She makes a small sound. Satisfied. Exhausted.
I carry her to the bed. Lay her down gently.
She looks up at me. Her eyes glazed. A small smile on her lips.
"You okay?" I ask.
"More than okay," she whispers.
I brush hair from her face. Kiss her forehead.
"Good." I pull the blanket over her. "Rest. We're not done yet."
Vittoria
I sit at the long dining table in the Baganov estate, surrounded by Dmitri's siblings.
The silence is heavy. Oppressive. Like grief has weight and it's pressing down on all of us.
Aleksander sits at the far end, his jaw tight. He hasn't touched his coffee. Just stares at it like the answers to everything are floating in the dark liquid.
Oleg picks at his eggs. Pushes them around his plate. His knuckles are bruised. Fresh. I don't ask.
Vladimir reads something on his phone. His face blank. Unreadable. He's been like that since the funeral. A wall.
Karolina sits beside me. She offered me a small smile when I arrived. It didn't reach her eyes. She's trying. I can see that. But the effort exhausts her.
Natalia is across from me. She's the youngest.
She looks like she's carrying the weight of that every single day.
I understand that feeling. The guilt that doesn't make sense but exists anyway.
Dmitri enters the dining room. His presence shifts something in the air. Everyone straightens slightly. Like soldiers responding to their commander.
He's dressed in a dark suit. His hair still damp from the shower.
He moves to the head of the table. Kisses Karolina's cheek. Squeezes Vladimir's shoulder. Nods at Aleksander and Oleg.
Then he comes to me.
His hand finds the back of my neck. Gentle. Possessive. He leans down. Kisses my temple.
"Good morning, solnyshko," he murmurs.
"Morning," I whisper back.
He takes the seat beside me. A server appears immediately. Pours his coffee. Sets down a plate of food.
The silence continues.
I try to think of something to say. Something that won't sound hollow. Empty.
Nothing comes.
Dmitri's hand finds mine under the table. Squeezes once.
I squeeze back.
