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One corner of his mouth lifts. “You’d be surprised.”

He is right. I am. We go downstairs to the kitchen together. I gather ingredients while he ties an apron around his waist and begins cooking.

Watching him move around the counter, measuring, stirring, feels surreal. This is the same man the entire underworld fears, the Pakhan who can end lives with a single order. Yet here he is, sleeves rolled up, focused on getting the seasoning right for a simple dish we’re taking to his housekeeper.

The contrast fills me with a soft, almost giddy happiness. Outside these walls he is dangerous, powerful, untouchable. Inside them, with me, he is simply Roman, my husband.

The man who cooks beside me, who stays home to look after me, who makes me feel safe. I glance at him as he carefully covers the finished food, and the feeling settles deep in my chest.

This is exactly where I want to be. Nowhere else. Just here, with him.

Epilogue

Aurora

Three Months Later

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A soft, rhythmic thumping fills the room, as the sonographer moves the probe slowly across my stomach, adjusting it from one side to the other as her eyes remain fixed on the monitor.

I turn my head. Roman is standing beside me, one hand wrapped around mine.

Our eyes meet. He’s smiling. I can’t help smiling back. He’s been smiling so much more lately. Not around other people, of course. Roman still reserves most of those rare smiles for when we’re alone.

The sonographer glances at the screen and smiles. “That’s the heartbeat. You have a very strong heartbeat.”

I let out a shaky breath, realizing only then that I’d been holding it. Strong heartbeat. The words settle something inside me.

Since finding out I’m pregnant, I’ve been terrified. After everything with Katerina, it’s impossible not to worry. I’ve been cleared by the doctor more than once. Every test has shown that the baby is fine, but the fear never completely goes away.

Sometimes I wake up from nightmares convinced something has happened. What if something happened when Katerina had me? What if the stress hurt the baby?

What if the doctors missed something? I know I’m being irrational, but I can’t seem to help it. So hearing that tiny, steady heartbeat now feels like someone has finally loosened the knot around my chest.

“How is the baby?” I ask.

The sonographer moves the probe again, studying the screen.

“Everything looks perfect from what I can see. The doctor will come in shortly and go over everything with you, but I don’t see any reason for concern.”

Roman squeezes my hand. “Our baby is fine,” he says quietly.

The sonographer smiles at us. “Would you like to know the sex?”

My heart jumps. I immediately look at Roman. He raises an eyebrow. “Do you want to know, or do you want to wait?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I want to know.”

I’ve been dying to know what we’re having. Of course, none of it really matters. Boy or girl, I just want our baby to be healthy.

But the suspense has been torture. Especially since Roman and I made a bet last week. He insists we’re having a girl. I insist we’re having a boy. And now we’re finally going to find out who’s right.

“Yes,” I tell the sonographer. “We want to know.”

She nods and turns her attention back to the monitor. “Okay.”

She points toward a spot on the screen, and my eyes follow her fingers. I have absolutely no idea what I’m looking at. Roman looks equally confused.