The door swings open, and Anika—Miko’s petite, blue-eyed, platinum blonde bride—walks in, loose braid hanging over one shoulder, coffee mug in hand.
It’s decaf, of course, because she’s several months pregnant now, though I wouldn’t guess it to look at her.
She takes one look at me and doesn’t bother with pleasantries. “What happened?” she asks, sliding into the chair across from me.
I know she and Miko talk. I’m sure she’s aware of who Stephanie is to me, that I found her again recently, and that it’s her house I’ve been staying at these past few weeks.
But I don’t know if Sandro would have told anyone about our conversation in the gym yesterday—and I’m certain no one knows about the aftermath of my going to Stephanie’s shop.
I’m still not sure I’m ready to talk about it. Then again, I’m not so sure I’ll ever be.
And when it comes right down to it, I owe my brothers that conversation—because it doesn’t just involve Stephanie.
It involves Kenji—a threat they need to know is still alive and kicking.
But Anika is not my brother, and while I’ve gotten to know her quite well these past few months and think she’s a perfect match for Miko, I don’t know how I feel about spilling my guts to her.
For a long moment, I consider brushing her off, but my guard’s too low this morning, and that aching hollowness in my chest only intensifies when I try to swallow the words down.
“She remembered—Stephanie did,” I say flatly. “She remembered everything. And then she told me she doesn’t want me around anymore. She’s worried my presence could endanger her son, and she’s not wrong.”
Anika studies me over the rim of her mug, calm but sharp. “And you’re just… accepting that?”
“What else am I supposed to do?” My voice is quieter than I expect, but the pain is there, lingering right under the surface.
She shakes her head slightly, like I’m missing the obvious. “Gio… sometimes, women have trauma to work through. We lash out at the people we love, even when it only hurts us in the end. It’s self-defense.”
I start to look away, but something in her tone makes me hold her gaze.
She’s not just talking about Stephanie—she’s talking from a place she’s been.
I know enough about her story to feel it in my bones.
She spent a year married to a monster who bruised her soul before Miko came crashing into her life and ended him.
It took her time to believe men weren’t all like that.
To believe love wasn’t just another cage. And her words ring with newfound wisdom because of that.
“I’m touched you’d want to make things right for me,” I tell her. “And I’m glad to see how happy you and Miko make each other.But this isn’t unjustified fear talking for Stephanie. She has a right to believe what she does.” I drop my gaze to my hands, flexing them around the mug. “I failed to protect her when it mattered most.
I’m the reason she lost her memory, the reason that, for eight years, she had to find her way through life and raise a son completely alone.
Now, she’s afraid that someone could come for her son like they did for her if she stays with me.”
Before Anika can respond, Miko walks in, the air shifting instantly with his presence.
He presses a kiss to her temple like it’s instinct, then looks at me. “Give us a moment,Topolina.”
Reaching across the table, Anika squeezes my hand, then rises from her chair before slipping out once again.
Miko sits across from me, leaning in, forearms on the table as he gives me that look that only an older brother can. “You have something to tell me?” he asks.
“Aside from the fact that Kenji’s alive—and came into Stephanie’s shop yesterday?” I ask. “Just that she got her memories back and now wants nothing more to do with me.”
Miko stays silent as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
His blue Novikov eyes that mark him as separate from the rest of my siblings scrutinize me with a calm objectivity.
