Nobela ni Spellz

DimitriI sat in the back of the Maybach, watching the rain streak down the glass.I had run my own quietly efficient background check on Alina the moment my informant in the hospital network alerted me to her admission. I hadn't intended to intervene. The pathetic collapse of Boris’s domestic life was usually none of my concern, but when the report showed her sitting alone on that rooftop, an opportunity presented itself.A means to an end. That was all she was supposed to be. Boris had spent his entire life trying to climb over my back, using Alina's former wealth to buy a credibility he never earned. Taking her off the board, and placing her directly at my side was the cleanest, most reasonable blow I could land on my half-brother's ego. And looking at how quickly Boris had resorted to cheap media smears out of desperation, it was working remarkably well.The car stopped outside an unmarked warehouse near the eastern docks. I stepped out, pulling my coat close, and walked inside.M

AlinaThe next morning arrived with quiet efficiency. Saturday.I woke up to a faint knock on the door. Before I could even answer, two women in black uniforms stepped into the room, pushing a rolling rack filled with garment bags, followed by a stylist carrying a cosmetics case."Good morning, ma'am," the head stylist said, offering a crisp, professional bow. "Mr. Sokolov sent us. We have forty-five minutes to prepare you."I sat up, pulling the duvet to my chest, my mind still sluggish from sleep. "Prepare me for what?""Your wedding," a voice spoke from the doorway.Dimitri stood against the frame, fully dressed in a tailored navy suit that made his sharp features look carved from marble. He checked his watch, his face completely unreadable."The registry office has been cleared for us at ten o'clock," he said, stepping into the room. "The dress, hair, and makeup are taken care of. We leave in an hour.""An hour?" I blurted, my chest tightening instantly. "Dimitri, wait—"I swung m

AlinaMy legs buckled beneath me.I hit the wall behind the drape, my hands clawing at the block just to keep me from sliding completely to the floor. My chest heaved, but no air came in. Down below, the wet sound of a body being dragged across the floor echoed up the stairwell.‘Run.’The thought screamed through my mind, frantic and deafening. I forced my limbs to move, pushing off the wall, and scurried back down the dark hallway like a ghost fleeing a grave. I didn't breathe until I slammed the door of my bedroom shut behind me and turned the key in the lock.I collapsed onto the edge of the bed, my hands flying to my face as the tears finally erupted.A monster. I had agreed to sell my life to a monster. Boris was weak, selfish, and cruel in the ways broken men often are, but Dimitri was something entirely different. He was death wrapped in a custom suit. He had ended a man's life with less emotion than one uses to swat a fly, and then casually wiped his wrists."No," I choked ou

Alina"No." I pushed my cup away, the porcelain scraping against the wood. "No. Absolutely not."Dimitri didn't react. He simply watched me, entirely unbothered by my sudden outrage."I lost a child less than twenty-four hours ago, Dimitri," I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Your half-brother’s child. And you sit there, calmly eating breakfast, asking me to produce another Sokolov heir for you?""I am not asking for a child today, Alina," Dimitri said, his tone infuriatingly level. "Nor am I asking you to fulfill a romantic fantasy. I am stating a requirement.""It's insane.""It is practical," he corrected. "My father's estate clause is clear. The legitimate heir must secure the line before his thirtieth birthday to retain full voting rights on the board. My birthday is in eight months. Boris knows this. His entire strategy with Yelena relies on producing a child first to challenge my standing.""Then find someone else," I snapped. "Find a woman who has

Alina"No." I set the water glass down hard. "I don't understand this, and I am not interested."Dimitri didn't blink. He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his knee. "What is there to misunderstand?""Everything," I said, my voice rising. "My marriage ended three hours ago. I lost a child today. And your first thought is to slide a contract across the table and ask me to swap one brother for the other?""I am not asking you to swap brothers," he said quietly. "Boris took your name, your dignity, and your future. He handed you a signed divorce decree."I flinched, but Dimitri's gaze remained unyielding."You have two choices, Alina," he continued, his tone flat. "You can leave this house tomorrow, take whatever small settlement your father's remaining debts allow, and spend the rest of your life watching Boris and Yelena use what was yours. Or you can take my name.""And what does your name give me?""Protection," Dimitri said. "A seat at the table they cannot touch. The

Alina"Let go of me." My voice was a threadbare thing, stripped of everything that made it mine.Dimitri didn't let go. His hand remained clamped around my wrist. He didn't pull me closer, but he didn't yield an inch either. He simply stood there on the rain-slicked gravel of the hospital rooftop staring down at me with an expression that was entirely blank."No," he said.One word. "I don't have anything left," I choked out, trying to wrench my arm free. Pain flared through my lower abdomen, a reminder of the baby gone. "You don't understand. I have nowhere to go. I have nothing.""I am not interested in your dramatic inventory of what you lack, Alina," Dimitri replied softly. His tone was as casual as if we were discussing the evening weather. "Step down from the ledge.""Why do you care?" I cried, the wind whipping my hair across my face, stinging my tear swollen eyes. "We have spoken perhaps twenty words to each other in three years! You barely look at me at family dinners! Why a