh my God. You’re pregnant?” I asked, nearly springing out of my chair. “No!” she exclaimed, her face clearly outraged, “I meant you, Sienna. You wouldn’t want to have a little girl in the next few years so she could grow up with her cousin?” My good mood vanished in an instant. Selina lit up beside me, excited. “Yes! It would be so cute if they grew up together!” she said, grabbing my arm, and I looked at her, not knowing what to say. Panic rose as the ghost of an old pain began to seep into my limbs, and screams echoed in my ears, my screams. “Sienna?” my sister called, and I snapped out of it, blinking rapidly. I clasped her hand where it rested on my arm.
“Yes, yes, that would be amazing,” I said, forcing a smile. “But I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon,sorella mia. You know… I’d have to find a good man who’ll make me see life through rose-coloured glasses and all that nonsense…”
They both stared at me, confused, as I pushed my chair back and stood. “Right. I’m going to go get ready. Kenji won’t be long,”. “But we’re not finished!” Elif called after me as I was already opening the door. “I’ll take Selina’s notes, the good student,” I said, winking at my sister, who looked genuinely scandalized. I shut the door behind me and hurried to my room, my body starting to shake. I reached the bathroom as best I could and turned the hot water on, stripping my clothes off with a short, unsteady breath before stepping beneath the stream.
I waited for the trembling to stop. I waited for the cold to leave me. But it didn’t. It got worse. My chest tightened, black spots dancing in front of my eyes.
“Well, what’s happening, Stella?” that melodious voice suddenly whispered. “Losing control? That’s not good, Stella.They’ll see what you are if you don’t do something. Your sister, your nephews, the Ivanovs… and him. They’ll all know what you are, a whore who sells her body.”
I dropped to my knees, my hands braced against the tiles, because I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move what was happening to me? An insulin crash? No. It had nothing to do with that. It was deeper than that. A panic attack. I was having a panic attack. When was the last one? Three years ago? Four? I had to calm down. It had to pass. I had to get up, to move, to survive. But they had talked about a baby, my baby. A baby that would never exist.
A sob finally broke free from my mouth, and I might have felt relief if the sobs hadn’t stolen the air from my lungs. I dragged in breath after breath while my body shook with crying. I pressed my forehead against the cold wall, trying to steady myself.
It was going to be okay. Like always.
I was going to get back up. Like always.
I was going to fight. I wasn’t going to let them break me that easily. The Master would not win. He would not have me. Never.
——
I let out yet another sigh as I waited for Kenji to arrive, but still nothing. He should have been here twenty minutes ago already. “Maybe he broke down,” Selina said from the couch, where she was reading. “He would’ve called me. He didn’t even answer my messages,” I muttered, unease slowly creeping in. What if he’d had an accident? Or worse, what if the Master had done something? “What are you still doing here?” Elif suddenly asked as she walked into the living room, her hair still damp from her shower. “I thought you’d already left. I ran into Samy in the kitchen before going upstairs. He said your friend had arrived.” “What?” I blurted out, pulling out my phone to call Kenji again,straight to voicemail. What the hell was going on? “Where’s Samy?” I asked as I headed toward the hall, already opening the door without even bothering to put my shoes on, still in my flip-flops. “Samy went out with Mr. Sasha fifteen minutes ago, Miss Sienna,” Sena informed me as she came down the stairs with clean sheets in her arms. Fifteen minutes. When Elif had gone to shower. When Kenji had arrived.
“Sasha!” I snapped, on the verge of losing it, storming outside while ignoring my sister and Elif calling after me. Fifteen minutes, they couldn’t be far. Sasha’s car was still parked in front of the villa, but Kenji’s was nowhere in sight. I headed straight for the gate, cursing that Russian in every language I knew. If he had laid a single finger on Kenji, I would never forgive him. I was only a few meters from the gate when it opened, and Kenji’s car rolled in, with Sasha sitting in the passenger seat. What the hell?
