Page 117 of Royal Bargain

“I was scared,” she whispers. “Scared that once you knew, you’d try to take her from me. That your family would try to… fix everything by removing me from the equation.”

I flinch, because the worst part is—she’s not wrong to think that. There was a time I might’ve listened if Rory or Kellan had said exactly that.

“I didn’t trust you to separate me from them,” she adds quietly. “From the family you hate.”

I exhale slowly. “I don’t hate you, Ana.”

“I know that now,” she says. “But back then? It didn’t feel safe to believe it.”

Silence stretches again, heavy but honest. And then I say something I wouldn’t have imagined even a few weeks ago.

“Not all of your family is bad.”

She blinks, surprised.

“Aleksey…” I shake my head, giving a bitter little laugh. “If the roles were reversed, if you were my boss’s daughter, and I was the one who was there for you… I would’ve done the same things he did. Protected you. Fought for you. Lied for you.”

Ana doesn’t say anything, but her eyes shine with something fragile and grateful.

“And Sasha…” I continue. “I’m glad she looked out for you. I’m glad she was there when I wasn’t.”

Her lips tremble slightly. I reach out, brushing my thumb across her knuckles.

“And even Anatoly,” I add, the words tasting strange but true. “As twisted as he is… he does care about you. It’s just the only way he knows how.”

Ana’s eyes well with tears, and for once, she doesn’t fight them. She leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her again, holding her close.

We sit there for a moment, just breathing, wrapped in something that finally feels solid between us.

And then Ana’s phone buzzes.

She pulls it from the nightstand, brows pinching together as she glances at the screen.

Her face goes pale.

“What is it?” I ask, already feeling the dread creeping in.

She turns the phone toward me, the headline glowing back at us like a warning flare.

BREAKING: Anatoly Volkov Released from Federal Custody Effective Immediately

My stomach sinks.

Our eyes lock—no words, just the same ripple of fear rolling through both of us.

What does this mean for Ana? Would he come after me now? What does it mean for us—for Lily?

And just like that, the fragile peace between us cracks under the weight of what’s coming.

35

ANNIKA

My phone slips from my fingers and clatters to the floor.

For a second, I just stare at it, as if maybe I read it wrong. As if the words will vanish if I blink hard enough. But they don’t. They never do.

My breath catches. My ears ring. I don’t realize I’ve backed away until my spine hits the wall behind me. The air feels too thick, like the room’s shrinking, like the weight of his name alone has stolen all the oxygen.