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The sound warms something deep inside my chest instantly.

Roman drops back down before scoffing. “Your son attacked me, actually.”

“Papa!” Kian gasps dramatically. “Uncle Roman is lying.”

Roman looks offended. “First of all, betrayal. Second of all, I literally have fingerprints on my neck.”

I ignore him entirely, my gaze already drifting around the room automatically, searching for my little ray of sunshine.

She’s nowhere in sight.

Five years ago, that realisation would’ve sent panic slicing through my ribs. I would’ve already been halfway through the estate looking for her with my heart tearing itself apart inside my chest.

Now, the paranoia no longer claws at me with the same violence.

Therapy helped. Time helped. Elara helped most of all. I know she’s here.

I know she isn’t leaving me.

The instinct to search for her still exists, but it’s quieter now—less about controlling every surrounding variable and more about the simple need to see her face.

Roman notices my wandering eyes immediately. “She’s outside.” He says between reps. “Reading.”

Relief settles through me before I can stop it.

Roman smirks knowingly. “You’re obsessed.”

“Obviously.” I reply flatly.

Kian nods seriously from Roman’s shoulders. “Dad likes Mama the most.”

Roman snorts. “We know, malysh. The entire fuc— flipping country knows.”

“Keep him busy.” I call over my shoulder while heading straight for the terrace doors in search of my wife.

My fucking wife.

My eyes soften immediately when I spot her outside beneath the sunlight, curled peacefully in one of the lounge chairs with a book in her hands.

Her golden hair glows beneath the morning sun as she lazily flips another page, entirely unaware of the way my chest physically tightens at the sight of her.

Fuck, she’s beautiful. And the best part?

She’s all mine.

It was a long fucking journey, from that bridge to this beautiful garden she’d created.

My solnyshko is the sun I willingly orbit around.

“Good morning, malyshka,” I murmur softly as I wrap my arms around her from behind, burying my face into the crook of her neck.

She hums happily the second I touch her, instinctively leaning back into my chest.

“I need you.” I hiss, as if in pain and she chuckles. But the truth is, I cannot have enough of her. My hands don’t know how to function when they are not touching her.

My teeth sink into the column of her neck and a loud moan leaves her lips, further hardening my cock.

“Fuck, baby.” I lift her off the chair settling into it, the book falling with a low thud as she sits on top of me.