Chapter 38 #2
The world outside that room had changed. Reporters were already writing stories. Federation officials were probably making phone calls. Somewhere, my parents had almost certainly seen the broadcast. Yet none of it felt real in this moment.
All I could feel was Dean. His heartbeat beneath my ear. His arms around me. The medal resting against my chest.
And I wasn’t bracing for impact.
The knock on the door sounded like a gunshot.
Dean and I both jerked upright.
A second later the door opened and Mila stepped back inside. One look at her face was enough.
Reality had caught up with us.
“We’re about to have company.”
Before I could ask who, three knocks sounded against the door, unhurried and confident enough to tighten every muscle in my body.
Years of conditioning took over, and I straightened, my shoulders locking into place while my breathing flattened into neat, controlled pulls. Every defense mechanism I’d spent a lifetime building snapped awake at once.
Dean didn’t remove his hand from my back. “Hey. You don’t have to handle this by yourself.” He sounded calmer than I felt.
The knocks came again, the same measured rhythm, patient in a way that suggested whoever stood outside already assumed the door would open eventually.
Mila muttered a curse under her breath in Velkaryan.
Earlier tonight fear would have twisted my stomach. A few hours ago, I would already have been calculating damage control, rehearsing apologies before anyone demanded them.
Now I was tired enough that obedience no longer felt automatic.
“I’ll deal with it,” I said, surprised by how steady the words came out.
Dean studied my face. “Do you want me here?”
I thought about the podium. The kiss. Cameras flashing while the entire world watched me stop pretending in real time. There was no pulling any of it back now.
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “Stay.”
Dean moved beside me, solid and steady, and Mila opened the door.
Two federation officials waited in the hallway wearing dark jackets with Velkaryan insignia stitched across the chest. I recognized both men immediately. Viktor Kova? stood nearest the door, silver-haired and immaculate as always, his expression arranged into practiced diplomatic warmth.
I did not ask them to step inside. Neither did Mila, and judging by their expressions, it became clear they hadn’t anticipated this reaction.
“Luka. Congratulations on tonight’s performance. You represented Velkarya beautifully.”
“Thank you.”
His gaze shifted toward Dean before returning to me. The glance lasted less than a second, but I knew how to read men like Viktor. Everything mattered, including hesitation.
“This situation has become rather complicated.” He cleared his throat. “We’d like a private conversation.”
I felt the instinct to cooperate clearly enough to recognize how deeply it had been trained into me over the years.
Then I ignored it.
“I won’t meet alone.”
Silence settled over the doorway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mila go still.
Kova? blinked. “This concerns federation matters.”
“It concerns my life,” I replied. “Dean stays.”
A colder edge entered his expression then, subtle but unmistakable. “You understand the amount of attention this has generated.”
“Yes.”
“And you understand what that attention may cost.”
I held his gaze. “I understand exactly what you’re implying.”
The hallway went very quiet after that.
Kova? folded his hands in front of him, studying me with the careful patience of someone accustomed to waiting people out. “Your conduct reflects directly on Velkarya.”
I nodded. “Then your response will reflect on Velkarya too.”
I saw the shift in his expression, the uncertainty.
“There will be formal discussions before we leave for home,” he said after a moment. “The federation expects your full cooperation.”
“I’ll cooperate with legal representation present.”
Dean turned toward me, and Mila’s lips twitched before she buried it.
Kova?’s composure slipped a little. “That won’t be necessary.”
I arched my eyebrows. “It will if statements are being requested regarding my career or future.”
Another silence followed, longer this time.
Farther down the corridor, a group of athletes passed by, laughing loudly, and the sound echoed through the hallway before fading again, a reminder that the rest of the world continued moving while my entire life rearranged itself inside this doorway.
Kova? glanced toward Dean again, then back to me. “We’ll continue this discussion another time,” he said, enunciating carefully. “Get some rest tonight, Luka. I strongly advise you to think clearly before making emotional decisions.”
The words almost made me laugh.
Does he really believe tonight happened on an impulse? Years of silence and fear and exhaustion had led directly to that podium.
I set my jaw. “I’ve done enough thinking.”
Uncertainty flickered once more across his face, there for only a moment before vanishing beneath a layer of professionalism once more. The officials stepped back, Mila shut the door behind them, and the lock clicked into place.
The second I heard them disappear down the corridor, my legs gave out beneath me, and Dean caught me, one arm braced hard across my back while adrenaline drained from my body, leaving my hands shaking against the front of his jacket.
“You okay?” he murmured.
A breathless laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “You keep asking the same question.”
“That’s because I need to hear the answer.”
I shuddered out a breath. “I just told them no.”
Mila let out a low whistle from across the room. “You absolutely did.”
I held onto Dean and closed my eyes while exhaustion crashed over me in waves. For years I’d imagined this moment ending with shouting, ultimatums…disaster.
The hallway was empty.
Kova? had walked away.
And I was still here.
Yes, I was terrified. Yes, I shook badly enough that Dean kept tightening his hold around me every few seconds without realizing he was doing it.
But I was still standing.
“I was so afraid of them,” I confessed.
Dean pulled back enough to look me in the eye. “And now?”
I thought about the expression on Kova?’s face when I refused to comply. I’d seen surprise, then shock.
My pulse slowed a little.
“Now, I think they’re beginning to realize they can’t control this quietly anymore.”
Dean’s arm tightened around my shoulders.
The strange thing was, Kova? hadn’t frightened me most tonight.
What frightened me was how easy it had been to say no.
Because once you discover you can do that, once you realize the sky doesn’t fall and the world doesn’t end, it becomes impossible to forget.
I rested my head against Dean’s shoulder.
Tomorrow would bring consequences.
Tonight had brought clarity.