“Thank you, I guess?” I replied drily, not having the energy for banter.
“It is bound to happen when you part ways with the woman you have clearly been in love with. Was such a dramatic reaction even necessary?”
“She lied to me.” My jaw hardened at the thought of it. Even though most of my anger had already faded and had been replaced by rationality, I could not forget about it. Not so soon.
Before Timofey could say anything else, Iosif motioned at the two of us and signaled towards the house. He was calling us to the meeting room. Lukyan also began walking towards the house, and the three of us quickly followed Iosif inside. It had been some time since the four of us had been inside this room together.
“Avgust,” Iosif addressed me at once, assuming his position at the head of the room. “We have not had the chance to talk about anything since the revelation of the Romanovs’ identities.”
“I have been keeping to myself,” I replied honestly, not knowing what else to say. It was true I had been avoiding everyone.
“Where is she right now?” Iosif asked. I was not mistaken about who he meant by 'she'. It could only be one person.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I asked her to leave, so she must have gone back to her brothers. Do we not have a location on them yet?”
“They are lying low,” Lukyan replied. “They might have even gone back to Russia for all we know. But despite knowing them, we have no reason to attack them yet. Yes, they are Romanovs, but what have they done to invoke an attack from us or any of the other bratvas in the city?”
“Lukyan is right,” Iosif replied. “All we can do is monitor their movements and make sure they lay low or leave the city. We do not want another bratva family here unless they can justify their presence properly. As for the matter with Ilana, what have you decided, Avgust?”
“She is a Romanov,” Lukyan said bluntly. “And she lied to Avgust and all of us about her identity. We should not be ignoring that.”
“I know what she is,” I snapped. “And I also know who she isn’t. I don’t need reminders.”
Lukyan’s jaw tightened. “I warned you. I told you to be thorough in your checking of her because I was afraid she was hiding something. And well, we have proof in front of us now. We don’t know what else she might have lied about or how much private information she has already relayed to her brothers.”
“She was not a spy, Lukyan,” Timofey chimed in before I could say another word.
“And how do you know that?” Lukyan asked, leaning against the table.
“I met her before all of you did. I was injured near Avgust’s safe house, and he rescued me. Ilana tended to my injuries. She was nothing but a kind, lost girl who had no clue what the Bratva even was. And you might say she was pretending at that time as well, but I know when someone is lying and when someone isn’t. And Ilana was being honest.”
“And when I saw her in the auction, all of it was real. She was genuinely shocked by all of it,” I replied, my mind returning to the first time I had laid my eyes on her and everything had stopped moving in that moment.
“None of it erases her last name,” Lukyan said, calmer now. “She will always be a Romanov who cannot become a part of our world.”
Iosif finally spoke. “Enough.”
We all turned to look at him.
“Lukyan, you are forgetting that I married Clara, who also belonged to a rival Bratva faction until we became allies. In the Bratva world, marriages are not based on friendships or names;they lead to alliances and friendships. And we cannot forget the fact that Avgust has already married her.
“She is his wife. There is no denying that she is a Romanov. We are not on very friendly terms with the family right now. Still, we cannot let that define her relationship with Avgust until she explicitly goes against us.”
“But she has already returned to her brothers, which means that she was compliant since day one. Isn’t that going against us?” Lukyan added.
“Or it might only mean that she has nowhere else to go,” Timofey replied. “She has lived in Russia all her life and knows no one here except for her own family and us. Avgust turned her away. Where else is she supposed to go? Sleep on the streets?”
My heart ached.
She had blatantly told me she had nowhere to go and could not return to her brothers, and I had not cared about any of it. I had asked her to leave no matter what. I had told her I would not give her my name, protection, or mercy. I had been angry then, but the thought of what I did to her came back to haunt me. I had been very unfair.
“I actually know for a fact that she did not return to her brothers.” All of us turned around, realizing that Elisse had entered the meeting room. She walked straight towards Iosif, standing beside him as she looked at us.
“What do you mean?” I could not stop myself from asking, concern taking root in my heart.
“She called me after you kicked her out of the safe house and told me everything and asked for help. I had half a mind to bring her here, but I knew it might be complicated given her name and how everyone else might react to it. So I set her upin a small apartment on Chernykh property. She has been living there for two weeks now.”
“All alone?” I asked, my mind spinning at the thought of it.
