“I found out three days ago.” I couldn’t breathe. The foyer blurred slightly at the edges.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Something inside me broke open. It was not fear or panic but something much deeper and wider. Something that belonged to me. Something that was mine. Ours. I reached up slowly, almost reverently, brushing my fingers along her cheek.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want this child? Are you happy, I mean? Because I will never force you to have this child if you don’t want to. This decision and choice are completely yours.”
“I want you, and I want our baby,” she said firmly. “Do you want it?”
The words were not whispered but declared, and I could sense her brothers stiffening slightly, but none of them interfered. I was certain Clara and Ilana were the only reason Iosif and Avgust hadn’t moved between us yet, but I was grateful to them. I needed this moment. We needed this moment.
“Elisse,” Iosif warned. She didn’t look away from me.
“You left thinking I betrayed you.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes, you were.”
“That’s on me.”
“Yes.”
Despite everything, a faint smile flickered between us.
“I severed ties with Kliment,” I said, looking at her brothers now. “Before the attack.”
Iosif’s expression didn’t change. “We know that.”
“I was the one who dismantled his operation at the port.”
“We know that too. We have been keeping track of your movements for weeks now.”
“Then you know I have stepped away from Romanov leadership.”
Avgust folded his arms.
“We know.”
“And yet you nearly started a war while rescuing Elisse.”
My accusation was met with silence.
“And yet,” I said evenly, “I did not retaliate.”
“That was self-preservation,” Avgust replied.
“No,” I said calmly. “That was choice.”
