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“Oh, Mikhail, you’re with her now, aren’t you?” she murmurs, almost amused now. “You think I don’t see what’s happening? She’s getting under your skin.”
I don’t answer. Because she’s right.
And I hate that she knows it.
“I won’t let her weaken you,” she says coldly. “You know what needs to be done.”
The call disconnects before I can respond.
I run a hand through my hair, letting out a low breath, trying to push down the frustration curling in my gut.
Then, I feel it?—
A presence behind me.
I turn around instinctively?—
And freeze when I see Lila standing in the doorway.
She heard everything.
23
LILA
Istand frozen in the doorway, my heart pounding too fast, too hard.
I can’t think past the words still echoing in my head.
“So you hid her?”
“I didn’t want her to get hurt.”
“Let it go, Mother.”
My hands tremble at my sides, my heartbeat hammering as I stare at Mikhail. He hasn’t moved, hasn’t said a word, he’s just watching me with that unreadable expression.
But I already know the truth.
He hid my mother.
Not to control me. Not to use her against me.
But to protect her. To keep her safe from people like his mother.
The realization crashes over me too fast, too heavy, and I don’t know what to do with it. I should be angry. I should bescreaming at him, telling him he had no right. But all I feel is relief.
My mother is safe. Because of him.
My breath shudders as I wrap my arms around myself, trying to steady the storm raging inside me.
Mikhail takes a step toward me, his movements slow, deliberate. “Lila?—”
I hold up a hand, stopping him. I don’t need him to explain. I already heard everything.
“I just…” My voice is hoarse, barely a whisper. “I need a second.”
I see a flicker of something in his gaze—something dark, something dangerous—before he nods once, stepping back.