Silence.
The tension in the room was so thick I could barely breathe.
“I’m not gonna stop you,” I said. “Not because I don’t want to. But because I wanna respect your decision.”
She swallowed, blinking back the tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
I paused, taking a second to calm myself and steady my voice. “Sergei will take you wherever you wanna go, and don’t worry, I won’t spy on you.”
She pressed her lips into a fine line, her chest rising and falling with slow breaths.
For the next few seconds, neither of us said a word, and neither of us broke eye contact. If I had my way, I wouldn’t let her leave. But I’d rather she chose to stay than be forced to do so.
Finally, I broke the silence. “Goodbye, Emika.”
She lowered her head, as if to hide her tears. Without another word, I walked out of the room, leaving her alone.
Chapter 25 – Emika
Sergei dropped me off at the train station, the wide concrete space humming with noise and motion. Adrik had instructed him to take me wherever I wanted to go. He would’ve done so himself, but I figured he wanted to give me some space.
The look in his eyes when he found me packing revealed the pain he tried so hard to mask. My decision to leave hurt him more than he cared to admit, and I could see right through him. I was able to read him like an open book because I was familiar with his pain.
As a man, he’d been trained to keep his emotions in check—never to express his feelings. But today, he’d come so close to breaking down. I saw it: the vulnerable version of him, his heart broken into pieces.
I hadn’t meant to hurt him.
However, I needed some time to think—to find myself again. Richard’s greed had almost gotten me killed so many times. The man who was supposed to be my grandfather was the mastermind behind my pain and misfortune.
The man who was gradually stealing my affection—the one I’d killed for—turned out to be my father’s murderer. It was all just too much for me to bear. The weight was too heavy to carry, and I simply needed time to get my act together.
Maybe I would find peace and clarity in solitude. Maybe it was best to stay away from Adrik and all the chaos that came with being a part of his world. Honestly, at this point, I wasn’t sure of anything at all. I was just doing what I thought was right for me.
“I don’t mean to pry, but…” Sergei said, stealing a glance at me through the rearview mirror, “…are you sure you want to leave?”
An approaching train blared its horn in the distance, making the ground tremble slightly.
He continued, “It’s not my place, but trust me, your presence in the mansion has changed my boss in ways I never thought possible.”
I hesitated, letting his words sink in for a minute. “Did he put you up to this?”
He let out a quiet scoff. “Chances are, he’d kill me if he found out I even said anything.”
I drew a deep breath, unable to suppress the faint grin on my lips.
“He cares about you, you know,” he added. “He sucks at showing it. But he does.”
I met his gaze, my expression softening by the second. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’ve never seen him put anyone or anything above himself,” he answered. “With you, he broke that rule.”
My gaze shifted to the small crowd outside, my heart aching in my chest.
“Now, I might not know anything about love,” he continued, his tone low and even. “But I’m pretty sure it’s selfless. It protects. It provides. And it respects decisions.”
Sergei just listed all the qualities Adrik had exhibited over the past few days. He wasn’t wrong; the man had indeed changed. But this wasn’t about him. It was about me.
“Goodbye, Sergei,” I said to him.
