تسجيل الدخولI could feel Roman’s stare even before Daniel and I made it back to the table.Heavy.Unrelenting.The kind that burned slowly across skin without ever touching it.And somehow, despite how dangerous everything between us already was, my pulse still reacted to it.Daniel didn’t seem to notice.Or maybe he did and simply didn’t care.He continued talking beside me easily as we approached the table again, one hand casually tucked into his pocket while the other held his wine glass loosely.Roman stood as we neared.Smooth.Controlled.Every inch of him composed.But I knew him enough now to notice the tension hidden underneath.The slight tightness in his jaw.The way his shoulders had gone rigid.The cold sharpness behind his eyes.Daniel smiled politely.“Elena, you didn’t tell me you came with company.”My chest tightened faintly.For a second, I almost forgot how this looked to everyone else.What this was supposed to be.Who Roman was supposed to be.I forced myself to stay calm.“
I didn’t let the conversation about Viktor ruin the rest of the evening.I refused to.For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t trapped inside the suffocating walls of the mansion or drowning in whispers, investigations, and paranoia. The city outside the restaurant windows glittered beautifully, alive and untouchable, and I desperately wanted to feel normal for just a few hours.So I pushed everything aside.The fear.The guilt.The confusion.Even Anastasia’s words.Especially Anastasia’s words.I leaned back slightly in my chair, taking another small sip of wine as soft music drifted through the restaurant. Around us, conversations blended together beneath the warm golden lighting, expensive perfume lingering faintly in the air.Roman had been pulled into another business discussion a few minutes ago by two men seated farther across the lounge area. Even now, I could feel his occasional glances drifting back toward me despite the conversation demanding his attention.
I wanted something familiar again. Something stable. Something that belonged to me before my entire life became tangled in secrets and death and forbidden feelings.But another part of me was afraid.Afraid of the timing.Afraid of what people would think.Afraid of stepping back into a world that suddenly felt so different now.Roman watched me carefully.“You don’t have to decide immediately,” he said finally.I looked at him again.His voice stayed calm, steady, grounding.“But if you go back,” he continued quietly, “do it because you want to. Not because someone expects you to.”The words settled somewhere deep inside me.Before I could respond, his phone buzzed.The moment shifted instantly.Roman glanced down at the screen, his expression hardening slightly into that composed business mask he wore so naturally now.“We should get ready,” he said.And just like that, the softness between us faded into something more careful.More controlled.An hour later, the restaurant glowed w
The city looked different at night.Colder.Cleaner.The lights stretching endlessly beyond the hotel windows made everything feel distant, almost unreal, like this entire trip existed outside the chaos waiting for us back home.I stood near the floor to ceiling glass in my hotel room, arms folded loosely against myself as I stared down at the unfamiliar streets below. Cars moved in steady streams beneath the glow of streetlights, people walked hurriedly across sidewalks, and somewhere far below, life continued normally.Meanwhile mine felt like it had been ripped apart and stitched back together wrong.The past few days had blurred into something strange and exhausting.Viktor was gone.The funeral was over.The investigations were still ongoing.And somehow, in the middle of all that, Roman had stepped fully into his father’s position like he had always been meant to stand there.Everyone listened to him now.Everyone watched him.The company practically revolved around him already.
My hands roamed over his broad shoulders, peeling away his shirt to reveal the taut muscles etched with the day's labor, my fingers tracing the familiar contours as if rediscovering a lost map. Roman groaned, his arousal evident as his cock hardened against my thigh, straining through his jeans, and he lifted me effortlessly onto the kitchen counter, the cool edge pressing into my skin as I wrapped my legs around him. My blouse fell open under his urgent hands, exposing my breasts, nipples peaking in the warm air, and he cupped them reverently, his thumbs circling the sensitive buds until I arched into him with a soft moan. "Fuck, you're beautiful," he breathed, his mouth descending to taste me, his tongue flicking and teasing while his free hand slipped under my skirt, finding my pussy already slick with desire. I gasped, my fingers tangling in his hair as he stroked my folds, the intimate rhythm building between us, each touch a bridge to the passion we’ve starved for, our bodies m
The ache in my chest deepens.Because this… This silence hurts more than anger would. More than accusations.Because it feels like doubt.Like something between us has shifted in a way I don’t know how to fix.“Please,” I whisper, my voice softer now, more vulnerable than I intended. “Just believe me.”Nothing.The quiet stretches too long.Too painful.I can’t stand it anymore. I can’t keep waiting for something that isn’t coming.So I turn around Slowly.My body feels heavy as I take a step toward the door, ready to leave, ready to escape the suffocating silence between us.But I don’t get far.His arm wraps around my waist suddenly.Firm.Unyielding.Pulling me back against him.A sharp breath leaves me before I can stop it.“Roman…”The words die in my throat.Because his face presses into the side of my neck.Warm.Close.His breath uneven against my skin.I freeze.Completely still.My heart pounds harder now, faster, louder, like it’s trying to break free from my chest.His hol







