Page 64 of Maddening Fixation

It wasn’t merely about wealth.

It was the final wish of the only woman who had never abandoned me.

The woman whose sacrifice had saved my life.

Without my grandmother, I would still be rotting inside Ravencliff—or dead beneath its walls.

How could I dishonor the last promise she had ever made?

The thought alone felt like betrayal.

Yet so did the thought of losing Yarina.

I crossed the distance between us until only a single step remained.

My hand rose slowly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m asking something I never thought I’d ask.”

The words scraped against my throat. “My grandmother’s last wish... and everything she sacrificed to save me... deserve to be honored.”

I swallowed hard. “It’s only for two years, Yarina.”

The words felt like shards of glass in my throat.

“I survived ten years because I believed I’d find my way back to you. I’m asking you to bear two more. I know I’m asking you to endure something no woman should ever have to. But can you wait for me?”

The question shattered something inside my own chest.

Because if there was one person in this world I never wanted to hurt...

It was the woman standing in front of me.

Chapter 3

JULIET

The family lawyer, Mr. Volkov, cleared his throat with the solemn gravity of a man who had spent a lifetime safeguarding dangerous secrets.

His fingers rested on the thick leather folder before him as though it carried enough weight to crush everyone seated around the table.

My grandmother had been dead for twelve days.

My grandfather died forty-eight hours later, as though losing her had finally silenced the heart that had loved her for a lifetime.

Now their children and grandchildren sat together in solemn silence before the family lawyer, waiting for the reading of their grandparents’ final wills and the distribution of the inheritance they had left behind.

The room was unnaturally still.

Every eye remained fixed on the lawyer as they waited for him to speak.

No one reached for a drink. No one checked a phone.

Even my notoriously impatient uncle kept his mouth shut.

Everyone knew fortunes could change with a single sentence.

Mr. Volkov adjusted his glasses before opening the folder.