The morning light filtered through half-drawn curtains, casting golden patterns across the tangled sheets. Nikolai watched as Alex's face relaxed in momentary peace, her laughter gradually subsiding into something more primal. There was something about her that had captivated him from the beginning—something genuine that he'd been hesitant to believe. Now, as he gazed down at her, memories of the previous night played through his mind like cherished photographs.
She never lied to me, he thought, remembering the blood-stained sheets he'd carefully folded and stored away. Those sheets had become tangible proof of her honesty, a confirmation that everything she'd told him was true. He couldn't bring himself to discard them—they represented something profound, something that had transformed t
