Page 110 of The Last Hope

But I saw it. I saw the way Nikolai’s body stiffened with every word.

With every detail that proved he had been kept in the dark. With every reminder that Sienna had known—when he hadn’t.

Then, with a smooth motion, he stood, lifting Rafael with him and without a single glance in my direction, he walked out of the room.

Leaving me standing there, my lips trembling as Elif pulled me into a hug, holding me tight.

“Oh, Selina… Don’t worry. He’s just angry—it’ll be okay.”

I nodded. But I didn’t believe her.

Men like him—men who live in control, who build their world on trust and power—they don’t handle betrayal well.

I had hurt him. I had hurt his pride. I had hurt his trust in me.

And without trust, there is nothing.

Nikolai

“If you’re going to keep sulking, get out. Your bad energy is slowing down my recovery,” Roman muttered, struggling to sit up against the headboard, his focus glued to the screen where he and Rafael were engrossed in their game.

My son gripped his controller tighter, his avatar sprinting toward the goal, ready to score. Roman, too distracted by his discomfort, didn’t even see it coming.

“Yeah !” Rafael shouted triumphantly as the ball hit the net, his face lighting up with a grin.

My son.

Because that’s what he is.

Even if his own mother had refused to acknowledge it. Yet.

I pushed myself up from the chair beside the bed, ruffling Rafael’s hair before leaning in to adjust the pillows behind my brother. Roman grunted in appreciation, then grimaced when he saw the updated score flashing on the screen.

“Be nice to your uncle, son. He’s fragile right now,” I said as I sat back down as Roman shot me a glare, but I didn’t have the energy to smirk back.

Maybe it was still the sedative wearing off—the one arranged by the woman I loved.

Yes, loved.

Because no matter the secrets, the lies, or the betrayals Selina threw my way, she was and always would be the only woman I had ever fallen for, the only woman I ever would.

Before Roman could retaliate with a sarcastic remark, a knock on the door interrupted.

“Rafi ?” Mikhail’s voice called from the hallway before the door opened slightly. “We’re watching a movie downstairs. Wanna come ?”

He stood there, hands stuffed into the pockets of his joggers, his posture carefully nonchalant. And I smirked slightly.

Since Selina had entered our lives, my relationship with my sons had steadily improved. It was still complicated, especially with Mikhail, but I saw it—the small ways they changed around me.

Like how Mikhail straightened his back, kept his expressions neutral, chose his words more carefully, like a man trying to hold his own.

“Yeah ! With popcorn !” Rafael exclaimed, abandoning his controller, his game, and Roman, who groaned in protest behind him.

But my son was already out the door, following Mikhail, who glanced back at me briefly before closing the door behind them.

Roman kept muttering under his breath, dissatisfied with his loss, so I picked up the controller Rafael had left behind and continued the game in his place.

We played in comfortable silence until Roman spoke—and his words made me freeze. “He was going to kill me.”

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