Chapter 213: That’s why I never told you

The first thing Sienna saw when she opened her eyes was the ceiling. For a few seconds, she didn’t know where she was. Her breathing was uneven. Her heart was beating too fast, as though she had been running for her life.

Then she felt a hand around hers. Viktor. He was sitting beside the bed, holding her hand tightly. The moment her eyes met his, she sat up.

"Viktor..."

"I’m here." She looked around the room. Her eyes moved toward the closet. Then the computer. The photograph. The memories came rushing back. Sienna suddenly threw the blanket aside and got out of bed.

"Sienna, wait." She moved toward the closet, almost stumbling as she walked. Viktor stood immediately.

"What are you doing?" She reached the computer and quickly shut it down. The screen went black. Viktor stared at her. "Sienna, what is wrong?"

She didn’t answer. "Sienna." He stepped closer. "Are you okay? You scared me." She turned around. Her face was pale. Her eyes were already filling with tears.

"We need to get you checked," Viktor said gently. "You collapsed. You lost consciousness again."

"What were you doing?" Sienna’s voice was barely above a whisper. Viktor frowned. "What?"

"Before I collapsed..." She pressed her hand against her forehead. "I remembered." Viktor went still.

"My childhood." The words came slowly, almost as if she was afraid to say them aloud. "It’s still faint. Some of it is missing. But I remember..." Her breathing became shaky.

"I remember my mother," Viktor said nothing. "I remember my father." Her lips trembled. "I remember him calling me Kat." Viktor’s chest tightened.

Sienna looked directly at him. "I think..." She swallowed hard.

"I think I’m Katalia Ivanou." The room fell silent. Viktor had known. He had known for weeks.

He had carried that truth inside him while watching his wife sleep, while holding her, while pretending everything was normal. But hearing Sienna say it herself was different.

She took a step backward.

"And that monster..." Her voice broke. "He wants me dead."

"Sienna..."

"I know it!" The tears finally spilled. "I know it’s him. He’s the one after me." She shook her head violently. "My father is after me." The words seemed to crush her as soon as she said them.

"My father wants me dead." She covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from crying.

"Why?" Her voice cracked. "Why would my own father want me dead?" Viktor stepped toward her. Sienna backed away. "Am I some kind of curse?"

"No." She pressed both hands against her chest. "What did I do?" "You didn’t do anything."

"Then why does he want me dead?" Her voice rose, breaking under the weight of everything she had just discovered. "I spent my whole life wondering who my parents were."

She wiped her tears, but more came. "I wondered if they loved me. I wondered if they looked for me. I wondered if they were alive." She gave a broken laugh.

"And now I finally remember." Her eyes met Viktor’s. "My father is alive." A tear slipped down her cheek. "And he wants to kill me."

Viktor’s heart broke. He had prepared himself for Sienna to be angry. He had prepared himself for questions. He had even prepared himself for her to hate him for keeping the truth from her.

But he hadn’t prepared himself for this. For the way she looked like a little girl who had just discovered that the home she had been searching for was never waiting for her.

Viktor stepped closer. "Sienna, look at me." She shook her head. "Please." She finally looked at him. "It may not be Don Konstantin after you. It could be someone else."

"You don’t believe that." Viktor went quiet.

"I was trying to prevent you from falling apart." Viktor’s voice was gentle. "That’s why I never told you." Sienna slowly pulled away from him.

The movement was small, but Viktor felt it immediately. Tears were still running down her face. Her nose was red from crying, and she wiped it with the back of her hand before looking at him.

"What did you just say?" Viktor opened his mouth. But before he could answer, Sienna’s eyes changed.

"You knew." She said it slowly. Viktor froze. Only then did he realize what he had just let slip. Sienna stared at him.

"You knew." This time, it wasn’t a question. Viktor looked away for a moment. "I was going to tell you."

"When?"

"Sienna,"

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I just didn’t know how." She gave a small, broken laugh. "There is no how, Viktor." She wiped another tear from her cheek. "You just say it." Her voice trembled.

"You just tell me the truth." Viktor stepped toward her. "When Aliya blackmailed me about you not being a true Kessler, I came to you."

She shook her head, tears continuing to fall. "I didn’t hide it from you. I told you exactly what happened." Viktor remained silent.

"Do you remember what I said?" "I remember."

"I came to you because I trusted you." Her voice cracked. "I believed that whatever happened, we would solve it together." She pressed a hand against her chest.

"Together, Viktor."

"I was trying to protect you."

"You keep saying that." Sienna looked at him. "But protect me from what?"

"The pain." Viktor’s voice was desperate now. "I was trying to spare you the pain of the truth." Sienna stared at him for several seconds.

Then she whispered, "So you chose to lie to me."

"I didn’t lie."

"You kept the truth from me."

"I was trying to find the right way to tell you."

"And while you were finding the right way, I was walking around completely unaware that my own father was looking for me."

Viktor’s face tightened. "Sienna,"

"No." She shook her head. "That is the problem, Viktor." Her voice became quieter. "You don’t trust me with the truth."

"That isn’t true."

"It is." She looked down at herself. Then back at him. "You see me as some broken girl." Viktor’s eyes softened.

"Sienna..."