Between Yulia and Nicolai, Part II

Between Yulia and Nicolai, Part II
Yulia’s Point Of View

Four Months Earlier…

I turned my body a little more toward him.

“What do you mean?”

He took a deep breath, as if organizing his own thoughts.

“I watched them. Even before they were together, how they acted toward each other, how they looked at each other… how they did things driven by the feelings they had for one another.” His voice grew lower, more reflective. “Your brother loved Maggie even before she came back into his life. No woman ever shone in his eyes after her… and when she came back…” He gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. “Maggie… I saw it the day they first spoke on the phone, when Jamie was kidnapped. I saw her eyes come alive when she heard his voice; it was as if… everything fell back into place.” I felt a tightness in my chest. “They were a family even before they became one,” he continued. “I think I wanted that feeling… and I projected it onto Maggie, because that’s where I saw it for the first time.” I remained silent, absorbing every word. “I don’t think that if I truly loved her the way her brother does… I could let her go for any reason, not even for him.”

The car fell silent again, but this time… the silence sent shivers down my spine. A chill ran down my spine. Did that kind of love… really exist? Something so strong that neither pain, nor logic, nor loyalty would be enough to break it? I looked ahead, at the city lights blurring past the window.

“Do you think it’s worth it?” My voice came out lower than I expected, almost a whisper.

“I don’t just think it’s worth it…” he replied without hesitation. “I’m willing to fight for it, without rest.”

I turned my face away immediately. Our eyes met, and for a second… I felt as if something had been said there, even without words.

“Look how things ended for Dominic and Maggie…” I murmured, a lump in my throat.

He didn’t look away.

“Still… if you were to ask him…” Nicolai began, firmly. “If he, even with all the pain he’s feeling right now, with how much he misses her and their son… would choose never to have lived through that…” My breath caught in my throat. “He’d say no, without a second thought.” My chest tightened. “Because, even with all the pain… Maggie, Jamie, and every moment of happiness he had with them are still greater than anything.”

I looked away, feeling my eyes burn. My heart was beating too fast, too hard. As if it were trying to escape.

“Love can be a very scary thing…” I murmured.

“Are you afraid to try it?” His question came softly.

I turned my face again, meeting his eyes, and this time… I didn’t hesitate.

“No.” My voice came out firmer than I expected. “Actually, I’m not.” I took a deep breath. “It’s scary how much I want this.”

Silence returned, yet… it was different. Our gazes locked for a long moment, and in that instant… it felt like that was all that existed.

Present Day.

“Yulia and I needed time. To figure out what we really were to each other… to accept it… and understand what we were feeling.” Nicolai’s voice snapped me back to reality.

Firm, confident, much more so than mine.

“So now you know…” Dominic said, keeping his composure. He sounded like an interrogator, not a brother.

My stomach churned.

“Yes, Dominic,” Nicolai replied without hesitation. “Now we know what we are to each other and how we feel.” I felt his gaze on me, but I couldn’t return it. My eyes remained fixed on Dominic. I wanted to run away from there; this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Not in the middle of a baby shower, definitely not at the DeGrassi house, not with everyone around. “I love your sister.”

My heart just stopped.

Jesus Christ!

“I’m so in love with her that I’m standing here, saying this to your face… risking that you might not like the idea of your best friend—years older than your sister, who’s looked after her like a brother—wanting her to be mine.” I felt my hands start to sweat; breathing was getting hard. “Wanting her to say yes to me one day.” My God! We had never talked about this, never! “And for her to be the mother of my children one day.”

My whole body grew hot. I felt Dominic’s gaze on me… and I shuddered, but Nicolai’s arm tightened around my waist, and instantly… I calmed down. It was always like this, as if he had this power over me, as if he were a safe haven.

“I’m going to be honest with you now,” Nicolai continued, his voice firm. “I want you to accept this. Because you’re my best friend… and that matters to me.” He took a deep breath. “But more than that… because it matters to Yulia, and I know it’s eating away at her to the point where she can’t sleep properly.” I closed my eyes for a second. He knew. “But I’m not going to give her up. No matter what you think, nothing’s going to change between us, whether you like it or not.” My breath caught in my throat. “So, if you have anything to say… all I want is for you to think about your sister.”

I finally managed to take my eyes off Dominic… and look at Nicolai, and it hit me. Because he had always cared about my brother’s opinion. Always, and now… he was putting that above everything else, even above their friendship.

“Dominic, it’s time to talk…” Maggie’s voice cut through the tension.

I hadn’t even realized she was so close; she nudged him lightly.

“I’m soaking up the beautiful speech.” Dominic replied, and to my complete surprise… there was a smile playing on his lips.

I blinked, a little confused.

“God, you’re doing this on purpose,” Maggie blurted out, relieved.

“Of course I’m doing this on purpose,” he replied, looking at her.

And then… their eyes met, and for a second it seemed… as if everything around them had vanished. They had something—something even the divorce hadn’t been able to erase. Something that belonged only to them. A silent, intense connection… almost palpable, and I was certain of one thing in that moment. What they had… wasn’t over yet.

