Bastian
Sitting in my study, I stared blankly at the fire crackling in the hearth, the flames casting an orange glow on the dark wood of the room. My thoughts swirled like smoke, suffocating and inescapable. Everything felt like it was hanging by a thread—my plans, my life, and most of all, my chances with Kaida.
I had never expected to fall for her. At first, she was just part of the plan, a pawn in the larger game I was playing. But somewhere along the way, she had become something more, something I wasn’t prepared for. And now, I couldn’t shake the thought that I might lose her if she ever found out the truth.
I clenched my fists, the tension in my body rising. She couldn’t find out. Not about Nikolai, not about my past, and certainly not about the things I had done to secure my fut
