He can take my life, my empire, but he cannot take my love for Lauren and our daughter.
Even in death, my heart will continue beating for them.
Always.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lauren
A spotlight catches my attention.
I sit up and squint, watching the white light grow. I strain to reach across to Timur and manage to elbow him in the side, pulling him out of the trance-like state he was in.
A figure steps up into the shipping container, others following. Aslanov is the first person I see, his face coming into view from the flashlight he has in his hand. Every cell in my body tenses, my eyes scanning his other men, trying to find Nikolai.
He’s not here.
I sense Timur’s posture straighten too, his eyes darting across the different bodies. Two of the thugs in the front step aside, giving way to three shapes behind them. The three shapes begin to move forward, like ghosts emerging from a tomb. The shape in the middle, the biggest one, is being flanked by the other two, urged forward like a prisoner. He steps up, his chin held high.
Niko…
For a moment, my shoulders relax. Some of the tension dissipates from my neck. But I look at him, sadness drills a hole in my heart. His hands are bound behind his back, his expression unreadable. He looks cold and detached, even more so than when I first met him the day of Sophia’s wedding.
Something has happened.
Something irreversible.
I catch his eye and his expression softens ever so slightly, but not enough for me to be put at ease.
Aslanov smirks, closing in. “Your boyfriend would like to say goodbye. Get it over with, lovebirds. I have other things to do.”
Goodbye?
The heart palpitations start again.
Did they just bring him here so he can say… goodbye?
I look into Nikolai’s eyes, searching his face, my mind frantically working to memorize all of his features. The way moonlight carves shadows beneath his razor-sharp cheekbones. The constellation of small scars that maps his jaw like a warrior’s history written in flesh. Those ocean eyes that have seen too much death, too much pain, now dulled with the weight of whatever just happened between him and Aslanov.
He looks defeated.
But even in his current state, he radiates a dangerous beauty that takes my breath away—the kind of man who could rule empires or burn them down with equal grace. But it’s the haunted emptiness behind his gaze that breaks me. The look of a man who has already said goodbye to himself.
And in this moment, I understand something. Something I never ever wanted to live through.
This is it.
Our final moment together.
Tears begin to blur my vision, streaming down my face. I can’t even wipe them from my eyes because my hands are still in the zip ties. I can’t even go to him, hug him and hold him close. Fling my arms around him and lose myself in his embrace for a few passing moments.
All I can do is stare into his eyes, suddenly resenting myself all over again. We spent more time hating each other than we did loving. All of those times I pushed him away, arguing, refusing his touch… if I knew that our time together wasso limited, if I knew that this would be the end, I would have kept him closer. I would have gotten over myself and warmed to him more quickly to take advantage of the time we had. I would have been with him every single minute of the day, kissed him more, slept with him every single time I got the urge. I would have done everything in my power to keep him close, but most of all, I would have stopped bringing danger to his doorstep.
God, please…
Why does it have to end this way?
He takes a step towards Timur and me, the cold, detached gaze fading for a few passing moments. For the first time ever, he looks genuinely sad. The small gleam that forms in the corner of his eye confirms that this really is the last time—no tricks, no last-minute plot-twists. There is no getting out of this.
