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Despite all of my resistance, I couldn’t stop thinking about it…about Val.

After that damn moment in my art room, I managed to keep my distance as well as I could, even if he was trying to push things by forcing us to eat together by trying to actually get to know me to some capacity.

It wasn’t easy, especially not with him constantly trying to worm his way into my head and doing everything he could to get my attention.

But my mistake happened the moment I slipped up and gave him more of myself than I should have, when I had a severe lapse in judgment and allowed his touch and taste to consume me.

If I had been sterner with myself, maybe I could’ve fought my attraction toward him a little more, and I could’ve saved myself the slight agony of wondering what could’ve been. The insistent recounting of what happened between us.

As painful as it was to admit, everything about it felt…perfect.

The way he kissed me so fiercely, giving in completely to the obvious desire between us. The way his hands mapped my body, allowing us to be skin-to-skin if even for a moment.

Even then, I could still feel it all, and every time I closed my eyes at night, I found myself back there again.

At that moment, everything else had vanished, and it was just the two of us.

For that brief time, it felt like we were an actual couple in an actual marriage—one that meant something and was driven by pure devotion.

But that wasn’t the case, and I knew that.

Val’s teasing and usual antics were getting under my skin to the point of nearly driving me insane.

I hated how easily he could get the better of me, and how he reveled in my irritation.

Even if I surrendered myself when I shouldn’t have, there was no way I’d let it happen again. I had to be stronger than that, and I needed it to count.

Rather than sitting around stewing in the aftermath of that stupid kiss, I shifted my attention to the one thing I had.

Focusing on painting was the remedy I needed in more ways than one, and despite how infuriating everything else was, it brought me a sense of peace and comfort.

Secretly, I was glad Val had been decent enough to have my supplies sent over, along with some extra paint and tools he added on top of it all. But I wasn’t going to tell him that.

With the easel set up and everything I needed on hand, I put as much concentration into my craft as I could, all while providing myself with an escape from Val and his antics.

I spent most of the morning there that day, but after a while, I wiped the paint from my hands and stretched.

The house was quiet, aside from the occasional stirring of the housekeepers or the chef down in the kitchen, and while that peace was nice with Val being at work, it was…empty.

Deciding I needed a break, aware that I didn’t have much to eat while I was preoccupied, I got up and made my way downstairs.

Wondering if something was waiting for me in the fridge, I entered the kitchen, but paused when I found him standing there.

My brows furrowed, wondering why Val was home so soon. Normally, he wouldn’t be back for a few more hours, at least.

But as he leaned against the island a little too casually, tapping his fingers against the sleek countertop, I realized something wasn’t quite right.

No…that wasn’t Val at all.

The hair wasn’t right. It was longer and slightly curlier, even if it was the exact same color.

Realizing I was there, he turned to face me, letting an easy grin pull at his lips.

“If it isn’t the new sister-in-law…I was about to come up there and grab you myself.”

Yuri.

The faintest flicker of relief moved through me at the fact that it wasn’t Val.

But it faded just as quickly upon realizing there was a chance the reality was worse.

I had only seen Yuri once or twice before, and I didn’t know him well at all. I certainly had no idea why he would be there while his brother was away.

“Let me guess…holed up in that art room of yours again?”

At my nod, he chuckled. “Of course. You must be quite the Picasso. You should show me sometime.”

The evident flirtation in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by me, but I wasn’t in the mood. Dealing with Val’s musings was difficult enough to handle some days…I didn’t need to deal with someone who was much more shameless about it.

“Maybe another time,” I murmured, heading over to the fridge to find a perfect-looking sandwich wrapped up neatly and waiting for me. My stomach growled, and I pulled it out without thinking twice.

Yuri hummed. “You’re right…We have a busy afternoon ahead of us.”

Turning back around to face him, my brows came together again. “Huh? What do you mean?”

He shrugged and laced his fingers together while holding my gaze. “Since Val’s busy with work, he sent me here to come get you.”

My confusion deepened then, not feeling like he had cleared much up for me.

With the sandwich in my hand, I wasn’t sure spending time with him was something I wanted. He was… Yuri .

Even if I didn’t know him well, I knew him well enough not to be at all surprised by his charm, and the way every other word was laced with some sort of enticing edge.

He seemed a little more open than Val did, but still. It would be quite the undertaking to give him a few of my hours.

Leaning back against the counter, I sighed and looked at him hesitantly. “And what do you have in mind?”

“We’re going out—getting away from the house for a bit,” Yuri answered simply, glancing down at the sandwich. “And we’ll get you something a little better than that while meeting up with some people.”

I paused at the mention of it, liking the idea less.

“Who?”

Yuri grinned faintly at my reaction. “Just the girls. Aria’s cousins.”

I cocked a brow at him, having no idea who that was. “Should I know that name?”

He sighed, lacking any real irritation. “Aria is married to our brother Daniil…I know it’s confusing, but that part doesn’t matter. The girls are quite the characters. I know you’ll like them. Besides, Val thinks it would be good for you to get out for a bit, and I’m inclined to agree.”

