Page 83 of Maddening Fixation

“No, Father... please. Don’t do this to me.”

For the first time that evening, he looked every bit the father instead of the Bratva capo.

“I’m sorry, Yarina.” He rose from his chair. “But my decision is final.”

Without another word, he moved behind Mother’s wheelchair and rested his hands on the handles.

As he turned her toward the door, Mother looked back at us over her shoulder.

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

She couldn’t speak.

The grief etched across her face said everything words never could.

The quiet whir of the wheelchair filled the room as Father guided her into the hallway.

A moment later, the door closed behind them with a soft click.

The silence they left behind felt heavier than anything that had been said.

Yarina stood motionless for several seconds before slowly turning toward me.

Mascara streaked down her cheeks, carving dark trails through carefully applied makeup.

She looked terrified.

“You wouldn’t actually marry him, would you?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

The question hung between us, heavy enough to suffocate.

I searched my sister’s face, trying to reconcile the woman standing before me with the girl I’d grown up beside.

Yarina had always been manipulative. Lies came to her as naturally as breathing.

After being betrayed by her more times than I cared to remember, I no longer trusted anything she said.

Which meant I couldn’t tell whether what she’d felt for Romeo ten years ago—or what she claimed to feel for him now—was truly love.

I studied her quietly.

“Tell Romeo about the baby you’re carrying for Sergei first.”

I held her gaze.

“Then we can talk.”

For the briefest moment, something unreadable flickered across her face.

Then it vanished.

“No.” The answer came instantly. “I plan to make the baby his.”

My stomach tightened.

She continued as though she were discussing a simple inconvenience rather than a life-altering deception.