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“I don’t know why I feel like this,” I whispered, clasping my hands over my stomach and running my fingers over my ring. I was marrying Nikolai—the man I loved, the man who loved me despite my past, despite my burdens.

“It’s normal to be anxious on your wedding day, Miss Selina,” Sena said, handing me my bouquet of white dahlias. I inhaled their scent deeply, closing my eyes.

Calm down. Calm down. It’s just Niko and you.

“Could you give us a moment alone, please ?” my sister suddenly asked, smoothing out the deep green fabric of her dress. It was the color we’d chosen for my bridesmaids—Elif, Sienna, and Sena.

I couldn’t help but notice how the high neckline of her dress concealed her throat, which still bore faint traces of the attack. Luckily, her voice had recovered quickly, and she’d moved past the fact that… she’d killed a man by slitting his throat, as if it were something she’d done before.

I pressed my lips together, holding back the questions that had haunted me for the past three weeks. Questions I didn’t dare ask out of fear—fear of discovering things I didn’t even want to imagine.

Sienna approached with a small box in her hands, “what is that ?” I asked, frowning as I leaned toward it. My breath hitched, and I covered my mouth with my hands the moment I saw the gold locket inside.

The very same onePapàhad givenMamma.

With trembling fingers, I picked it up, running my thumb gently over the carved designs. Small green gemstones formed the shape of a bird perched on a branch.

I carefully opened it, and a sob escaped me as I saw the wedding photo ofMammaandPapàinside—the same photo my mother had worn close to her heart for twenty years.

On the other half was a different photo—a new one.

Nikolai.

His lips curled into a subtle smile as he stared straight into the camera. It was a picture I’d taken just a few days ago while we were playing a board game with his brothers, my sister, and Elif.

“I thought having his picture in there would make you happy,” my sister murmured as she retrieved the locket and stepped behind me, fastening it around my neck. It rested just above my collarbone.

“I… I thought you had sold it. To survive after… after I was no longer there to pay the rent and everything else,” I whispered, turning to look at her.

She gave me a sad smile, “I had to sell a lot of things, Selina. But this… I couldn’t.”

She reached out and brushed her fingers lightly over the locket, “it helped me survive, just like you said. I kept it close when I walked through hell to find you. It made me feel like they were there, with me.”

I suddenly grabbed her hand just as she was about to step back, “tell me, Sienna. Please, tell me,” I begged, my eyes pleading with hers—but she shook her head.

“I will never let you live with that, Selina. And… I don’t think I could live with myself, looking you in the eye, if you knew what I’ve done these past eight years.”

“Sienna…”

“No, Selina. You’re getting married today. It’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life. Don’t ruin it.”

I shook my head but didn’t argue. Just for this once. Just for today. I let it go.

But I would find out the truth about my sister.

I had to.

Chapter thirty-five

Nikolai

Twice.

I had only cried twice in my adult life.

The first time was when my parents died, when I was sixteen.

The second was the night I had to commit the irreparable with Irina.