“I stopped him,” I replied softly.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“He didn’t mean it.”
His lips turned up into a smirk. Not a nice beautiful one. More like an evil smirk, one that said Alessio Ivanshov was about to kill you and you had no choice but to accept your fate.
“Do you really think that, Ayla?”
Shaking my head, I tried to push him away. “What you did was wrong. Worse than what Viktor did. Only because he didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t kiss me. He was drunk and not in his right mind. He didn’t mean to hurt you.”
When he finally moved, I walked away from the wall and his furious gaze. “But you? You hurt him knowingly.”
His hands fisted at his sides, and I knew I had hit him straight in the heart. “You killed him,” I whispered. The tears finally escaped, falling down my cheeks.
I saw his eyes tracking my tears, following the drops. His jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth. Was it in anger, or was he hiding his pain…I didn’t know.
I made no move to swipe the tears away, letting him feel my pain. “He trusted you, Alessio.”
“And I trusted him. But he broke that trust. The moment he thought of you as someone to be desired and fucked, he broke that trust.”
My eyes widened, and I took a step back. “You are disgusting.”
“Truth hurts, doesn’t it, Angel?”
When I didn’t answer, he let out a dry laugh. With a broken heart, I couldn’t even say anything. There was nothing to say.
Alessio had already made up his mind. He did the one thing I thought he would never do.
The world tilted, and it felt like everything was crashing around me, falling underneath my feet. Alessio started to walk away, and I could only stare at his retreating back.
Before he could step out of the room, my voice stopped him.
“He was your brother.”
My final words. I had hoped they would make a difference. But what a laughable thought. Those words wouldn’t bring Viktor back.
He was…really gone.
Alessio paused at the doorway. His voice was low and rough as he spoke.
“You are right. He…was.”
The door closed behind him, leaving me in the silence of the storm he left behind.
Decades of friendship. Decades of brotherhood. All gone within days.
Viktor was gone.
The man who could make me laugh. The man who sometimes had wiped my tears away. He loved Maila unconditionally. He loved Alessio.
He was a man who would do anything for his family. Lay his life down for those he loved. In his eyes, we always came first.
For Alessio to kill a man like that, it was despairing.
“How could you, Alessio?” I whispered brokenly.
The world slowed to a stop as the past faded into the present. My mind swirled with each image, and then I saw him…
His arms opened wide, and I jumped into his embrace, holding him tight. My tears soaked his shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. He held me just as tightly.
“You came back,” I choked through my cries.
“Yeah. I’m home, baby girl.” His reply was soft as he moved slightly. With my body no longer hugging his, we faced each other.
He gave me a small smile and then winked. “Miss me?”
I shook my head. “Not really. Phoenix and Nikolay kept me entertained enough.”
“Ha. Those fuckers are boring without me,” he replied, looking behind my shoulders.
“I can’t believe you’re finally home,” I whispered, my eyes taking all of him in.
He winked mischievously. “It took me long enough, but I am here now.”
His teasing laughter brought a smile to my face. Everything felt surreal. Viktor was home. After one year, he was back where he belonged.
“Viktor!” I heard a squeal, and then Maddie flew into his arms.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked, hugging her just as tightly.
“How? I don’t understand…” she cried in her chest.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m home now. We will discuss everything later.”
Maddie pulled away, questions burning in her eyes. “But…”
His stern voice stopped her flow of words. “Let’s forget about this for now. I don’t want to talk about it, Maddie.”
Viktor turned to me. “Where is my potato?”
Just then, I heard babbling coming from my right. Turning to my side, I saw Princess and Lena standing near the kitchen. Lena appeared like she had seen death, while Maila was oblivious.
“There is your potato,” I announced, pointing at my little firecracker.
“She’s walking,” he said in astonishment, his eyes practically bulging out.
“Of course, she is. She doesn’t sit for more than five minutes now.”
“Mama,” she said in her cute baby voice, walking toward me.
Bending down as far as my pregnant belly would let me, I smiled at my baby. “Come here, Princess.”
Her smile widened, and I smiled at the sight of drool covering her chin. As I opened my arms for her, she started running as fast as her little chubby legs would let her.