Page 165 of Konstantin

His mouth trembles, but no words come out.

“I forgive you,” I tell him. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

His breath is labored, his chest heaving, until…

He’s gone.

I bury my face against his, sobbing as his last breath fades, and all I feel is the emptiness of his body, refusing to say goodbye.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

KONSTANTIN

The drugs have leftmy system. My blood is my own again, no longer tainted by whatever they used to keep me weak. And with that, my rage is back full force.

I can feel it in every muscle, every bone—an undeniable surge of fury. All I want right now is for that bastard brother of hers to still be alive so I could tear him apart with my bare hands.

The thought of Gerardo and the DeLucas still breathing, still out there, sends a hot wave of anger through me.

My body’s fighting to fully recover, but I don’t give a shit about the pain. I don’t care about the throbbing in my muscles or the pounding in my head. What matters is that Emilia’s okay. She’s strong, stronger than I could’ve ever imagined, and she saved me, saved our family. And she didn’t hesitate to kill her brother to do it.

As I walk back toward her hospital room with something for her to eat, I find my brothers marching over to me. As soon as Aleksei gother text, he said they rushed over, but only made it in time to catch the aftermath. But still, they came, and that’s what family is.

Aleksei looks me over, his eyes flicking from my face to the bandages still covering parts of my body.

“How’s she doing?” His tone’s laced with concern.

“She’s going to be okay. She’s tough.”

He nods. “She is.”

My hand tightens around the bag of food I’m holding. “She’s pregnant.”

The words hang in the air until Aleksei’s mouth twitches. “This is good.”

I run a hand down my face, blowing out a breath.

“You won’t be anything like Papa was,” he adds, and I hope he’s right.

Kirill’s eyes flicker between me and the hospital door, a dry laugh escaping. “A fed, huh?” He smirks, shaking his head. “Didn’t see that coming. But stranger things have happened.”

That they have.

Anton walks closer, his gaze meeting mine. “She saved your life. There’s honor in that. Honor’s not something you find in everyone.”

I know this is them accepting her, and I’m grateful for that. It’s much easier than having to kill them…

But how could they not accept her? They saw what I see. Loyalty, even when it hurts. Love, even when it’s hard. They saw a woman who risked her life for mine, and after that, how could they hold the badge against her?

Aleksei steps back, his expression hardening. “We’re going to find Gerardo and the DeLucas. Bring them all to the farm and dispose of them.”

A smile creeps up my face. “Save Gerardo for me.”

He’s dead the moment I lay my hands on him, but I want to savor it. I want him to feel everything I’ve been holding back. Everythinghe’s done to Emilia, to me, to our family.

Aleksei nods, and with that, my brothers turn and walk away, leaving me alone in the hallway. But I’m not really alone. Not anymore.

As soon as I step into the room, I drop the bag of food on the table, my fist clenching when I see her propped up on the hospital bed, a doctor sewing her up while she stares at me with a faint smile.