Page 52 of Married to My Sis’s Bratva Fiancé

"My head hurts."

"I'll have a doctor come."

"I don't need a doctor." She grabbed my sleeve. "Come up with me. Just until I fall asleep."

I checked the time. Elena might've been waiting for me.

My phone sat in my pocket. I should've called, told her when I was coming back.

But the video shoved itself into my mind at the worst possible moment. I didn't want to hear Elena's voice and lose control. I sure as hell didn't want to ask her over the phone when she'd started calculating me.

"Kiryan," Isabella pleaded. "I feel terrible."

In the end, I went upstairs with her.

Her apartment looked the same as it used to—clean, spare, nothing extra. I helped her sit on the edge of the bed, poured a glass of water, and set it on the nightstand.

"Drink. Then sleep."

She took one sip.

"I am scared to sleep." Her voice trembled. "When I close my eyes, I go back to all those nights without you. Just... let me have tonight, okay? Stay until morning, so when I open my eyes, you are still there. Just once. I don't want to go right back to that life—waking up not knowing where you are, not knowing if I'll ever see you again."

It was hard to say no. A few hours earlier she'd been on the terrace edge. I couldn't make myself believe she had some angle right now.

"I'll stay."

I turned off the light. Darkness dropped, cut only by a cold strip of city glow leaking through the curtains.

"Kiryan, I want you by the bed," Isabella said again. "I want to watch you fall asleep."

So I sat at her bedside.

She shifted, facing me. Not long after, she finally closed her eyes, her breathing evening out.

I told myself I'd stayed only to make sure Isabella didn't walk back onto a terrace. I just needed to steady her, keep her from doing something stupid. That was it.

But the tightness in my chest got worse.

I had to admit the truth.

Hell, I didn't even know how to deal with that damn video. And worse—I didn't know how to face Elena.

Chapter 14

Elena

After the call ended, I just stared at my phone, the screen dark except for my own reflection.

Kiryan did not come back to the manor all night. I had called him over and over before dawn. He had not picked up once. Every single time, I had handed him an excuse like a shield.

Maybe his phone had been on silent. Maybe he had not seen it. Maybe he had finished talking to Isabella and had gone straight into dealing with business. Maybe he had needed time to sort through whatever the past had dragged back into his life.

I had talked myself into it. He would not have spent the night with Isabella. He would not have seen my calls and ignored them on purpose.

But now every excuse looked cheap and fake. My stomach sank, like I had swallowed a block of ice.

"He still didn't answer?" Olga set a plate of toast in front of me, her brow tight.