Page 74 of Twisted Pact

Dmitri moves toward the door, but I motion for him to stay.

“Sit. We’re not done.”

“What logistics?” Mila snaps. “I will not agree to a fake engagement.”

“It wouldn’t be fake.”

The words slip out before I can stop them, and they stare like I’ve lost my mind.

“What did you just say?” she demands.

“I said it wouldn’t be fake. If we’re going to do this, we do it right.”

“You want to get engaged? Right now? Because of a video?”

“I want to protect you. If that means making this official, then yes.”

“That’s not a proposal.”

She’s right. Everything about this conversation sounds like strategy, not love.

But what choice do we have? The video changed everything, making us public in ways we weren’t prepared for.

“Sometimes, business and personal align,” I tell her.

“God, you’re just like my father. Everything is strategy. Everything serves some larger purpose.” Mila starts pacing. “What happens when the threats are over? When you don’t need to protect me anymore? Do we just stay married out of obligation?”

“That’s not?—”

“That’s exactly what this is. You’re proposing marriage as a security measure. If we’re going to do this—and I’m not saying we are—then it happens on my terms.”

“What terms?” Dmitri asks before I can.

“First, this isn’t Dmitri’s decision, or my father’s decision, or even yours,” she says, looking at me. “It’s mine. I decide whether to say yes, and I decide when to announce it.”

“Mila—” I start.

“Second, if I agree to this, it’s because I choose to, not because I’m backed into a corner with no options. That means you present me with alternatives—real ones—before I make my choice.”

“What kind of alternatives?” Dmitri asks.

“That’s your job to figure out, but I won’t be forced into marriage because it’s the only path you’re willing to consider.”

“And third?” I ask because I sense there’s more.

“Third, if I say yes, then this becomes real. Not a business arrangement, and not a convenience. Real. Which means you treat me like the woman you’ve chosen to marry.”

Treat her like the woman I’ve chosen to marry. I’ve never considered what that would look like. I have no template for being a husband. No idea what it means to choose someone every day instead of just protecting them. The realization that I’m unprepared for what she’s asking…

Dmitri clears his throat. “If I may interrupt this domestic dispute, we have more immediate concerns. The video has beenshared by intelligence networks across the city. Everyone knows where you were tonight. This location is compromised.”

Fuck. I was so focused on the political fallout that I didn’t consider the security implications.

“I’ve already had Boris prepare alternate locations,” my brother adds. “You need to move her tonight.”

Mila stops pacing. “Move me where?”

“Somewhere more secure that hasn’t been photographed and geotagged on social media.”