The evening sun casts golden light through the windows, painting everything in warm amber tones.
I stand at the window, watching the city sprawl beneath us like a kingdom waiting to be claimed.
Three years ago, I was a captive.
Now, I’m a queen.
“Lost in thought,moya koroleva?” Mikhail’s voice wraps around me like silk as his arms circle my waist from behind.
I lean back against his chest, feeling the solid warmth of him. “Just thinking about how much has changed.”
His lips brush my temple. “Regrets?”
“Not a single one.”
And I mean it.
The girl who was kidnapped three years ago wouldn’t recognize the woman I’ve become.
That Sophia believed in black and white, good and evil, redemption and damnation.
This Sophia understands that the world exists in shades of gray, and sometimes the only way to protect what you love is to become something darker than the threats against it.
Mikhail turns me in his arms, those green eyes studying my face with an intensity that still makes my breath catch.
The scar on his shoulder, visible from the shirt collar, is a reminder of how close I came to losing him.
I trace it with my fingertips, a ritual I’ve performed countless times.
“Mommy, Daddy! Are they here yet?”
Mikhail and I turn as one and smile down at Nicole, her eyes bright with excitement.
“They’ll be here soon,” he murmurs, catching my hand and pressing a kiss to my palm, then bending over and scooping our daughter into his arms.
“But when?” she whines, impatient to see her “family.” Elena’s been cookingallday.”
A smile tugs at Mikhail’s lips. “She’s excited. It’s not often we have everyone together.”
Everyone. Our family. Not the one we were born into, but the one we’ve built from loyalty, blood, and shared purpose.
The doorbell chimes, and I hear familiar voices echoing through the estate.
Nicole squirms in her father’s arms and, with a chuckle, Mikhail sets her on the ground.
She doesn’t waste any time running toward the door, her little legs pumping as fast as they can.
Tony appears first, his deep green eyes so like mine lighting up when he sees me.
He doesn’t have a chance to say hello before Nicole jumps at him.
He laughs and bends, catching her midjump, something they’ve been doing for the past year or so.
“Soph,” he says after setting Nicole on the ground so she can greet Melinda. He pulls me into a hug that lifts me off my feet, just like he used to when we were kids.
“Put me down, you giant,” I laugh, but I’m holding him just as tightly.
When he sets me down, Melinda is there, her blonde hair swept up in an elegant twist that makes her look like she belongs on a magazine cover.