The car stopped a few steps from me, and I met Sasha Ivanov’s dark stare through the windshield. My frown deepened when I noticed a thin line of blood running from his left eyebrow. Then my gaze shifted to Kenji, and my mouth fell open: his lip was split, a bruise already blooming along his jaw. They had fought.
“Both of you ! Get out of that car ! Now!” I shouted, stamping my foot, fists clenched at my sides. For a moment, both idiots just stared at me. Then they exchanged a look and finally stepped out, keeping their distance. Up close, the damage was even clearer. Kenji’s lower lip was split, bruises darkened his jaw and cheekbone. Sasha’s eyebrow was cut, and a bruise was spreading over his left temple. “I can’t believe this. You’re both absolute children!” I yelled, throwing my arms up. “You’re incapable of controlling your testosterone!”
“He started it,” Sasha suddenly dared to say, pointing his chin at Kenji and shoving his fists into the pockets of his tailored pants. "And who provoked me first?" retorted the other idiot,resting his arm on the roof of the car after slipping a cigarette between his lips. And then, as if nothing had happened, he slid the pack across the roof to Sasha, who grabbed it and took one out himself. I don't think I've ever been so angry before; I could almost see smoke coming out of my ears. "You!" I shouted, pointing at Kenji. "Throw away that damn cigarette, get in the fucking car, and wait for me!" he looked at me, raising an eyebrow as he exhaled smoke, and that was the last straw. I bent down, grabbed one of my flip-flops, and threw it at him. He dodged it cursing, and the next second he was behind the wheel with his cigarette extinguished.
I bent down and grabbed the second flip-flop, pointing it straight at the Russian. His cigarette was gone now, his careless attitude replaced by a guarded stance, his hands out of his pockets.
“And you, inside. Move. We’re going home,” I said before turning my back on him and walking toward the villa, carefully hiding just how badly my feet were burning against the hot stones. I went inside and dropped my remaining flip-flop beside the door. When I noticed my sister, Elif, and Sena staring at me wide-eyed from the living room, I spoke calmly,
“Sena, could you bring my jacket and my bag up to my room, please? And the small first-aid pouch from the top bathroom drawer.” She nodded and hurried upstairs. I heard footsteps behind me and couldn’t help the faint, almost wicked smile that curved my lips. I was going to deal with Kenji personally, and as for Sasha, I was leaving him to the big boss.
“Oh my God, Sasha Ivanov! Who did this to you?” Elif exclaimed as she rushed forward. I stepped aside gracefully to let her through, adding lightly, “he got into a fight with my friend.”
“What? Is that how you welcome guests, Sasha? Is that how I raised you?” she scolded, hands on her hips. “And you promised Nikolai!” She crossed her arms, fixing him with a hard stare.Yet Sasha’s gaze never left me. There was something strange in it, his fists sank into his pockets, his eyes sliding slowly over my body. “No, no, no…look at me,” Elif snapped. “And take your hands out of your pockets,” he obeyed immediately. Sena handed me my things while Elif continued to scold him. I turned toward the door to leave, stepping around the idiot who was clearly about to have a very bad moment, when his hand closed around my arm, stopping me.
“Sasha…” Elif began, but he lifted his free hand. “Please. Give us a moment” I saw Elif freeze, her gaze shifting between us, but she said nothing. Her footsteps retreated, followed by Sena and my sister, whose stare I felt lingering on my back. I lifted my eyes to the hand still holding my arm, surprisingly gentle and met his blue gaze. My breath caught. There was something there I had never seen before. Emotion. Raw and unguarded. His eyes shone with tenderness, a softness that tightened my throat. “I will respect your wishes, Angel,” he said quietly, never looking away, “I won’t touch you anymore. I won’t come near you. Hell, I won’t even speak to you if that’s what you want. But know this, I will wait. No matter how long it takes, I will wait”.
