I woke up the next day like my body had been put back together without asking permission.
The guest room was quiet, too clean, too soft for someone like me. My wounds were already bandaged, and wrapped neatly.
I sat up slowly and my fingers went straight to my necklace.
My eyes drifted to the calendar on the wall and stopped.
A circle.
Today.
My birthday.
I almost laughed, but nothing came out right. I didn't even remember the last time I cared about it. Still, something inside me whispered, maybe this was my chance. Maybe just this once, things could be different.
Dimitri’s birthday had always been the one I used to celebrate for him, but today was mine.
Right?
So I got up.
My body still hurt when I moved, my hands burned and stiff from yesterday, but I went into the kitchen anyway. I didn't really know why I was doing it at first. Maybe I just wanted to feel like I still had control over something, even something small.
I started baking.
The first cake burned.
I stared at it for a long time before throwing it away and starting again.
Second one burned too.
My hands shook when I cleaned the pan. Blisters formed along my fingers, and I just wrapped them up and kept going.
By the time the sun started going down, I finally got it right. A chocolate cake, simple but careful. Not perfect, but it looked like something made with effort.
I stood there staring at it for a moment.
Like maybe if I looked long enough, it would mean something.
Then I went to my drawer and pulled out an old photo album. It had pictures of us from years ago, back when things still felt like they had a future. I picked a few and placed them inside carefully, my fingers shaking the whole time.
After that, I sent him a message.
“Dimitri, I’ll be at our usual place. I need to talk to you.”
My thumb hovered over the screen for a second.
Then I hit send.
I left the mansion and went to the restaurant we used to go to. The same one we used before everything fell apart.
I arrived early.
I placed the cake on the table and the photo album beside it. My hands didn't know where to rest after that, so I just held them together tightly.
Thirty minutes passed.
Then forty.
Then an hour.
I kept telling myself he would come. He always came eventually. Even if he was late, even if he was cold, he still showed up.
Right?
But when the door finally opened, I already knew before I even looked up. Dimitri walked in. His eyes landed on the table.
"What is this?" Dimitri said flatly.
"It’s my birthday today. I just thought… maybe we could sit together for once."
He stared at me like I said something disgusting.
Then he walked closer and looked at the cake again.
"I stopped celebrating birthdays," Dimitri said coldly. "You forgot that?"
Before I could respond, he knocked the cake over.
It hit the floor with a heavy sound, cream splattering across my dress.
I didn't move.
"I know... But it's been years, Dimitri. I've already lost everything too. My parents are gone, I've suffered for seven years, so can't we just let it end?" My hands clenched under the table. "Can’t we just start over?"
His laugh was sharp, "Start over? After what your family did?" His hand shot out and grabbed my chin hard.
I winced but didn't pull away.
"You still don't understand, do you? I watched there as my parents drowned in freezing water. My sister, screaming, nearly died; it's a miracle she managed to escape. And my grandfather? He died of shock the moment he saw their bodies." His grip tightened further. "How could I ever forget that?"
Tears started slipping down my face before I even realized it. "I’m sorry," I whispered again, because that was all I ever had left.
"Dimitri!"
A bright voice cut through everything.
Kelsey stepped in wearing a white dress. She was holding something in her hands.
A glass case.
Inside it was a gun.
A customized mafia pistol, polished and engraved, expensive enough to belong in a syndicate vault.
"Happy birthday Annika, sorry I didn't prepare a gift for you," Kelsey said brightly as she walked toward Dimitri instead of me. "But Dimi, I got this for you. It’s a limited piece from my family’s weapons vault. I thought you’d like it," Kelsey said softly.
Dimitri froze for a second. His eyes stayed on the gun. Slowly, he took it from her hands. His fingers brushed over it like he was remembering something he had lost.
My throat went dry.
Because I remembered. When I was younger, I once gave him something like that too. A small piece from my family’s old stash. A gesture, a joke, a promise between us. He had smiled like I was his entire world back then. Now he was looking at her like that instead.
"I really like this, Kelsey.”
Then he pulled her into his arms. Kelsey glanced at me over his shoulder and smirked, just a little too satisfied.
My hands slowly moved to the photo album beside me. My fingers touched it without thinking.
This wasn't betrayal anymore. It was a replacement.
I couldn't keep watching them anymore. The way Dimitri held Kelsey like she mattered. The way he looked at her with warmth he hadn't shown me in years. It hurt too much.
So I left the restaurant quietly before either of them noticed. The drive back to the Romanov mansion felt endless. Neon lights blurred outside the car window while tears kept falling no matter how many times I wiped them away. I pressed my hand against my mouth and forced myself not to break down completely.
Why was I still crying? Wasn't I already used to this?
By the time I got home, my chest felt hollow. The mansion was quiet, filled with cold marble floors and armed guards who avoided looking directly at me. Nobody here treated me like the wife of the Pentagon X boss anymore.
I was just the woman Dimitri hated.
…
I went straight upstairs to the second floor and locked myself inside the guest room. The same room I had been sleeping in for years now. Not our bedroom.
I sat on the floor beside the bed and hugged my knees tightly. The birthday dress I wore was still stained with ruined cake cream.
How pathetic.
I laughed weakly at myself before lowering my head.
About an hour later, someone knocked on the door. I wiped my face quickly before opening it.
Kelsey stood there.
Smirking.
She leaned against the doorway casually and looked me up and down.
"Wow! You look awful, birthday girl."
I stayed quiet.
Kelsey walked into the room without permission, her heels clicking against the floor.
"Dimitri's with me right now," she continued proudly. "Did you know that? He left your birthday dinner just to stay beside me."
I lowered my eyes.
"I know."
She laughed lightly. "You know what's funny? He barely even looked at you tonight."
Still, I said nothing. I was too tired to fight anymore.
Kelsey's expression slowly darkened.
"What?" she snapped. "You're not even angry?"
I looked at her for a long moment before forcing a small bitter smile.
"He chose you. Congratulations."
For a second, she just stared at me. Then her face twisted in irritation. "Now you're acting like you don't care?" she said coldly. "You're pretending you're not affected by this?"
I looked away. Because what else was left for me to say?
Kelsey suddenly laughed again, but this time it sounded sharp.
"Fine," she muttered. "Let's see how long that attitude lasts!" Then she turned and walked toward the hallway railing outside the room.
"What are you doing?"
She ignored me.
The second floor overlooked the massive entrance hall below. The drop was high enough to kill someone if they landed wrong. Kelsey placed both hands on the wooden railing and looked down dramatically.
Something felt wrong instantly. My chest tightened.
"Kelsey...!"
Before I could move, she suddenly climbed halfway over the railing.
My eyes widened.
"What are you doing?!" I rushed forward instinctively.
Then she looked at me.
The next second, she deliberately let herself fall over the edge while grabbing the railing with only one hand.
"DIMITRI!" she screamed hysterically. "ANNIKA PUSHED ME! HELP ME! PLEASE! I'M GONNA FALL!"