Dominic looked back at Nicolai, and I held my breath without realizing it.

“Don’t hurt my sister. You know the weight of my punch and how creative I am when it comes to torturing people.” His voice was calm… but laced with truth. “Just as you don’t give a damn about my opinion, I won’t give a damn about our friendship if I see a single tear of sadness roll down Yulia’s face.”

My heart tightened in my chest, but this time not out of fear—out of something completely different. He was my brother who cared. Dominic then patted Nicolai on the shoulder, as if he’d just issued some kind of warning, not a serious threat.

“I’m going to want to know how this shit happened, so let’s have that drink after all.”

The tension that had been crushing my chest… simply broke. Nicolai let out a small laugh, the air escaping as if he, too, had been holding it in for too long, and then he looked at me.

“Calmer now?” Just that, and yet… it was everything to me.

That’s how it was with him. As if the rest of the world ceased to matter. My heart, which was already completely in his hands, seemed to surrender a little more.

“God, I love you.” The words came out before I could think, before I could filter them, but I didn’t regret it.

I stood on my tiptoes and touched my lips to his. Soft and quick, but enough to make everything inside me calm down.

“Yuck.” Dominic’s voice came immediately, laced with feigned indignation.

“Yuck.” Then Jamie’s sweet voice repeated right after, making me laugh.

I stepped away from Nicolai with a smile, turning to the two of them.

“Get used to it. I like kissing my boyfriend.” I said, lifting my chin slightly, amused… but the smile softened when I looked directly at my brother. “Thank you, brother. I’m very happy.”

Dominic stared at me for a second and then… a slight smile appeared on his lips.

“That’s all I want for you. It’s the only thing that matters.”

My chest warmed, then I saw Maggie’s hand rest on his arm, squeezing it lightly. He looked at her automatically, and the way they looked at each other… God! It was impossible not to see.

She smiled, and he smiled back. As if the whole world didn’t exist, as if they were still… them. Jamie chose that moment to wrap his arms around both of their necks, pulling them close with the strength only a child could muster.

“Papá, Mommy, and Jamie.”

I exhaled slowly. My heart tightened in a strange way. This divorce… was nonsense. They were going to get back together, I was sure of it, and if it were up to me… I’d make it happen.

At any cost.

The baby shower went by lightly, happily, almost… unreal. It was rare for us to have moments like this, moments when no one was looking over their shoulder, expecting the worst to happen, moments when there was no blood, no threats, no suffocating tension, and maybe that’s why… it felt even more special.

I felt light, as if nothing could touch us, as if, for once… everything was going to work out.

We played games, laughed, opened gifts with Chiara, who seemed to glow with happiness with every new package, every new kind word, ate more than we should have, and, for a moment, the two families… didn’t seem like rivals. They seemed as one, sharing something beautiful.

My gaze wandered through the decorated hall, full of soft tones, flowers, ribbons… everything contrasting in an almost absurd way with the kind of world we lived in, then my eyes stopped on Valentina. Marco Degrassi’s wife. She stood beside Chiara, one hand resting on her rounded belly, already visible at five months, while Noah stood on the other side, attentive, protective… as always. Valentina held a glass of mimosa in her hand; she tapped it lightly with a spoon, the soft sound catching everyone’s attention and quieting the conversations.

“Thank you to everyone here today,” she began, her voice firm but filled with emotion. “I couldn’t be happier to know that my sweet Chiara has a family that will support her and walk with her through this unique and special moment in her life.” I looked at Chiara; her eyes were shining.

She had already told me about Valentina and Marco. About how, despite everything… despite the reality they were living in… they had been good to her, had been, in a way, her family, so I knew those words… were sincere.

I smiled. Feeling my heart warm at that.

Maybe…

A deafening noise cut through the air. Sharp and violent.

Gunshots.

My smile didn’t have time to fade completely; my body froze. The sound echoed outside the doors, loud enough to make the floor vibrate beneath my feet, and then… the doors were broken down. The impact made everything shake, and the screams began.

Men stormed into the hall; I didn’t know them, but I knew the guns. Big and heavy. Pointed directly at us.

My heart raced and time slowed down, then… clapping.

Slow.

Echoing through the deathly silence that had fallen over the place.

“How rude not to invite this house’s very special guest to join the party.”

My breath caught; the air was trapped in my lungs. I recognized that voice; my gaze met his, and my stomach dropped.

Massimo Esposito.

But… no, he wasn’t the man I remembered. He was thinner, much thinner. His face was gaunt, bruised, covered in hematomas, his clothes stained with blood. His eyes… his eyes were worse, darker, more dangerous. I knew he’d been arrested, and I’d seen on the news that someone had set him free, but he shouldn’t have been there.

He was walking toward us with a gun in his hand and a smile that was anything but human. My whole body froze because I knew. He wasn’t there to celebrate; he was there to destroy.