Nikolai Pov
“If you had a brother or sister, you could’ve bossed them around,” I said, smirking.
Alex let out a soft laugh, tilting her head back to meet my gaze. “Me? Bossy? Never. Even teddy bears can be bossy when they want to be,” she said with mock indignation, her lips curling into a smile so genuine it disarmed me.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Teddy bears, huh? Did they unionize on you or something?”
“You’d be surprised how opinionated a stuffed bear can be,” she teased, her eyes glinting in the sunlight. There was something about the way she smiled—so free, so full of life—it hit me in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
The grounds around us were breathtaking, a perfect retreat carved out of chaos. Liam had spared no expense when he built this place, and it showed. The sprawling g
