<b>Chapter </b><b>168 </b>


    Elena’s POV:


    As amazing as our brief moment of intimacy was, it was also over in a sh. My body, still recovering, couldn’t have gone more than one round, and Niki, knowing that, stopped right after we both came.


    The moment he pulled away, he wasn’t even winded. He simply got up to get a warm, wet towel from the bathroom. He returned, carefully and gently cleaning me up.


    Now, Iy on the bed, wrapped in a soft, white nket. He had taken a quick shower and now, he was back beside me, his damp hair clinging to his forehead. I shifted, snuggling into his side, andid my head against his chest. His arm draped over me, pulling me closer until I was tucked firmly against him, and I could feel the steady rhythm of his heart beating beneath my ear.


    “I still can’t believe the doctor told you that,” I mumbled into his chest, the words muffled. I felt a slight tremor run through him, and a deep chuckle


    vibrated in his chest.


    “Oh, no. She didn’t,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble. “I forgot to tell you, this CCTV camera also has audio.”


    My entire body went rigid. My head snapped up from his chest, and my eyes widened in disbelief<i>. </i>“What the fuck?” I whispered, my voiceced with a horrified shock. So he was hearing my voice? Listening to me talk to Fiona? All the ridiculous things we talked about? My mind raced, reying every frustrated rant, every silly, off–key song I had hummed while reading my books. He listened to that while working?!


    <b>I </b>hid my face in the pillow, letting out a long groan of pure mortification. I felt the bed shake with his silentughter before his arm wrapped around my shoulders and he pulled me back, forcing me to look at him.


    “I didn’t breach in your privacy, malishka. The volume is usually turned down,” he said, his expression softening as he saw the genuine distress on my face. “I only turned it up when the doctor came in so I could make sure everything was alright. I needed to know exactly what she was saying, for your


    my shoulders. sake. I turned it off the moment she left.” I let out a long, trembling sigh of relief, the tension draining from


    After a long while I pursed my lips. “Is the search for Dmitri still ongoing?” I asked.


    He let out a breathy sigh. “On the surface, yes. But not really,” he said, his voice taking on a different timbre. “Lazar seems pretty content taking his ce.”


    I frowned, a deep line forming between my brows. “I don’t understand him,” I confessed, sitting up slightly so I could look him in the eye. “Is it really just money that he’s after? Why would he leave his own father and go for the Vetrovs instead?” The question had been guing me for weeks.


    Niki shifted, propping his head up with his hand. He looked at me, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Well,” he began, his tone almost academic, “weren’t <i>you </i>the <i>one </i>who told me that Sergei doesn’t treat him like his son? Maybe what he wanted was not just money, but respect and power.” He shrugged. “If he can’t get it from the man who gave him life, he’ll steal it from someone else.” <b>I </b>nodded, my thoughts aligning with his. Yes, that’s what I had thought, too.


    But if that were the case, what about his mother? A deeper<b>, </b>moreplex question had been bubbling up in my mind.


    “You mentionedst time that no <i>one </i>was aware that Lazar is actually Sergei’s son,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “But how is that possible? Shouldn’t there be records of Svena being pregnant?” It seemed like a massive secret to keep.


    “As far as I know, she should have had a miscarriage twenty–three years ago, which led to her being unable to bear any more children<b>,</b>” Niki said, his tone t. The words hung in the air, heavy and full of unspoken meaning. “I’m guessing that was <b>a </b>rumor spread by Sergei himself. If he hates Svena as much as the rumors say, then it’s highly likely.” He finished, and I hummed. To lie about such a thing, to erase your own son from existence… it was a level of coldness I couldn’tprehend.


    “Why does he hate her, though?” I asked again, the questioning from a ce of genuine curiosity. This time, Niki went silent. After a <b>long </b>moment, he finally spoke, but he didn’t answer my question. Instead, he simply looked at me<b>, </b><b>his </b>gaze gentle but unwavering. “Malishka… you <b>can </b><b>go </b>and meet him, you know?” he said, his voice soft, and my body wentpletely still.


    I shook my head<b>, </b>my mind immediately going to a ce of denial. “That’s not what I meant.”