Huffing out a breath, I shook my head absently. “He would think that...”

I frowned slightly to myself, well aware that I didn’t know Aria, much less her cousins. I hadn’t even known she had cousins until that moment. The thought of spending time with unfamiliar company, especially while going through such a strange time in my life, wasn’t the most appealing one.

Glancing over at him, I held on to my resistance still. “And why do I have to go with you?”

Yuri grinned again, leaning on the island with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Because I can show you a good time…and because I’m the only available one.”

I inwardly rolled my eyes at his tone, then rubbed at the bridge of my nose.

I wanted to say no. I wanted to return to my art room and put the thoughts of spending time with anyone out of my mind.

But in all fairness, they weren’t entirely wrong. I was going a bit stir-crazy.

“Come on…I won’t bite unless you ask me.”

“If I say yes, will you be normal?” I asked, lifting my brow expectantly.

His grin stretched even further, clearly amused, and seemingly used to that sort of reaction. He put his hands up in defense of himself. “As normal as I can be.”

After a moment of consideration, I sighed. “Okay, fine…let’s go.”

***

The drive through the city felt shorter than I expected it to, and I attributed that to Yuri talking nonstop. He was certainly long-winded.

At the very least, it made him easier to talk to, and that easy charisma of his was hard to ignore, despite how I tried.

I didn’t understand why I felt vaguely nervous about meeting up with the girls, but that trepidation eased away when we reached their table at the surprisingly quaint yet cozy diner.

All three girls gave us their complete attention, and with a brief introduction, I was able to place names to faces.

Livia, the youngest, smiled as the two of us took our seats alongside them. “I’m so glad we finally get to meet you—we heard about you and Val, and we’ve been waiting for our chance to swoop in.”

Surprised by the statement, I blinked back at her. “You were expecting to meet me?”

She chuckled at my reaction, but the eldest, Angel, put a teasing hand on her head. “This one is always a bit eager…but yes, as soon as Yuri called us, we jumped at the opportunity.”

“Not to be weird, but having someone new around is always exciting,” Silvia added, giving me a somewhat reserved, yet still friendly smile.

Getting my bearings little by little, wrapping my head around the thought of them looking forward to meeting me, I eventually nodded and felt myself opening up.

“It’s not weird at all.”

To my surprise, nothing felt uncomfortable about the situation, and while I didn’t know much about them, they were easy enough to talk to. And while I couldn’t help but feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb given my situation with Val, they didn’t let me feel even a moment of judgment from them.

As the hours passed, I found I was enjoying myself.

The girls were lighthearted and easily joked and talked about whatever came to mind. Yuri, being Yuri, chimed in, not sparing anyone his teasing.

To my additional surprise, it was entertaining to watch.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes, and the girls were already hard at work planning our next meetup.

On the way back home, feeling lighter than I had in quite some time, I glanced over at Yuri while he drove.

“You know, your brother would’ve hated to see you be so shameless back there.”

Yuri lifted a brow at that before relaxing it again and chuckling to himself. His smile gave away that the thought was at least somewhat pleasing to him. “Oh, I know. But it’s all good fun, no? I’m sure Val will get over the fact that he has nothing on me one day.”

Despite myself, I couldn’t hold back the faintly amused grin on my own.

It was easy to see that Yuri was the life of the party, and his confidence seemed to guide him without any resistance. He was laid-back and easy to talk to, but something about that still didn’t sit entirely right with me.

It was the effortlessness of his charm that actually made me feel a bit grateful that Yuri wasn’t the one I ended up with.

Even if it was annoying, he was smooth—a little too smooth, and while his flirting was mostly harmless, it felt a bit shallow at times.

But Val…he was smug in his teasing, and it irritated me, yet he was more sparing with it, which seemed to make those moments more effective.

There was something deeper to his poking and prodding. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

After a moment of watching the city move by us, I glanced out the window, catching the small figure of a dog curled up and shaking on the sidewalk ahead.

It looked thin and completely alone without a collar. The sight was enough to pull at my heartstrings.

“Yuri, pull over.”

He threw a questioning glance at me. “What for?”

“Just do it!”

Giving in, Yuri sighed and put his signal on before pulling up to the curb and throwing it into park.

“That poor dog…” I murmured, looking through the side mirror at it.

When I glanced over at him, Yuri looked surprised by the mention of it. “What, the stray?”

I nodded. “It looks like it needs help.”

He blinked back at me, and then after a moment, he smirked. “Wanna bring it home? I’m sure Val will love that.”

At the suggestion, I hummed. “In that case? Definitely.”

Without needing to be persuaded, Yuri willingly joined me, and we wasted no time scooping the little stray off the street.

It was a bit ridiculous, but after gaining its trust, we took it to a pet store and grabbed some supplies. It may have been overkill, especially if Val lost his mind over it, but something about it felt right.

Encouraged by Yuri’s sense of mischief, already far too pleased with himself, we drove back to the house, both looking forward to the outcome.

And to his credit, it seemed Yuri wasn’t the worst company, after all.