Page 129 of The Last Hope

I blinked. Did she just pout ?

“Moy solnychko… did you just pout,moylyubov’?”

Silence.

“I… no. You must have misunderstood, Nikolai. But you better be here for dinner,amoremio. See you tonight !” she said, then hung up quickly and I stared at the screen.

The lock screen lit up—Selina on the swing, the boys on either side of her, all laughing.

“Well, it looks like we’ll have to cut this short. My wife is waiting for me for dinner,” I said, tucking away my phone.

I turned back to Antonio.

“I’ll leave you to have fun until dinner,moy brat. I need to pick something up for my wife and sons. Red or white roses, Tony ? What do you think ?”

Antonio’s gag muffled his screams. “Wrong answer. Her favorite flowers are dahlias.”

I slipped on my jacket and grabbed my keys.

“Don’t worry,moy brat, we’ll keep him entertained,” Roman grinned, hauling Antonio back into the chair. “Isn’t that right, Tony ?”

At the door, I turned back as Antonio squirmed, his fury boiling in his eyes.

“I’ll be back to wish you goodnight… forever, Tony. Right after I say goodnight to my wife—in a very different way.”

And with that, I stepped out. His muffled screams echoed behind me.

This was only the beginning for Antonio Rasili.

Only the beginning.

Selina

The scent of my chocolate cake drifted through the house as I turned off the oven after checking its doneness. It was perfect. The kids were going to love it.

“Is the sauce to your liking, Miss Selina ?” Velma asked from the stove, where she had taken charge of the pasta sauce.

I walked over, grabbed a spoon, and tasted it. “Yes, it’s perfect ! Thank you, Velma.” She smiled softly, turning off the electric burner while I joined Sena to finish preparing the salad. “Let’s go easy on the tomatoes—Alexei doesn’t like them much,” I said, still grating the carrots. Sena nodded and set the tomatoes aside.

“Is there something for Sienna to eat ?” Sasha’s voice suddenly cut through the air as he entered the kitchen, heading straight for the sink to put down the glass of milk he’d brought to Sienna a few hours earlier.

“Yes, I made her some soup. It should have cooled down by now,” I replied, wiping my hands on my apron before moving to the counter where I’d left the soup to cool. I prepared a tray, added a bit of mashed potatoes with Velma’s sauce, and headed toward the door—but Sasha suddenly appeared in front of me, hands outstretched.

“You should get some rest too, Sasha,” I told him as I handed him the tray. There was no point in arguing.

“I will… when she’s capable of annoying me again by talking non-stop,” he muttered before disappearing down the hallway. I gave up after a few seconds. He and Sienna were exactly the same—stubborn and often foolish.

I grabbed another carrot and resumed grating, my thoughts drifting back to my earlier conversation with Nikolai.

I didn’t pout. I never pouted. Why would I even do that ?

A car pulling into the driveway broke my train of thought, and before I realized it, I was already in the hallway, abandoning everything under Sena’s amused laughter. I wiped my hands on my apron, unable to stop myself from brushing my fingers over my ring.

I opened the front door, ready to throw myself into my fiancé’s arms—but froze when my eyes met not blue ones, but dark.

For a moment, it felt like I was looking at a younger version of Roman. He was younger, but just as tall and nearly as muscular. His gaze studied me in return, pausing for a millisecond on the ring on my finger before a smirk stretched across his lips.

“You must be Selina. Nice to meet you. I’m—”