My fingers trembled. “None of it removes the nightmares.”
My gaze sharpened. “None of it stops the way I flinch at every shadow.”
Ruslan’s jaw tightened.
“You sent me to prison,” I signed.
Ethan continued translating.
“You let me starve.”
“You let me bleed.”
“You let me carry your child while they crushed my body.”
Ruslan’s breathing changed.
He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t defend himself.
I kept going. “And then I was kidnapped.”
My throat burned. “Violated.”
The word tasted like acid. “Broken.”
My eyes burned now—but I refused to cry. “Over and over.”
Silence stretched.
It felt heavier than shouting.
I signed the final blow slowly. “Forget about me, Ruslan.”
My hands lowered.
I locked eyes with him. “I would rather be six feet under than ever be yours again.”
Ethan translated.
The words hit like bullets.
Ruslan’s face didn’t change immediately.
For half a heartbeat, it remained controlled.
Then something fractured.
Pain. Real pain.
Not the kind that came from wounds or bullets. The kind that came from loss.
I didn’t wait for his response. I turned away.
Dario’s arm immediately came around my shoulders—steady, grounding.
He guided me toward the exit without hesitation.
The others followed in formation.