    “I know what you meant,” he said, reaching out to cup my check, his thumb brushing over my skin in a soothing rhythm. “But there’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, his health does seem to be getting worse. I think you should go visit. You can ask him all these questions yourself. If he told you about <b>Lazar</b><b><i>, </i></b>then I’m sure he won’t hide anything else from you either.” Niki finished.


    I shook my head again, my heart pounding with a sudden, overwhelming paranoia. The thought of leaving Haider alone, even for a moment, was too much to bear. “No… I can’t leave Haider here alone. I’ll feel too paranoid…” I trailed off.


    He simply chuckled, a soft, understanding sound that was filled with affection. He pulled me closer for a hug, his arms wrapping around me like a shield. “It’s only six o’clock right now, and I’m here for Haider. You can go.” he said, the finality in his tone both amand and a promise.


    I startled, pulling back to look at him, my eyes wide with disbelief. “What, now? Like, now? Now? Alone?” The words tumbled out. It’s not like I was afraid of going alone. I was just surprised he was okay with me visiting Sergei without him.


    He smiled, a gentle, reassuring curve of his lips. “Not alone, Malishka. You’ll go with Benjamin and Lara. They’ll protect you and bring you back before eleven. And don’t worry about Haider. He’s my son, too… I’ll protect him with my life. <i>You </i>know that, right?” he asked, his voice low and serious. I looked at him, taken aback.


    “And you… don’t mind?” I asked again, just to make sure, to hear the words one more time.


    “I don’t mind. I don’t hate him…. I won’t hate you if you talk to him, Malishka. I love you, alright?” he said, his thumb tracing a path along my jawline. “And that will never change no matter what happens.”


    My heart skipped a beat, a fluttering, dizzying sensation. The simplicity of his words, the depth of his love, the unshakeable loyalty he was offering me… it was overwhelming. I pushed myself up, straddling his waist, and bent down to capture his lips. My heart felt so full, so giddy, so happy and sad andpletely overwhelmed all at once. I tried to pour every single one of those conflicting emotions into this one kiss.


    When I finally pulled back, breathless and a little shaky, Niki was smiling up at me, his eyes full of a mischievous joy. “That happy?”


    I smiled back, the expression feeling almost too big for my face. “I love you too.”


    As soon as the words escaped my lips, he pushed me down, his bodying over mine as he kissed me again. The tumbling around kept going until there was a gentle, insistent knock on the door. Niki froze, and with a low groan, he reluctantly pushed himself off me.


    “It’s probably the nurse to check up on Haider,” I said, my voice a breathy whisper. He nodded, running a hand through his hair and straightening his


    shirt.


    “You should hurry and get ready,<i>” </i>he finally said, his lips curved into a breathless smile. I nodded, my mind still a little hazy from the passion. I grabbed an outfit from the small set of clothes I had on the side table and entered the bathroom. Even the bathroom here wasparable to a hotel’s, with itsrge marble counters and spacious shower. The warm water was a blissful release, washing away thest remnants of our intimacy and preparing me for the outside world.


    Once I came out, I found Niki on the bed, holding Haider in his arms, feeding him from a baby bottle. I smiled, the sight warming me from the inside out. It wasn’t the first time I was seeing him like this, but it didn’t feel any less special.


    The fact that we’d created this little life together was so surreal that I could sometimes hardly believe it.


    “Benjamin is waiting outside. Lara will be down in the car to take you,” Niki reminded me. I nodded, having put on <b>a </bfy pair of tights and a soft, oversized sweater<b>. </b>I grabbed a scarf, wrapping it around my neck before pulling my hair into a bun.


    I leaned down and kissed Niki, then Haider’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon,” I whispered, more to myself than to them. With onest look, I headed out


    the door.


    I didn’t feel the usual worry I felt when going out just for coffee. Even though Mom or Aunt Rose would be present to check on Haider, this felt different. Was it because I trusted Niki more now? Even more than my mother? How was that possible? Maybe it’s just because Niki is more capable and physically stronger. So that, <b>in </b>case anything does go wrong, he will always be there to keep us safe.


    But then that brought another thought to mind. What if one day… Nikotai was the one who was in danger instead of me or Haider? <b>What </b><b>if </b>there <b>was </b><b>no </b>one else stronger?


    Was I capable enough to protect him? On my own<b>? </b>


    <b>2/3 </b>