YURI

CHAPTER TWO

Present Day

The garden is beautifully decorated — strings of fairy lights woven through the trees, tables draped in soft ivory linen, and the air rich with the scent of fresh roses and vanilla cake. Today is my birthday. I turn twenty-one.

“My little one is finally an adult,” Mom says, her eyes shining as she takes me in.

“Mom… I officially became an adult like three years ago,” I tease, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Not to me you aren’t,” she says, pulling me into her arms. “Come on, give me a hug and a kiss. I love you, my little one.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

She squeezes my hands before letting go. “Go on, go say hi to your friends. They’ve been waiting for you.”

I glance toward the crowd — familiar faces beaming back at me, music floating softly in the background — and for a moment, I let myself just breathe it all in.

I made my way toward my best friends, Margo and Kris, their laughter already carrying over the music. “Hey, bitches!” I grinned.

“Happy birthday, b***h!” they chorused back before pulling me into a tight, three-way hug.

“Thank you,” I laughed, feeling the warmth of the moment… until a light tap on my shoulder made me turn around.

Standing there was Austin — my nephew, though only by technicality. We just happened to be the same age, thanks to him being the son of Paul Mirren’s youngest boy.

And if I’m being honest… we’ve never exactly been each other’s favorite person. The smirk on his face told me tonight probably wouldn’t be any different.

He was giving me one of those creepy smiles he’s perfected over the years. “Happy birthday, Yuri.”

“Thank you, Austin,” I replied, keeping my tone neutral.

“I got a gift for you,” he said, his eyes glinting like he knew something I didn’t.

“Oh, you didn’t have to… but thank you.”

“Anything for my *aunty*.”

The way he said that word made my stomach tighten — slow, deliberate, dripping with something I couldn’t quite name. Disgust? Amusement? Challenge? Maybe it was all of it at once.

I suddenly remembered why I always went out of my way to avoid him at school. It wasn’t just the smugness or the way he seemed to hover too close — it was the feeling he gave me, like every interaction was part of some game only he knew the rules to.

“Time for presents!” my mom called out over the music. “Come on, Yuri — come open my gift first.”

I walked up to her, weaving through the crowd, and took a seat beside her. She handed me a neatly wrapped box, the kind that looked like it had been folded with military precision.

I tore the paper away and flipped the lid open. Inside, resting on a small velvet cushion, was a car key. I gasped, then let out a sharp scream of excitement. “You got me a new car?!”

She just smiled at me, clearly enjoying my reaction. That’s when I noticed something — another, smaller key looped onto the same keyring. I looked at her, brow furrowed in question.

“It’s a key to your new studio,” she said before I could ask.

“Mom…” My voice caught for a second. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she replied, pulling me into a warm hug as the guests around us clapped and cheered.

For a moment, all the noise faded, and it was just me and her — the two of us in our own little world, the way it had always been.

I kept opening different presents — some really nice, some downright hilarious. There were gift cards, fancy candles, a ridiculously oversized sweater I knew Margo picked out just to make me laugh.

Then I pulled the wrapping off a small, oddly heavy box… and froze. Inside was a Labubu.

“What the hell am I gonna do with this creepy-ass doll?” I muttered under my breath, holding it up so its wide, unsettling grin stared back at me.

Kris burst out laughing. “Oh my God, that’s terrifying!”

“Right?!” I shoved it back into the box like it might bite me if I stared too long. Whoever gave it to me was definitely on my watchlist now.