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“Nikolai !” my brother cut me off, slamming his fist onto the table, making Selina jump and whimper in pain.

I clenched my fists, ready to argue with him, when suddenly, Elif stood up, pointing one finger at me and the other at my brother, her expression downright dangerous.

“You two ! Don’t even think about fighting under this roof—especially not at this table! Otherwise, you’ll both sleep outside,and this time I won’t even give you a sleeping bag. I’m hungry, and I want to eat before the food gets cold. So either shut up or take your fight somewhere else !”

She sat back down, flipping her hair over her shoulder before signaling to Velma and Sena, who immediately began serving the food.

Grigori shot me one last deadly glare before pulling his chair closer to his wife, speaking to her in a hushed tone—probably trying to calm her down so he wouldn’t end up sleeping on the couch.

“Could you serve her more, please ?” Selina suddenly asked, just as the women finished serving Sienna.

“No, it’s fine. This is enough, thank you,” Sienna replied, sending her sister a pointed look.

“You need to eat more, and you know it. Otherwise, you’re going to collapse again,” Selina insisted.

“I’ve survived on much less, believe me,” Sienna muttered.

“What do you mean, ‘much less’?”

Sienna was about to snap back when Sasha suddenly stood up, grabbed the serving dish from Sena’s hands, and piled a generous portion onto Sienna’s plate. She stared at him in pure shock.

“Are you completely insane ?! There’s no way I can eat all of that!”

“You can, and you will,malen’kayagadyuka, or I’ll make you,” he said as he set the plate down in front of her.

“Try it, and I’ll make sure you get a second bruise to match the first!” she retorted, her glare burning into his.“And stop this act of kindness. Don’t you dare pity me!”

“I wouldn’t be proud either if I had strangled a sick woman,” Roman said, chewing on his meat.

“Shut up, Roman!” Grigori, Sasha, and I all snapped at the same time.

“Sienna, please,” Selina murmured, squeezing her sister’s hand, her eyes pleading. Sienna pressed her lips into a thin line, hesitated, then finally gave in, grabbing her fork.

Sasha nodded in satisfaction and sat back down.

Sienna, however, stabbed her fork violently into her steak, slicing into it with a little too much force, her eyes never leaving Sasha’s. And when I saw my brother lips twitch, I knew.

This cohabitation—because there was no doubt that it was happening, no matter who said otherwise—was going to be very entertaining.

Chapter eight

Selina

“Thank you, my dear Selina, you have such a gentle touch !” Mrs. Rossi said, patting my cheek softly with her wrinkled yet delicate hand.

“You’re very welcome, Mrs. Rossi. If only all my patients were as calm as you when they saw a needle,” I replied with a smile, securing the bandage before putting away my supplies.

“Come now, child, you’re only at the beginning of your journey. How long have you been a nurse? Six months? Seven?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Four,” I answered in a small voice, pressing my lips together.

“Well, my dear, you have a long road ahead. But you’ll manage just fine—you are young, and I can always recognize a strong woman when I see one.”

“Oh, if you only knew,” I chuckled, picking up the tray. “I cry at the smallest things—movies, kittens, babies…”

“We women have big hearts, my dear. God gave them to us to bring light into this dark world with our emotions, but also so we could fight the monsters that live in it.”

She smiled at me and laughed when she saw my eyes glistening. I wished her a good evening and stepped out, closing the door behind me. The hospital corridors were quiet as I made my way toward the break room, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep.