Page 27 of Eternal
From the doorway, Kat watches with a soft smile. “You’re lucky they don’t care about your crazy life.”
“At least they won’t judge my choices,” I reply, a bittersweet chuckle escaping my lips.
She appears near me a few moments later, sitting beside me and patting the head of Mischka while I pet Notch.
“How are you feeling to be back here for a while now?” she asks, looking at me.
My eyes meet hers, and a smile breaks through when I catch her smirk. “Home is where the heart is, right? So, I guess I’m back home. I should feel happy and relieved.”
“Do you have the next name?” she demands, her gaze drifting back to the stars.
I do, a politician hiding from the backlash of scandal, participating in grotesque parties with underage girls. “I have it.”
“Should we start working on it soon?”
A long sigh escapes my lips. “Yes. I’ll come after my morning training, and we’ll start searching for this bastard.”
A new name, a new mission.
Another step ahead to my vengeance.
“Perfect. Oh, and please go back home tonight and sleep.” She stands, smoothing down her dress, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She knows the moment she walks back in; Viktor will announce whatever plan he’s cooked up, and all those stone-faced Russians will have to take it.
The men in that room respect him, sure, but she’s the one who truly holds this chaotic family together. The crazy blonde who somehow keeps this whole operation running like a machine in the underworld of Vegas. She never left her brother’s side, even when things got brutal. And sometimes, she can tell that he knows, it wasn’t their father who nominated her for this life. No, Viktor gave her this chance. He wanted her there, right beside him.
I look up at her and giggle, “Is this your way of saying that I look ugly and tired tonight?”
She bends down and kisses my cheek, her expression sincere and so affectionate. “You look delicious, and if I were a man, I’d follow you to the depths of hell.”
“Maybe you’re a woman and you’ll still follow me there,” I reply, smiling as I catch the glint of mischief in her eyes.
She sighs dramatically; a theatrical gesture that would make her brother proud. “True, unfortunately. I can’t stop myself from helping my friend kill bad people. Do you think karma will get me?” She places a hand over her heart as if to ward off the impending doom.
“I think it’ll find me first, and you’ll have time to hide before it’s done with me.”
A soft giggle escapes her lips, warming the chill in the air. “I missed you. Have a good night,Visha. Love you.”
She disappears back inside, and I whisper, too quietly for her to hear, “I missed you too.”
I still find it hard to show affection.
She and Vik are always trying to show me love, whether through words or small gestures. Sometimes, it feels like they’re trying to mend the broken child who was forced to grow up too soon. But the truth is, it can’t be changed. Maybe it’s trauma, but I can’t bring myself to say, ‘I love you,’ or admit I’d break if anything happened to them. And every time they go on a mission, my heart clenches with the fear they won’t return.
When I was young, I knew love. But then,lovevanished when I was far too young to remember the taste of it. I never learned how to give it back before it was stolen from me.
Love became hollow. Love becameharsh.
And I always believed love shouldn’t hurt.
Love should never be painful.
What a foolish thing to believe.
I do love them, but I can’t say it. The words stick in my throat, like a secret I’m not allowed to share, as if saying them makes me vulnerable, as if no one deserves to hear them from me because they might use them against me.
But I do love Katarina, and I missed her too.
I draw a deep breath, the night air suffocating against my lungs. I know I may be home now, but this year will change me.Forever.
