Page 167

Story: Taken

“What’s wrong, beauty?”
He asks, and I hear the clear softness in his voice, the care that always lingers there.
I open my mouth to speak, but soon close it when I realise a lump has appeared in my throat.
Nikolai moves closer, pressing his hand to my shoulder, grounding me.
His eyes soften as he looks down at me.
“It’s not like you to come to bed so early.”
I take a sharp breath in, eyes darting between both brothers before I swallow hard.
After clearing my throat, I smile at them both.
“I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
Nikolai takes a seat beside me, and so does Mikhail.
“Are you thinking about us?”
Nikolai asks, the edge of a smile tugging at his lips.
“I was thinking about everything.” I whisper. “How is it possible that we got here? After everything that’s been revealed? How did we ever go from all of that…to this?”
Mikhail chuckles softly, leaning down to kiss my forehead.
“We’re here because we’re meant to be, and nothing will ever tear us apart.”
I take another breath in, nodding my head.
I believe him.
I really do.
Nikolai’s hand slides down as he wraps his fingers around mine.
“And that means we’re never letting you go, and we’re never letting anybody take you either.”
I laugh, but it’s soft, and a little breathless too.
I still can’t believe how everything has changed, and how everything has led to this very moment.
I’ve seen the way they protect me, and the way they fight for me.
They’ve made me part of their world, and their future too.
In turn, I’m ready to give them mine.
We don’t need a grand ceremony or a big celebration to know where we stand.
What we have is enough.
What we’ve built is more than enough.
With my fingers still wrapped around Nikolai’s, I lean into Mikhail’s chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“You’re ours, Chiara. Always. Forever.”

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