LOGINTristan By seven in the evening, I’ve walked across the living room seventeen times. I know because Lucian counted. “Seventeen.” I stop. He is sitting on one of the armchairs, already dressed in a black tuxedo, one ankle resting over his knee. I stare at him. “What?” “You’ve walked past me seventeen times.” “I don’t remember asking you to count.” “I wasn’t counting.” Dmitry, standing near the fireplace, snorts. “You were.” Lucian smiles. I glare at both of them. They shut up. Good. The house is unusually quiet tonight. Not because there aren’t people everywhere. There are. Guards are positioned throughout the property. Cars have been checked. Routes have been secured. My father’s men have already arrived at the estate. Everything is ready—everything except me. I look at the clock again. 7:08. My jaw tightens. She’s late. I don’t know why that irritates me. Actually, I do. Because I told her seven. And Roxana has spent the last few weeks proving she doesn’t understand wh
Roxana Midnight comes quietly. Too quietly. I know because I’ve been staring at the clock for what feels like hours. 12:03. The room is dark except for the faint silver light spilling through the curtains. I haven’t slept. I don’t think I can. Every time I close my eyes, I see Tristan standing by the window this morning. Cold. Distant. Almost unreachable. “I don't remember how.” His words have been haunting me all day. “I don’t remember how to look at you the way I used to.” I don’t remember how to love you. Maybe that’s what he meant. Maybe there really is no way back. I turn onto my side and pull the blanket higher. This bed is too large. That’s what I’ve noticed since waking up here. It used to feel luxurious. Now it feels enormous. There is too much space around me. Too much silence. Too many memories. My fingers brush against the pillow beside me—his pillow. I immediately pull my hand away. Ridiculous. Even after everything, some stupid part of me still remembers w
Tristan The door closes behind me. I stand there for several seconds. Staring at it. The same door I locked only moments ago. Roxana is on the other side. Eating. Or at least, that’s what I told myself she would do. I turn away. “Pathetic.” The word leaves my mouth quietly. I walk down the corridor. The guards straighten immediately. “Boss.” I don’t acknowledge them. My steps carry me toward the study, but my mind refuses to follow. I should be thinking about business. The accounts we couldn’t trace. Anything. Everything. Except her. I enter the study and drop into my chair. A report is waiting on the desk. I open it. Read the first line. Then the second. By the third, I’m staring at the same sentence without absorbing a word. My jaw tightens. I close the file. Open another. Same thing. I lean back and rub my thumb against my knuckles. They’re still swollen. Still bruised. The doctor had looked at them earlier and told me to get them treated. I hadn’t. There was no reason
Roxana Warmth. That is the first thing I feel, not happiness. Not relief. Just, Warmth. My eyes are still closed. But I can feel something soft pressing against my skin. A blanket. My body aches beneath it. Every muscle feels heavy, as though someone replaced my bones with stone. I try to move. A dull pain spreads through my arms immediately. My eyelids flutter. Light. Too bright. I squeeze my eyes shut again before slowly forcing them open. The ceiling is White. Familiar. My heartbeat stumbles. No. I know this ceiling. I know this room. My gaze slowly wanders across the bedroom. The large windows. The marble fireplace. The bookshelves. The oversized bed. Our bedroom. No. His bedroom. My throat tightens. Why am I here? The last thing I remember is… Cold. The tiny room. The freezing floor. The bars over the window. Then, nothing. A quiet clink makes my eyes shift toward the other side of the room. Tristan. He’s standing near the window with his back turned to me. One han
Tristan The doctor arrives in less than ten minutes. Yet it feels like an hour. I stand inside the room with my arms folded. Roxana hasn't opened her eyes once. I stand beside the bed while the older man works in silence. He checks her pulse. Her breathing. Her temperature. His expression grows darker. Texas hovers near the foot of the bed, wringing her hands together. She hasn’t stopped crying since we brought Roxana upstairs. I ignore it. I ignore everything. My eyes remain fixed on the woman lying beneath the blankets. She looks… Small. Smaller than I remember. The oversized shirt swallows her frame. Her blonde hair fans across the pillow. Her lips are still pale. Too pale. The doctor finally looks at me. “When was the last time she ate?” I don’t answer immediately. Lucian does. “Yesterday morning.” The doctor’s brows pull together. “And after that?” Silence. My silence. His eyes shift between us. “I asked a question.” I force the words out. “She refused the meals.”
TristanFor one second, nothing happens. The guard’s words hang in the air. “She’s not waking up.”My mind rejects it immediately. Nope. She only wants attention. There is nothing wrong with her. She’s perfectly fine. She has to be. It’s just another game. Another manipulation scheme that I won't succumb to. She wants me to walk through that door and race to her. Texas is already moving before I am. “What do you mean she’s not waking up?”The guard swallows hard, “We knocked several times, she didn't answer. We unlocked the door….” his voice falters, “She was on the floor.”Something cold settles beneath my ribs. I stand so abruptly the chair crashes backward onto the marble floor. The sound echoes through the office.Nobody speaks. Nobody moves. I don't even remember crossing the room. One second, I'm beside the desk, the next, the office door slams against the wall as I stride into the corridor.Texas trails behind me without saying a word. Although I can guess she’s practically
RoxanaI step out of the room, the paper feeling like a ticking time bomb in my hand. How on earth has my life become this? Hot tears streak my cheeks as I think of Aaron. He loves me, and getting married to Tristan would crush him. What am I going to do now? A lump forms in my throat, and I swa
RoxanaIs something wrong with my eyes? Or is what I'm seeing real?I stare down at the paper in front of me, blinking a few times.This can't be real. There's no way I'm getting married to Tristan Kozlov—the ruthless and dangerous first son of the Kozlov Russian mafia. I know my stepfather is try
Tristan My phone buzzes, waking me. I ignore it, opening my eyes for a moment and staring into the blank space. It buzzes again. This time, I stretch my hand to the bedside drawer and pick it up. There are several texts from my brothers, my mother, and all the family members. *We are in your li
RoxanaI keep turning on my bed, Aaron’s words replaying in my head. I have to leave this house tonight. That’s the only way I can escape this arranged marriage and be with the man who truly loves me.Checking the time for the hundredth time today, I get out of bed.It’s 6pm.Almost dinnertime.Onc







