I hadn’t heard the door open; the sound of my name from Ilana’s mouth making me freeze. It was her voice. Unmistakably so. I turned around slowly, staring at her standing in the doorway. She was bruised and looked exhausted, but her eyeswere alive and sparkling. For a heartbeat, I couldn’t even breathe.
Then I crossed the room and pulled her into me so hard she gasped.
There were hoots and laughter all around us, but I didn’t care for any of it. In that moment, all that mattered was Ilana and the fact that she was here.
“You’re here,” I said into her hair, hands shaking. “If you had taken any longer to come, I would have come to get you myself.”
“I knew I had to come back to you, so I left,” she said, clutching my shirt like she was anchoring herself to me. It was exactly what I had wanted.
I pulled back just enough to look at her. “What do you mean you left?”
“They argued,” she said. “For hours. Fyodor wanted to keep me there. Kliment apologized for everything, especially for hiding things from me, and asked me to go back to Russia if that was what I wanted. They were ready to do anything to make me feel better and keep me with them.”
“So what did you say to them?”
“I told them no.”
My chest felt too tight. “You just… walked out?”
“I reminded them,” she said quietly, “that I survived an auction without their help and came out stronger. And that if they ever tried to cage me again, I would burn them down from the inside. I told them I loved them, but I was no longer a Romanov, and I might be their sister, but the only thing that mattered to me anymore was being a wife. Your wife.”
I laughed, a broken sound. “You are insane.”
She smiled. “I think you already know that.”
“Are they going back to Russia?” I asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “They are still obsessed with being the strongest Bratva power in this city, but I don’t care for any of that. None of that matters to me. I need to be here with you, and that is the only thing that matters. If you will have me, of course. I know you are angry with me, and rightfully so. I should have never lied to you.”
“Shh,” I said, keeping a finger on her lips. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I understand.”
“I do,” she nodded. “I honestly did not know what to do or how to protect both you and my family. But in the end, I chose you and decided to tell you the truth, and everything went to hell. I wish I had told you earlier.”
“So you are choosing me? Forever?”
“I love you, Avgust. I don’t know when or how it happened, but I am choosing you. If you will choose me, too, that is.”
“I love you too, Ilana.”
I held her face in my hands and kissed her as the entire room filled with laughter and cat calls, as if my family had been waiting for this to happen. I pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes, and rested my forehead against hers. The truth settled into me like happiness finding its rightful place. My hollowed heart felt whole again. And I knew that now, no matter what stood against us, we would always face it together.
Epilogue - Ilana
A few months later
I woke up to noise.
Not the kind that made my chest tighten or my mind race, but the kind that lived and breathed with overlapping voices, dishes clinking, and someone laughing too loudly for the hour. Sunlight spilled across heavy curtains, warm and unapologetic, touching the edges of the room like it belonged there.
Like I belonged there.
For a moment, I stayed still, listening.
Even from the bedroom, I could hear Timofey arguing with someone about coffee and Zhenya complaining about being awake before noon. Someone was humming absentmindedly, and Elisse was laughing softly. I turned to look beside me and found Avgust. Still asleep.
His arm was draped over my waist, heavy and certain. I moved closer, listening to his slow, even breathing. He slept like he trusted the world not to take anything from him while his eyes were closed. Like he trusted me. I turned slightly, careful not to wake him up, and studied his face. The familiar sharp lines were softened in sleep, the tension he carried like armor finally loosened. There were days when I still couldn’t believe this was my life. This house, this man, and this family.
Not because it felt unreal. But because it felt chosen. Like I had been chosen.
