Chapter 136

Sofia. The air in the room was thick with unspoken words, heavy with the weight of a decision that could change everything. The dim light barely reached the corners of the space, casting long shadows against the walls, but none were as dark as the emotions brewing between me and the men standing behind me. The men who had built a life with me. Who had fought for me. Protected me. And now, I was asking them to make room for him. For Arsen. The man they had every reason to hate. The man I had every reason to hate. But I couldn’t. Not after everything. I sat beside his bed, my fingers curled tightly around his hand, unwilling to let go. He was stable but still unconscious. The bandages covering his torso were proof of the fight he had barely survived, a reminder that I had nearly lost him before I even had the chance to face the truth. I loved him. And that truth wasn’t something I could run from anymore. Behind me, my men were silent, but I could feel their presence like a physical weigh