Hello Dimitri

TATIANA

I still had the broken hairpin clenched in my fist when the door clicked open again.

It wasn't Kain.

The silence from the last time he sat across from me at that little table had stretched so long I almost forgot how to breathe normally.

My knuckles ached from how hard I’d been gripping the pin, but I didn’t let go. It felt like the only thing in this whole damn room that was still mine to decide what to do with.

The man who stepped inside was built like he'd spent years making sure he looked intimidating. Broad through the shoulders with his hair cut short enough that it didn’t move when he turned his head.

Ex-military, I thought right away, because nobody stands that still unless they’ve had it drilled into them.

He carried a new lamp in one hand. The old one was still on the floor by the bed where I’d dropped it after I tried to swing it at Kain’s head yesterday.

Or was it the day before? Time had started blurring together.

The man didn’t speak as he set the lamp on the nightstand and plugged it in. The bulb flickered once, then settled into a soft yellow glow that made the room feel less like a cell and more like a place someone might actually sleep in.

I watched his hands the whole time. They were steady. He clearly wasn't in a rush.

I cleared my throat. “Who are you.”

He glanced over. One corner of his mouth twitched, the tiniest movement, but I caught it. He looked amused.

I sat up straighter on the edge of the bed, the hairpin still warm in my palm. “Do you have a name, or do I have to guess? Because I’m really good at guessing and I’m also really bored, so I’ll probably get it wrong on purpose just to annoy you.”

He straightened, hands loose at his sides. “Dmitri.”

“Dmitri,” I repeated. Russian, obviously. His voice reminded me of my father’s voice when he used to call me Tatia in that half-scolding, half-fond way. I shoved the thought down. “Well, Dmitri. I’m Tatiana. But you already know that. Don't you?.”

He didn’t deny it and I kept talking because the silence felt dangerous, like if I stopped he might leave and then I’d be alone with the echo of Kain’s gun raining bullets on my family again.

“Here’s the thing,” I said, leaning forward a little. “I don’t belong here. None of this is right. My godfather, Aleksander Solakov, he’ll be looking for me. Or my fiancé Julian. Someone will pay you. A lot. More than whatever he’s giving you to stand outside my door and bring me lamps. You could just... look the other way. One time. That’s all I need. I’m not asking you to drive me to the airport or anything dramatic. Just don’t notice when I walk past.”

I waited. My heart fluttered stupidly as I tried to sound braver than I felt.

In the books I’d read, the captive would talk the guard into helping and it always works because the guard has a secret soft spot or a sick kid or something.

Real life probably didn’t work like that. Real life was probably the reason my palm was sweaty around a broken hairpin.

Dmitri studied me for a second longer. Then he shook his head slowly. He didn't seem annoyed though. Just... Firm. “I work for Mr Kain only.,” he said. “Don’t complicate things for yourself"

Well, there goes my opportunity for escape. He could have laughed at me or threatened me. He didn’t. He just told me the truth in the shortest sentence possible and left it there.

I swallowed. “So that’s it? You bring the lamp, you say no, and that’s the whole conversation?”

He reached for the broken lamp on the floor, the same one I’d tried to use as a weapon. “Warmer inside,” he said. Then he turned toward the door.

I stood up fast. The hairpin bit into my skin but I didn’t flinch. “Dmitri. Wait.”

He paused with his hand on the knob.

I didn’t know what I was going to say next. I really wanted to keep pushing, to list all the reasons this was insane, to make him see me as a person instead of a job.

He was already stepping into the hallway when I called after him, softer this time. “Please.” My face was wet with tears. But it was a waste. Dimitri never turned to see them.

The door clicked shut behind him. I stood there holding the hairpin and staring at the new light on the nightstand.