Epilogue - Ilana
A few months later
I woke up to noise.
Not the kind that made my chest tighten or my mind race, but the kind that lived and breathed with overlapping voices, dishes clinking, and someone laughing too loudly for the hour. Sunlight spilled across heavy curtains, warm and unapologetic, touching the edges of the room like it belonged there.
Like I belonged there.
For a moment, I stayed still, listening.
Even from the bedroom, I could hear Timofey arguing with someone about coffee and Zhenya complaining about being awake before noon. Someone was humming absentmindedly, and Elisse was laughing softly. I turned to look beside me and found Avgust. Still asleep.
His arm was draped over my waist, heavy and certain.
I moved closer, listening to his slow, even breathing.
He slept like he trusted the world not to take anything from him while his eyes were closed.
Like he trusted me. I turned slightly, careful not to wake him up, and studied his face.
The familiar sharp lines were softened in sleep, the tension he carried like armor finally loosened.
There were days when I still couldn’t believe this was my life. This house, this man, and this family.
Not because it felt unreal. But because it felt chosen. Like I had been chosen.
“Good morning, husband,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against his.
“Not yet. Go back to sleep,” he said groggily, pulling me into his arms.
“Wake up. We should go down for breakfast. It’s late already,” I said, trailing kisses all over his jawline.
“Or we can stay in bed,” he replied, nuzzling my neck. “And I can give you an early morning present that you will enjoy far more than having breakfast with the family.”
I laughed, smacking him away, and he finally opened his eyes.
After some coaxing, we both got ready and headed downstairs, where the breakfast table was already in full chaos.
It had been a month since we had moved into the Chernykh house.
We still spent our time equally between here and the safe house, but everyone wanted us to come home.
So we did. And I had never been happier.
The long table was crowded with plates half-filled, and conversations collided.
Zhenya sat cross-legged on her chair, scrolling through her phone while simultaneously arguing with Timofey about something neither of them seemed willing to let go of.
Misha was picking at fruit, and Clara was sipping on her tea.
Her hand rested casually on Iosif’s arm, the two of them appearing like the most beautiful couple.
The room went momentarily quiet when Avgust and I walked in.
“Well,” Timofey said, grinning first, “look who finally decided to join the living.”
I rolled my eyes automatically, getting used to his presence. “Good morning to you, too.”
Zhenya looked up, her expression brightening. “You are late.”
Avgust pulled out a chair for me without even thinking, his hand warm at my back. “She wanted to sleep in. Not my fault.”
I slapped his arm. “Liar. He was the one who wanted to sleep.”
“You are both Chernykhs. Sleeping in is practically mandatory for all of us,” Zhenya replied.
“Not all of us, Zhen,” Lukyan chimed in. “Just you.”
“Alright, let’s ignore all this banter. What’s important is that the announcement went through cleanly,” Iosif said, stealing everyone’s attention. “No one has raised any questions against Avgust’s and Ilana’s marriage.”
My stomach fluttered.
“That means our marriage is finally public,” Avgust said calmly, as if it hadn’t changed the way the world could reach for me.
“Very public,” Timofey added. “Congratulations, by the way. You’re officially untouchable now, Ilana.”
Zhenya snorted. “As if she wasn’t already. Avgust was ready to break anyone’s fingers if they decided to touch her. Even her brothers’.”
Iosif’s gaze met mine. “No one will try to take you again. Romanov or otherwise. You are under Chernykh protection from now until forever.”
I swallowed past the sudden tightness in my throat. “Thank you.”
Clara reached over and squeezed my hand. “I know I have said it before, but welcome to the family. I am so glad we have both you and Avgust here now.”
Family. The word settled into me differently than it ever had before. Not heavy. Not conditional. But earned instead.
“Alright, we are heading out,” Avgust said, standing up from his chair and looking at me. “Grab your coat.”
“I am going with you?” I asked, surprised. He hadn’t told me about any plans.
“Yes, my darling.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, standing up and walking away from the table after waving everyone goodbye.
“You will see.”
I looked at him suspiciously and took my coat as he led us towards his waiting car.
The drive took us through parts of the city I hadn’t explored since before everything went wrong.
The streets smelled like paint and coffee, and everything looked pristine.
The sidewalks were crowded with people who clearly had nothing to do with Bratva alliances or power plays. It was a rather posh neighborhood.
We stopped in front of a renovated building with a brick facade, tall windows, and clean lines.
My breath caught at once. It was beautiful.
“Avgust…”
He killed the engine and turned to me. “Come on.”
I stepped out after he opened my door, and he took my hand, leading us towards the large glass doors of the building.
I already knew what it was. He fetched a key from his pocket and unlocked the doors, walking inside the place as I followed behind him.
The interior was flooded with light coming through large glass windows.
We were surrounded by white walls and polished concrete floors.
The ceilings were high, and the space felt intentional, open, and alive.
It was everything I could have asked for.
