Page 108 of The Pakhan's Widow

Katya.

My sister is thriving. At eighteen, she's everything I hoped she'd be. She's attending university, studying art history and studio art, living the life she always dreamed of. She has a boyfriend now, a sweet pre-med student named Marcus who treats her like she's precious. Dimitri had him thoroughly investigated, of course, but Marcus passed every test.

Katya visits often, usually on weekends. She dotes on Anastasia and Nikolai, spoiling them with art supplies and books. Last week, she brought a painting she'd done of our family. It hangs in the main hallway now, a splash of color and life.

Our mother never reached out after that day she came to the estate. I heard through the network that she remarried within six months of Viktor's death, some businessman from Chicago. Katya and I agreed we were better off without her. Some wounds are too deep to heal.

The sound of footsteps on the terrace stairs pulls me from my thoughts. Dimitri appears, Anastasia perched on his broad shoulders, her small hands tangled in his dark hair. There's silver threading through his temples now, more than there was two years ago, but it only makes him more distinguished. More handsome.

His green eyes find mine, and the look he gives me still makes my breath catch. After two years of marriage, two children, countless challenges and triumphs, he still looks at me like I'm the most precious thing in his world.

"Mama!" Anastasia reaches for me, and Dimitri carefully lifts her down, mindful of her sleeping brother in my arms.

I kiss her forehead, tasting sunshine and grass. "Did you have fun with Papa?"

"We chased butterflies!" She bounces on her toes. "And Papa said we can have ice cream!"

"Did he now?" I raise an eyebrow at Dimitri.

He grins, unrepentant, and steps close. His hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. Then he kissesme, deep and slow and full of promise. Even with our daughter giggling beside us and our son between us, the kiss sends heat through my veins.

When he pulls back, his voice is low and rough. "I love you, Alina. Every day, I love you more."

"I love you too," I whisper.

It's something he says every day now, these words that once seemed impossible from a man like him. And every day, I say them back, meaning them more each time.

Anastasia tugs on Dimitri's pants leg. "Ice cream now?"

He laughs and scoops her up again. "Go ask Alexei to get some from the kitchen. Tell him Papa said so."

She races inside, her footsteps echoing through the house. Dimitri wraps his arm around me, careful not to disturb Nikolai, and we stand together on the terrace as the sun begins to set over the city.

The sky bleeds orange and pink and gold, painting everything in warm light. In the distance, I can see the city skyline, the place where so much blood has been spilled, so many battles fought. But from here, it looks peaceful. Beautiful, even.

I think about the girl I was two years ago. Terrified. Trapped. Standing at an altar in a wedding dress I never wanted, about to marry a stranger.

I think about everything that's happened since. The violence and fear. The betrayal and loss. But also the love. The strength I found in myself. The family I've built from ashes.

I'm not that girl anymore.

I'm a mother. A wife. A partner. A woman who's carved out her own power in a world that tried to break her.

From prisoner to partner. From surviving to thriving.

Dimitri's hand tightens on my waist, and I lean into him, feeling the solid strength of his body against mine. Whatever challenges come next, whatever storms we have to weather, we'll face them together.

We've survived worse.

We've built something beautiful.

And I'm not afraid anymore.

Nikolai wakes with a soft cry, and I shift him in my arms, preparing to nurse him. Dimitri watches us with such tenderness in his eyes that my throat tightens.

"Our family," he says softly. "Everything I never knew I needed."

I smile up at him. "Everything we both needed."

The sun sinks lower, casting long shadows across the garden. Inside, I can hear Anastasia's laughter and Alexei's patient voice. The sounds of home. Of safety. Of love.

This is my life now.

And I wouldn't change a single thing.