LOGINTristan The basement smells like blood, not fresh blood, old blood, the kind that has soaked through the concrete over the years and never truly left. I walked through the corridor without slowing down, behind me, Lucian, Viktor, and Nikolai follow in silence. Nobody tries to stop me anymore. Not after Roxana shoved me into the bed in front of the entire family. The memory should have annoyed me, instead, every time it surfaces, something suspiciously close to amusement follows. I push the thought away. I have other important things to focus on. The steel door at the end of the corridor opens, and the torture room comes into view. Three men are chained to metal chairs. A fourth body lay covered in blood on the floor. Dead. The survivor closest to the wall looks up as I enter. Fear immediately fills his eyes, good. “Boss.” Viktor steps forward. “Talk.” “We lost one during the night. “ I glance at the corpse, no reaction, the dead can't tell me what I ne
Roxana Dmitry bursts out laughing. "I don't know what just happened.” Texas elbows him. "Shut up.” "No, seriously,” he rubs his head. "Did she just push him?” Texas smiles brightly. "She did.” “She actually pushed him?" "Yes." "The Tristan?” Dmitry looks genuinely traumatized. Viktor sighs. "There is only one Tristan.” A laugh nearly escapes me. Tristan’s father pinches the bridge of his nose. His mother looks suspiciously pleased. Meanwhile, Tristan remains expressionless. And that somehow makes it worse. Finally, his father speaks. "Everybody out.” No one argues. Dmitry leaves first, mostly because Texas drags him. "She’s terrifying," he mutters as he’s leaving. "I can hear you.” "That proves my point.” The door closes behind them, and the room falls silent again. Only this time, there are no witnesses, no family members—just me and Tristan. Suddenly, my courage begins to evaporate. A few minutes ago, I was screaming at him. Now, I'm painfully aware I'm alone with
Roxana The next morning, I wake up in the armchair beside Tristan’s bed. At some point during the night, I must have fallen asleep. My neck aches, my back hurts, and my hand is still wrapped around his. For a moment, I stare at him. The morning sunlight spills through the curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. Tristan is still asleep; the harsh lines of his face seem softer, less dangerous, and almost peaceful. A knock sounds on the door, and before I can answer, Texas walks in carrying a tray. “Oh good, you are awake.” My cheeks heat instantly—had everyone noticed I spent the entire night here? Judging by Texas’s smile, definitely yes. A few minutes later, more people arrive: Dmitry, Lucian, Viktor, Nikolai, and Tristan’s parents. The bedroom slowly fills with people, everyone pretending not to be worried—everyone failing miserably. His mother sits on the edge of the bed. “He should wake up soon,” she says. Almost immediately, Tristan’s eyes flutter open
Roxana Everything happens at once: someone begins shouting orders, more gunshots echo outside, and boots pound across the marble floor. But all I can see is blood—so much blood. It stains his white shirt, spreads across his shoulders, and drips onto the floor beneath him. “No, please, you can't do this to me.” My knees hit the ground beside him. Tristan’s eyes are closed; for the first time since I met him, he looks vulnerable. Human. Not the terrifying man who just slaughtered attackers with brutality, not the powerful head of the Kozlov family. Just a man—a man who got shot because of me. “Move, sweetheart,” his mother gently pulls me away. I don't even realize I'm crying until she wipes tears from my face. “ he needs space.” Right, of course. I force myself backward while Nikolai and Viktor lift him from the floor. The sight nearly destroys me—Tristan’s head hangs lightly, blood continues to soak through his shirt, and something ugly twists in my chest. Fear, pure and u
RoxanaAnother gunshot tears through the house, almost stopping my heart. Everyone starts moving so quickly it feels like a movie scene. I've never seen anything like this before; one minute we were having a family dinner, and the next, the whole room is spinning like in an action movie.Chairs scrape loudly against the floor, plates crash, glasses shatter, and the noise nearly makes my ears bleed.“Down!!” Tristan’s father shouts like a thunderstorm.I jump violently, and before I can react, Tristan grabs me and pulls me against his chest.“What’s happening?” I ask, my body shaking against him.Nobody answers. Another gunshot echoes outside, followed by several more.The window suddenly shatters inward, glass flying all over the room. I scream and cover my head.This feels straight out of a horror movie.Someone drags Tristan’s mother away from the table. Dmitry moves, then Lucian, Viktor, Nikolai — everyone is shooting as if they’re trained for this.“Back gate now!!” Tristan’s fat
Roxana I run through the hallway as fast as my legs can carry me. When I reach the end, I stop and clutch the wall, trying to catch my breath and compose myself before walking back to the dining room. Wiping the tears from my face, I draw a long, steady breath, ignoring the slight shake of my body. After making sure I look calm, I walk slowly into the dining room. Everyone looks up, of course they do—the room is so quiet, like they all stopped talking when they noticed me. Tristan’s mother’s smile fades a little when she sees my face. “Roxana?” she calls softly. I force a smile. “I'm fine.” But the answer comes out too fast, too fake. Texas studies me across the table, her eyes narrowing as if she knows I'm lying. Even Tristan’s father looks up from his food, his sharp gaze roaming over me as if trying to figure out what happened. I hate it. I hate that everyone sees through me. So I do the only thing I can think of—pretend I'm fine, pretend my inside isn’t shattering for a r
Roxana I walk toward the kitchen, my stomach growling with every step. When I reach the door, I freeze. Texas is casually cooking as any normal person would. In fact, she’s singing and dancing, doing everything effortlessly. My legs feel glued to the floor, and my heart starts pounding. Th
TristanRoxana bites her lips. Her chest rises and falls. Probably scared.For a while, I stare at her, trying to make sense of what she just said. “Marco disvirgined you? Hurt you so many times and gave you these ugly scars?”She nods. “Please don't hurt anybody because of me.”I laugh, low. But t
Roxana “I'm going to ask you two questions, your answers will determine if they get to live or die.” He pulls out a gun and examines it carefully, “Their lives are in your hands.” I swallow hard; I've never seen anything as horrifying as this in my entire life. Pressing my hand to my chest to con
Tristan. She takes a step back, then another until she’s running back inside. My hands clench beside me. What the f*ck is going on with her? She always finds a way to anger me every single second. When I turn back to them, they all lower their heads. I walk closer to Viktor, and he trembles







