My breath stutters as I pull her closer, like if I let go even slightly, she’ll vanish.
We sink down onto the bed together, still clinging to each other, neither of us willing to break the contact. Her tears soak into my shoulder, mine into hers, and for a moment there’s no mansion, no wedding, no Timofey, no strategy.
Just us.
Just survival.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, Sofia…. This is my fault. If I hadn’t—if I didn’t—your family—”
“Stop.”
Her voice is firm, even through tears. She pulls back just enough to hold my face in her hands.
“Don’t you dare do that,” she says, shaking her head. “This isn’t you.”
My throat tightens. “But Anton—he’s after me. Because of me—”
“No,” she cuts in again, sharper now. “It’s Anton.”
Her thumbs wipe at my tears, grounding me even as my chest shakes.
“This is him. This is what he does. He destroys anything he can’t control.”
I swallow hard, trying to steady my breathing, but it’s useless.
Sofia lets out a shaky breath, then continues, softer this time but no less certain.
“And someone has to stop him.”
The words hang in the air between us.
“I’m trying,” I cry. “I’ve tried to enlist Timofey’s help.”
Sofia pulls back slightly, searching my face. “How?”
I sniff, wiping at my cheeks with the back of my hand. My voice comes out broken, uneven.
“The wedding.”
She blinks. “The…wedding?”
I nod, though it feels heavier than it should.
“It wasn’t just—” I pause, swallowing again. “It wasn’t just desperation, Sof. It’s strategy.”
Her grip on my hands tightens. She doesn’t interrupt now. Just listens.
I take a shaky breath. “Anton doesn’t stop. Not unless someone stronger forces him to.”
My voice drops, quieter, more controlled now—the part of me that learned how to survive.
“So I needed protection. Real protection. Not temporary, not political favors. Something he can’t easily undo.”
Sofia’s eyes flicker, understanding beginning to form, though she doesn’t speak yet.
I continue anyway.
“Timofey Rusnak doesn’t do things halfway. If I’m tied to him—officially—Anton can’t just reach me. He can’t just take me. He’ll have to go through an entire structure he can’t touch.”
