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I hear the door swing open slowly, creaking on its hinges.
“I’ll have you know I’m armed,” Dimitri says. “And all I have to do is press one button to summon my men.”
“I come in peace, Mr. Antonov,” I hear Dahlia say. She sounds tired and weak, likeshe’sthe one who’s so nervous she could jump out of her own skin. “I just wanted a moment of your time.”
“You have thirty seconds,” Dimitri replies coldly.
“I want…” Dahlia sounds like she’s two seconds from keeling over. “I want to apologize.”
My ears burn. Am I hearing this right? Did she track us down and come all this way just for Dimitri’s forgiveness? Has she totally lost her mind?
“Have you lost your mind?” Dimitri snaps, almost as if reading my thoughts.
“I know you have no reason to trust me—”
“You’ve got that straight.”
“—but I need you to hear me out, Mr. Antonov. Please?”
The edge to her voice tells me she’s being truthful. It’s nothing scientific, just a feeling deep within my core. Maybe Dahlia really isn’t here to cause us any harm. If she did, surely she would have done it by now. Why expose herself to the potential of Dimitri’s wrath? Why bother knocking on our front door?
Dimitri’s probably going to be upset at me for disobeying his orders, but I can’t stand idly by. Holding on to the railing, I make my way back down.
“Hear her out,” I insist.
“Nat, what did I tell you? Go upstairs and—”
“Please, Dima? Let’s listen to what she has to say. Have the guards pat her down for weapons if you have to, but I think we should hear her out.”
Dimitri’s jaw tenses, his irritation with me fleeting. “Fine,” he grumbles. He jabs a finger in Dahlia’s direction. “But one wrong move and you’ll be sorry.”
Chapter 47
Natalya
Dimitri refuses to sit, every muscle in his body rigid and tight. Ready to pounce. I can’t exactly blame him. My betrayal affected him dearly, so I can only imagine what’s going through his head right now. Dahlia worked for him foryears. I wouldn’t be surprised if her double-cross cut him just as deep.
Dahlia sits on the forest green wingback chair in the living room, her hands folded together neatly and placed in her lap. I feel like she’s gotten smaller the past few months, shriveled up. Her hair is wiry and thin. There are dark circles beneath her eyes. Her lips are chapped from constant worrying. She picks at her fingernails as she speaks, unable to hold Dimitri’s intimidating gaze for very long.
“I’ve come to apologize,” she reiterates, the delivery of her words shaky at best and practically inaudible at worst. “I know that probably doesn’t mean much to you.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Dimitri snaps.
I give him a stern look. “Let her finish.”
Dahlia’s shoulders are trembling. “I’ve had a lot of time to think. Specifically, about what you said, Natalya. About trying to claim the moral high ground? I can see now how wrong I was. Iwasmanipulated by Edvard. I let him use my anger and hatred to the point that I…” Her voice shakes with emotion. “To the point that I would kidnap achild.”
She looks up at Dimitri, nothing but regret and genuine fear in her old eyes. “I was wrong,” she continues, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I was so lost I couldn’t see what I’d become. This whole time, I thought you and your brothers were monsters without once realizing I was becoming a monster myself.
“I’ve lived these past few months in terror,” she confesses. “I haven’t been able to sleep or eat. I was so worried you would send men after me to kill me for my transgressions. The constant looking over my shoulder, double checking the locks… I can’t do it anymore. I’m exhausted. Not just with worry, but from my grief. So, I’ve come here to ask for your forgiveness and…”
Dahlia gets up from her chair and gets down on her knees, kneeling against the plush white rug. “Please, just put me out of my misery.”
My heart twists in my chest. Of all the things I was expecting to hear,thatcertainly wasn’t one of them.
She clasps her hands together in prayer. “Please. I want to be with my husband again. And I know my betrayal cannot go unpunished. I come to you hoping you’ll make it a merciful death.”
Dimitri is silent for a long time. I’d give anything to know what’s going on in his brain right now. He stares at Dahlia for a while, as still as a statute.
