Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Andrei
"Lilith..." I never expected to see Lilith here, much less hear what Luca had said to her.
I looked at her. She leaned against the wall, pale as a sheet, terror flooding her eyes. Her hands pressed against the floor beside her, fingertips trembling. The moment our eyes met, she flinched back instinctively, spine pressed tight against the cold wall, like she wanted to disappear into it.
Her retreat stabbed straight through my chest.
"Lilith, now you see what he really is." Luca stood there, fanning the flames, smug satisfaction written all over his face.
I clenched my fists. Maybe I should never have gone soft on this bastard. "Get out. Don't ever show your face again."
I pressed the intercom. Guards came running and dragged Luca out of my manor.
"Keep Luca out from now on. Change all his fingerprint codes and passwords," I told my men.
The door slammed shut. The whole house sank back into dead silence.
"Lilith." I kept my voice low, fighting the tremor in my throat. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." I slowly raised both hands, level with my head, showing her I could never hurt her.
I'd rather she yelled at me, hit me, or even slapped me. Anything but the way she was looking at me now. Her fear burned into me, scalding, like someone had poured a pot of molten lead straight into my gut.
I wanted to kill Luca. He brought Lilith here. He dragged her into the darkest corner of my world, forced her to see what I'd spent months trying to hide. He was my own son, but God help me, I wanted to kill him.
I sat down on the floor, facing Lilith, across the width of the hallway—a distance that wouldn't make her feel trapped. We were maybe six feet apart, but I knew our hearts were miles away from each other.
A pakhan who struck fear into countless hearts, now too afraid to even approach the woman he loved. If old Ivan could see me like this, he'd laugh his ass off. But I was past caring about dignity.
The air in the hallway hung heavy.
"You killed your ex-wife..." After a long silence, Lilith said, her voice shaking.
"Yes." I couldn't deny it. After a moment, I said it.
As my word fell, Lilith's body shook violently. She stared at me, eyes red, like I was some kind of monster. "Why? She was your wife. Why!"
"You killed her. What's next—are you going to kill me too?"
My breath stopped.
My chest felt like someone had grabbed it and squeezed. I could feel my ribs about to crack.
Did Lilith really think I was some kind of wife-beater? She was comparing me to that disgusting brother-in-law of hers.
"Lilith, you're not like her." I gave a bitter laugh. It probably looked ugly, because I could feel my mouth trembling.
"I'd ache if you lost a single hair."
She stared at me. Tears still streaming, but she didn't pull back anymore.
I knew she was waiting for an explanation. She was willing to give me one more chance.
"She deserved it." My voice was hoarse. When the words came out, Lilith's body gave a slight tremor.
"She deserved to die." I kept going.
"Marinda, our marriage had no love. Just a transaction.
An alliance between our families that my father arranged before he died.
I never expected anything, but I never mistreated her either.
But she—she got into gambling, drugs, and finally—she brought her lover into our bedroom.
Luca was only five. He woke up in the middle of the night, heard noises, thought his mother was in danger, and pushed open the master bedroom door.
" Even after all these years, remembering it still filled me with rage.
"Marinda was terrified Luca would talk. So she and her lover grabbed him, dragged him into the bathroom—they were going to kill Luca. "
"What?"
Lilith's eyes flew open.
My eyes began to burn. "Luca was held down in the bathtub full of cold water. He choked on so much water. When the maid got there, she found him floating in there like a corpse, not moving. That's when I got home—one minute later, Lilith, and my only child would've been gone."
A hot tear rolled down my face, sliding along my cheekbone into the corner of my mouth, as bitter as seawater.
I clenched my fists. "Luca stayed in the ICU for a whole month before he woke up.
I stayed with him that entire month. When he came to, he'd forgotten that whole period—the doctor called it traumatic amnesia.
He stopped being close to anyone, stopped trusting anyone.
He turned into a little bastard, but I couldn't blame him, because Marinda and I made him that way. "
"I couldn't accept a mother who tried to murder her own son continuing to live." I closed my eyes slowly. "So I tracked down Marinda after she ran. I ended her life with my own hands. So Luca could live in peace—I killed his mother."
"Lilith, I'm no saint. I've got blood on my hands.
But everyone who died by my hand was scum, thugs.
