Chapter 141: Fight and confession

"You could’ve called." Her back remained to him. "One phone call." Silence stretched between them. "I wasn’t asking for hours." She swallowed.

"Just thirty seconds." Another pause. "To tell me you were alive at least." The words came out smaller than she’d intended.

"I was here..." Her fingers curled into her palm. "...feeling stupid."

"Worried."

"I know." His voice had lost its teasing edge. "I know."

"No."

She turned to face him now. "You don’t."

"You disappeared."

"The last time it was four days."

"This time..." She shook her head.

"Ten."

"Ten days."

"I counted every single one." Viktor’s jaw tightened. "I couldn’t call."

"You couldn’t?"

"I was in the middle of a firefight." His answer came quietly. "My phone wasn’t exactly my priority." Sienna blinked. Then laughed again. Short. Sharp.

"Of course." She nodded to herself. "Of course you were." She pulled against his grip. "I have things to do." He didn’t let go. "Sienna."

"Let go."

"I’m trying to explain."

"I don’t want an explanation." She tugged harder.

"Let."

"Go." Instead of releasing her, Viktor stood. She tried to step around him. He moved with her. She went the other way. He blocked that too. "Move."

"No." Frustration finally broke through. She shoved at his chest. He barely moved. She shoved him again. Harder. "Move!" His hand tightened just enough to stop her from walking away.

Not enough to hurt. Enough that she couldn’t escape. "Sienna."

"I said move!" Her voice echoed through the dining room. The guards stationed nearby instinctively looked toward them.

One maid froze with a serving tray in her hands. Viktor never took his eyes off Sienna. "Everyone." His voice was low. Cold. "Leave." No one moved.

He repeated himself. "L e a v e." The entire room sprang into motion. The guards disappeared through the doors almost instantly. The maids hurried after them.

Within seconds, the mansion fell silent. Only the ticking of the grandfather clock remained. Sienna looked around at the suddenly empty room. Then back at Viktor. Only now did she truly notice him. The bandage was gone.

The wound that had nearly killed him was healing. There were fresh bruises across his knuckles. A small cut near his jaw. Another along his neck.

New injuries. New battles. Battles she’d known nothing about. Her anger wavered for the briefest second. He saw it. "Sienna."

His voice softened. He reached for her face. She turned away. His hand followed, gently cupping her cheek. "Look at me." She resisted.

"I’m serious."

"So am I." She tried to pull free again. He caught her other hand before she could push him away. She struggled against him. Not because she was afraid. Because she refused to make this easy.

"You don’t get to disappear for ten days..." She pushed against his chest again. "...then walk in here with roses..." Another shove. "...and chocolates..." She hit him once more, more frustration than force.

"...and expect everything to be fine."

"I don’t." His answer was immediate. "I know I hurt you." She stopped fighting for a second. His thumb brushed lightly against the back of her hand. "I saw it the moment I walked in."

Her eyes finally lifted to his. There wasn’t defensiveness in his expression. Only exhaustion. And regret.

Viktor loosened his grip just enough for her to breathe, but he didn’t let her go. The dining room had fallen eerily quiet. The roses sat forgotten on the table. The tea had gone cold. Sienna refused to meet his eyes.

He exhaled slowly.

"When the news reached me that morning..." His voice was lower now, stripped of its usual confidence. "That Don Capri, Aliya, my stepmother Elena, and my stepbrother Marcel were seen together..."

He paused. "I knew they were planning something." Sienna’s gaze finally lifted. "They thought I was weak." A humorless smile crossed his face.

"They heard I was injured. They knew I’d been distracted searching for you. They believed it was the perfect time to strike."

His jaw tightened. "I wasn’t going to wait for the knife."

"So..." Sienna said quietly, "...you struck first."

"I did."

"You started a war."

"I reminded them who I am." His eyes darkened with a coldness she hadn’t seen directed at her.

"I wanted them to hear stories about me instead of making plans against me." The room seemed colder. "So every rumor that reached them...They were all true. I wanted them alive long enough to spread fear." Sienna searched his face. "So they’re still out there?"

"For now." The answer came without hesitation. "But not for much longer." There was no anger in his voice. No excitement. Just certainty.

The kind that made her realize he wasn’t threatening anyone. He was stating a fact. She looked away. "Right." She nodded once.

"Good for you." She gently tried to step around him again. "So..." She forced a small smile. "Can I go now?" He didn’t move.

Instead, he took one slow step closer. The space between them disappeared. "Sienna." She kept her eyes on the floor.

"I love you." Everything stopped. Even the ticking clock seemed to disappear. She looked up. Viktor wasn’t smiling. There was no teasing in his eyes. No arrogance. No charm. Only a man standing completely exposed.

"I love you so much..." he continued softly, "that the moment I learned Fabio had taken you..." His voice caught for the first time.

"I became someone I thought I’d buried." His thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles. "I became that soulless monster again." Sienna’s breath hitched. "I hated every second of it."

"But if becoming that man meant bringing you home..." He shook his head.

"I’d do it again." His gaze never left hers. "And I will."

"I’ll erase every threat before it has the chance to reach you."

"Every enemy."

"Every betrayal."

"Every name on that list."

"I won’t wait for another Fabio." The tears came before Sienna realized she was crying. Not sobbing. Just silent tears slipping down her cheeks. She finally understood.