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“I will.”

I hesitate, then push forward. “Sofía told me a little about your childhood… and why you used to stay away from our bed at night. About the nightmares.”

Roman goes completely still. When he finally speaks, his voice is low.

“When I was a boy, my father was the Pakhan. One of his soldiers believed he had more right to the position than my father did. He wanted the throne, so he attacked our home and killed my parents.”

Roman’s jaw tightens. “Then he took Maxim and me. He kept us for months, using us to make a point. To prove that he could break the sons of the man he had replaced.”

He pauses, his eyes going distant for a moment.

“What he did to us…” His voice drops. “There are things no child should ever have to live through. He forced us to hurt people. To kill. He wanted to turn us into weapons. When we refused, he punished us severely. Until the day I became strong enough to kill him myself.”

I listen without interrupting, my hand resting over his.

“But even he was dead, the trauma from the things he did lived on,” he continues. “The nightmares. The night terrors. There were times I wasn’t myself. Once I attacked one of my own men in my sleep. That’s why I stayed away from our bed. I was terrified I might hurt you without knowing it.”

I shake my head slowly. “But the nights you’ve slept beside me… I’ve never seen any of that. Not once.”

A small, almost disbelieving smile touches his mouth. “You somehow calm it. The voices, the darkness, they go quiet when you’re near. You’re the light that makes them disappear.”

Hearing him speak this openly unlocks something deep in my chest. I can almost see the little boy he used to be, trapped, terrified, forced to become something no child should ever have to be. My eyes sting.

“I’m so sorry you went through that,” I whisper.

“Don’t be,” he says. “It made me who I am. But I need you to understand something.” His gaze locks on mine, intense and unflinching.

“I would never hurt you. I’d put a blade in myself before I let that happen. But if there ever comes a day when I become a real threat to you… don’t hesitate. Protect yourself first.”

“No,” I say immediately. “I would never do that.”

“Promise me you’ll choose yourself.”

I hold his stare. “I’ll choose us.”

Something in his expression softens. He leans in and kisses me, deep, slow, and full of everything he just laid bare.

❦ ❦ ❦

Roman stays with me for the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. He sits beside me on the bed, making sure I eat, reminding me to take the medication the doctor left, and refusing to let me lift a finger. At one point I ask if he isn’t going into the office.

“No,” he answers simply. “You’re my priority right now.”

The quiet certainty in his voice melts something inside me.

We spend hours watching my favorite shows. It feels almost ordinary and peaceful in a way I never expected after everything that happened.

By evening, restlessness settles over me. I can’t stand sitting around anymore.

“I want to make something for Sofía and take it to the hospital,” I tell him.

Roman looks up from his phone. “We can just order something for her.”

I shake my head. “No. She’ll appreciate a home-cooked meal more.”

He studies me for a moment before sighing. “Fine. I’ll cook it myself.”

I blink at him, surprised. “You can cook?”