I never kill innocent people. Please don't be afraid of me.
Please. I love you, Lilith. From the first moment I saw you.
That night when you stood at the door in that red dress—the second I laid eyes on you, I knew I was done for. "
I looked at Lilith, almost pleading.
Lilith didn't speak. Those beautiful eyes were already red-rimmed, tears sliding down like they were landing directly on my heart.
The pain nearly stopped my breath.
I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Lilith. I've been too selfish..." I forced down that piercing pain. "I know your world can't accept this kind of darkness. I'll—I'll let you go. From now on, I won't bother you—"
"No! Don't!"
Suddenly, Lilith threw herself into my arms, hugging me fiercely. She held me tight, her tears soaking into my shoulder. Something slammed hard into my chest.
Lilith's voice choked. "You did nothing wrong, Andrei... You must have been in so much pain then, weren't you?"
"Marinda nearly killed Luca. If it were me, I would've killed her too. She didn't deserve to live." Lilith gasped through her tears. "I believe you. I believe you're different from those mobsters. All this time, you never hurt me. You've only protected me. You even saved my sister."
"That man inside—I recognized him. He's one of the men who hurt my sister years ago. You're getting revenge for Elena, aren't you?" Lilith covered her mouth, tears streaming.
"Yes—he's that animal. The day I found out what happened to Elena, I planned all this. He had to get what he deserved."
"Thank you." Lilith's arms tightened around me. "I'm sorry. I was too scared, too cowardly... But when I thought about being separated from you, it hurt so much."
"Andrei, I've figured it out. I love you. I'm willing to enter your world for you. I believe you'll keep me safe, won't you?"
"What did you say?" I thought I'd heard wrong. Joy surged through me as I cupped her face. "Lilith, you forgive me? Say it again!"
Lilith nodded. "Andrei, I love you. I want to be with you."
Hearing her answer, I felt that massive stone crushing my chest suddenly shatter. The pieces tumbled down into my stomach, sour and burning. I couldn't help but laugh, nearly crying.
She was always like this—so easily saving my soul.
Her chin rested on top of my head, her hair brushing my neck, tickling slightly, carrying that hospital disinfectant smell from spending too much time in the ward.
"Lilith, thank you!" I said. "I love you. I'll protect you. I swear, I won't let anything hurt you."
"I believe you." Lilith nodded, smiling.
After a long while, I loosened my hold just slightly, looking down at her face.
"Pavel's still out there."
"He's the traitor who leaked our intel to the enemy on the wedding day. He ran. He's hiding somewhere, recovering. When he's healed up, he'll come back."
I touched her hair, brushing away the strands stuck to her cheeks from the tears.
"So I want someone protecting Elena. I'll have men stationed at the hospital, round-the-clock shifts. Nothing will go wrong."
She looked up at me, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
"And then..."
I paused. I wasn't sure she'd agree to what came next.
"Move into the manor. Will you? Only if you're beside me, where I can see you safe every day—only then can I breathe."
She looked at me, silent for a long time. Those brown eyes, washed clean by tears, looked especially clear. During her silence, my heart climbed back up my throat. Maybe it was too fast. Maybe she needed more time.
Then she nodded gently.
"Okay."
That one word made my whole body relax. Something in my shoulders released, so suddenly I nearly lost my footing.
I couldn't help lowering my head, kissing her forehead softly. Her skin felt slightly cool, but that coolness was quickly covered by the warmth of my lips.
"I love you, Lilith."
She smiled through red-rimmed eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up. Even with tears still there, the smile was real. When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, exactly like the most beautiful images in my memory.
"Andrei."
"Yeah?"
"Don't hide things from me anymore. I mean anything."
I held her tighter. Her body pressed against my chest, warmth seeping into me.
"Okay."
I kissed her gently.
It was a light kiss. No desire, no possession, none of that impulse that made me lose control. Just my lips touching hers, a soft press, like a promise, like gratitude for something lost and found.
For the first time, I thought maybe God really did exist.
Otherwise, why would a girl like this walk into my life?
I'd made plenty of choices in my life. Some right, some wrong, some unforgivably wrong. But that night when I opened that door and saw a girl in a red dress standing there—that was probably the most right thing I'd ever done.