I looked around, finding my paintings sprawled along every single wall.
All of them.
Even the ones I had never saved and the ones he had thrown away before my eyes.
All of them were here. He had also placed the newer ones, which I had only painted in the last few weeks.
The raw, aching pieces that I had made in the quiet hours when I didn’t know how else to bleed without being seen.
My emotions were everywhere. Everything I felt for Avgust was displayed on these walls, especially the way he had recused the darkness in my heart, making me feel human again.
Curated. Framed. Loved.
I turned around slowly, overwhelmed with everything. “What is this place?”
“What do you think it is?” he asked, a smile spreading across his face. He watched me like this was the one moment he had been waiting for. “I have been working on it for days, and now it’s all yours. Your very own gallery.”
My chest tightened. “Avgust—”
“You can move them,” he said immediately. “You can change the lighting, the order, add more paintings, remove the ones you don’t like, or anything else you want. This is all for you to manage, handle, and change according to your will. The gallery is now yours.”
I laughed even when tears blurred my vision. I had not expected this, and yet he had given me the greatest gift of all time. Everything I could have asked for and more.
“You didn’t have to—”
“I wanted to,” he interrupted softly, taking me in his arms. “You deserve to have a space that you can call yours. A place where nothing touches you unless you allow it. A place where you can speak to canvases and paint with freedom and display your art with pride. You needed a space like that, and you finally have it. I am so, so proud of all you do, and I want you to be proud of it too.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him like I might shatter otherwise.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He kissed my temple. “I love you.”
I pulled back, looking into his eyes. “I love you too.”
Avgust pulled my face towards him and kissed me then, slow, soft, and beautiful. He kissed me like he was afraid I might break. I kissed him back hungrily, wanting to feel him against me rather than letting him go. I needed him all the time. We didn’t make it far after that.
“What is running through your head, Ilana Chernykh?” he asked, his tone playful.
Ilana Chernykh. The name sounded just right.
“You know exactly what is running through my head,” I replied, moving in to kiss him again.
The gallery was already empty, and the doors locked while the city hummed outside like it knew better than to interrupt.
Avgust gently backed me against the wall, his hands familiar and reverent.
The kiss was slow, unhurried, like there was no longer anything chasing us.
He slid my coat off my shoulders, and I did the same with him.
The need to feel him inside me was already intense.
Without another word, we were both on the floor of the gallery, Avgust’s hand working on my clothes and mine working on his.
As soon as we were naked, skin against skin, he covered me with the length of his body, his hands exploring.
I moaned as he began to trail kisses down my neck, soft and slow and unhurried.
“Avgust,” I whispered his name, my hands running over his sculpted back.
“Yes, my love?” he asked, going lower, his breath fanning against my pubic hair.
Before I could reply, his tongue lapped hungrily at my clitoris, making me moan louder than I had expected.
His fingers joined in, sliding inside my already wet pussy while his tongue kept on with the rhythm of stroking me gently at the most sensitive spot in my body.
He reached with his other hand to rub slow circles around my nipples.
“Oh my god,” I moaned louder than ever, the intensity increasing.
He kept on with his pace, as if he knew exactly what my body nodded, and within seconds, my body was arching against his hand as I came all over it. My breath slowed down at last, only to increase again as he stationed his erect cock right over me.
“Do you want me, Ilana?” he whispered, his mouth just inches from mine.
“More than you can imagine.”
He trailed his tip softly all over me, making me need him even more. I moaned softly, trying to pull him closer while he continued to tease me.
“Have some patience, princess,” he chuckled.
“I don’t have any patience when it comes to you.”
He finally gave me exactly what I wanted and softly inserted himself inside me.
I moaned loudly as he stretched me to my limits and started moving slowly, increasing his pace.
I moved underneath him, wanting to pull him even deeper inside while he gave me exactly what I needed.
His thumb reached between us to stroke my aching clit, and I knew I would explode any second.
“I’m coming,” I almost screamed and exploded all over him.
Avgust did not stop even after that and kept on thrusting, still stroking my clit.
It only took me a few minutes to reach climax again, and this time he came with me, holding me close as the intensity of our orgasms took us.
I breathed in his scent while he held me close, both of our heartbeats loud and clear.
“I love you, Avgust,” I whispered. He rolled to the side, still not letting me go.
“I love you too, Ilana.”
We lay there, surrounded by my paintings and a future ahead of us that meant happiness and togetherness, the city lights shifting all around us. I held him close, never wanting to let go. He was everything I could have asked for and everything I had ever needed.
“Avgust,” I whispered, and he turned to look at me.
“Hm?”
“I choose you,” I said quietly.
He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles, his touch as soft as a feather.
“You did that already, my love.”
“And I will keep choosing you forever,” I added.
His gaze softened. “So will I.”
Outside, the city kept moving. And inside, for the first time in a very long time, I was exactly where I was meant to be. Right in the arms of the man I loved and who loved me.
*****
THE END