“And when she turns on you?”
“She won’t.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“You’re blinded.”
“No.”
“You think you can manage her.”
“I don’t need to manage her.”
“You think she will not influence you.”
“She already has.”
That admission slipped out before I could filter it, and Kliment seized on it immediately.
“There it is.”
“I am not compromised.”
“You are. You are distracted and sentimental already. I don’t know what it is that you expect of me any longer.”
“Acceptance.”
He laughed.
“You mistake me for someone who tolerates deviation.”
“And you mistake me for someone who fears consequence.”
There was silence once again.
“You chose her, and now you will have to live with the consequences of your choice forever,” Kliment said finally.
“I chose a solution.”
“You chose a woman.”
“Yes.”
The word hung there, heavy and irrevocable, and I knew I could not take it back.
“You forget,” he said softly, “blood is not replaced by vows.”
“I didn’t replace blood.”
“You diluted it.”
That one lingered because it was closer to the truth. I refused to believe it, but a part of me knew that the fracture had already begun. It hadn’t started with Elisse, but it had begun with Ilana. With obsession. With control.
“This conversation is no longer productive,” I said evenly.
“You do not end this call.”
