Safe.
Then my voice dropped softer.
“Ruslan...”
He hummed quietly in acknowledgment.
“Have you truly forgiven my sister — or have you just buried it for now?”
He went still.
“What she did to Maria — cutting her open, leaving her to bleed out — I confirmed it again last year through old contacts.”
My stomach twisted.
“It was her.”
His voice remained steady.
“But I released the hate.”
He tilted his head slightly so he could see my face better.
“Because of you.”
The words landed heavy.
“Because holding onto it meant holding onto the version of myself that hurt you the most.”
His thumb brushed slowly over my spine.
“If you can forgive me for the crimes I committed against you... then why can’t I extend the same grace to your sister?”
He held my gaze.
“Back then, I wasn’t your husband.”
His jaw clenched.
“I was your enemy — pretending to be one.”
That confession hurt.
“I know that now.”
His hand resumed its slow circles again.
“I don’t want vengeance anymore.”
His voice softened — but the intensity behind it remained.
“I want atonement.”
His eye locked onto mine.
“I want to spend every day — every year — until we’re old and grey — making up for the suffering I caused you.”
His fingers pressed gently into my skin.
