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My mother.
She stands there, looking at me like she can’t believe I’m real. Her dark hair is pulled back in a tight bun, her eyes wide and searching. She looks exactly the same and yet completely different—like she’s aged overnight, like the weight of the last few months has settled into her bones.
I can’t breathe.
“Mom?” My voice barely makes a sound.
She presses a hand to her mouth, her eyes misting. “Lila.”
I’m frozen. Paralyzed. I don’t know what to say, what to do.
Then suddenly—I’m moving.
I launch forward, wrapping my arms around her, clutching her like she might disappear. Her arms tighten around me instantly. She’s warm, solid, real.
“I thought—” I break off, my voice cracking.
“I know,” she whispers, stroking my hair. “I know, baby. I’m here.”
I feel her shaking, but I don’t let go. I don’t think I can. Tears spill down my cheeks, and I don’t even try to stop them.
For months, I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. If she was safe, if she was alive.
And now she’s here.
Alive. Real.
I pull back just enough to look at her, my hands still gripping her arms like she might vanish if I let go. “How—how did you get here?”
“That would be me,” my father says smugly.
I barely spare him a glance, but for once, I don’t snap at him.
Because right now? None of that matters.
I turn toward Mikhail, blinking back my tears, my heart still hammering in my chest.
“You did this,” I whisper, realization settling over me.
Mikhail holds my gaze. Unflinching. “You asked for her,” he says simply. “So I brought her to you.”
Something sharp lodges itself in my throat.
I don’t know what to say.
I don’t know how to process this.
Mikhail didn’t have to do this. He could have ignored me, brushed me off, told me it wasn’t possible.
Instead—he brought her back to me.
I swallow hard, my emotions still too raw. “Thank you.”
Mikhail doesn’t say anything, but something in his expression shifts.
Before I can figure it out, my mother squeezes my hands, drawing my attention back to her. “Lila, baby,” she breathes. “I’m so glad to see you.”
I grip my mother’s hand and pull her inside, shutting the door behind us.