Page 39 of The Russian's Bought Bride

For a long time, Roman sits in disbelief as the others contemplate what was said, and after a while, Sergey speaks up.

“You’re doing a good thing.” When all eyes shift to him, he just shrugs with a knowing yet subtle grin and adds, “But going rogue doesn’t make it smart.”

No. It doesn’t, even if I wasn’t entirely alone in it.

Eventually, Roman exhales slowly, and some of the edge bleeds out of him in a quiet concession. While not entirely gone, it’s enough to return oxygen to the room.

“Next time, Nikolai,” he says, absently tapping against the table’s smooth surface. “You loop us in. I don’t care about the details as long as you’ve got them covered, but let us know when you’re diving in.”

I don’t respond, not knowing what to say.

“Next time,” he repeats, firmer this time as he points in my direction. “No bullshit.”

“…no bullshit,” I echo with a vaguely tired-sounding exhale.

Mikhail glances over to me. “And what about the woman?”

“She stays where she is until I figure this out.”

With zero hesitation, I let my intentions be known and as clear as possible, since I’m not backing down from it.

Immediately, Roman’s gaze flicks to me again, and he looks all too knowing. “Careful.”

That one word says more than he needs to, and I catch his meaning without fail.

This thing, Dani included, is bleeding into places it shouldn’t, and my brothers aren’t idiots. They’ve faced their own questionable entanglements and have had to handle the consequences of them.

“Don’t let this cross over,” Roman adds, still stern, regardless of being merciful enough not to tear me a new one. “Our business stays clean and separate, just like you tried to do before.”

“It will.”

“And don’t let your emotions start making decisions for you.”

He doesn’t say her name, and he doesn’t have to. She’s been on my mind enough for me to draw that connection instinctively.

I don’t react, and I don’t give him anything to work with, but I’ve received the message loud and clear.

Roman huffs out a breath. “Handle your situation, but handle it right before someone else has to.”

“I will,” I tell him, planning on doing exactly that.

He studies me for another second, then nods once like his faith in me has been somewhat restored, but it’s precarious at best.

The conversation is over for now, but if I don’t make sense of all this, it won’t be the last I hear of it.

As I push off the desk and head for the door, I know one thing to be absolutely certain.

This isn’t just about business anymore, and that’s how things get dangerous.

Chapter 12 - Dani

The numbness I feel is almost worse than the grief at times.

Crying or pacing myself sick with anxiety made me feel connected to something real at the very least. The pain reminded me that this actually happened. That Dad is gone, my life detonated in the span of a single day, and I somehow ended up trapped in the home of a man whose real name I didn’t even know until yesterday.

But the numbness makes me feel empty, and I don’t know what to do with it, or how to push past it.

After Nikolai left for the day, I managed to get some sleep, but everything feels just as heavy when I wake up. My thoughts feel slow and distant, more like I’m disconnected from my body. For a long while, I just lie in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of the house around me.