Chapter 97 I WANT TO KEEP MY PROMISE
Chapter 97 I WANT TO KEEP MY PROMISE
••Roman••
"That’s enough."
My voice cut through the damp air of the basement training room like a serrated blade.
Two of my senior guards stopped mid-swing, their knuckles bloodied, looking at the man slumped in the chair between them.
The guard in the chair, Kosta was barely conscious, his face a bruised mess of regret. His crime? He had missed a scheduled check-in by five minutes while on perimeter duty.
Five minutes. In the old days, I would have given him a warning. Today, I wanted him to bleed.
"Take him to the infirmary," I snapped, rubbing my temples as the adrenaline began to sour in my veins. "And tell him if he’s late again, he won't have feet to walk the perimeter with."
The guards scurried to obey, dragging Kosta out.
The heavy iron door groaned shut, leaving me in the flickering fluorescent light with the only man in the world who wasn't afraid of my silence.
Theo stood by the weapon rack, his arms folded across his chest. He hadn't moved during the entire interrogation. He had just watched me with those steady, observant eyes that saw too much.
"That’s the third man you’ve ordered to the floor today, Roman," Theo said, his voice calm but heavy with judgment. "And for a five-minute lapse? Kosta is one of our best. You’re burning through your own men like you’re trying to start a fire."
I didn't look at him. I walked over to a table and poured a glass of whiskey from a decanter I kept down here. My hands were steady, but my mind was a chaotic storm.
"Discipline is the only thing that keeps this family from collapsing, Theo. You know that better than anyone."
"Discipline is one thing. Blind rage is another."
Theo stepped into the light, his shadow stretching long across the concrete floor.
"Something is eating at you. You haven’t slept in forty-eight hours, you’re avoiding the council meetings, and you’re taking it out on the guards.
Is this about the transition? Or is it about her?"
I froze with the glass at my lips. The mention of Luciana felt like a physical blow. I took a long swallow of the whiskey, letting the burn coat my throat before I finally turned to face him.
"She’s acting strange, Theo," I admitted, the words feeling like a betrayal just by being spoken.
"Ever since that night with Marco. She’s... distant. She looks at me like I’m a stranger she’s trying to solve. And she’s been in my study while I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t miss her smell."
Theo didn't look surprised. He took a seat on the edge of the sparring mat, leaning forward.
"Marco is a poison. He likely whispered something in her ear that night to sow doubt. He’s good at finding the cracks in a person’s armor. What do you think she’s looking for?"
"I don't think I know," I muttered, pacing the small space. “I’m still trying to figure it out.”
"Then you need to know what she knows," Theo said firmly.
“How do I do that? When she won’t even tell me what it is.”
Theo stood up and pulled a small, sleek device from his pocket—a data-cloning drive. "Let me clone her phone, Roman. It’ll take me ten minutes. I can mirror her messages, her calls, her location. You’ll see exactly who she’s talking to and what she’s doing."
I stared at the device. It was so simple. One small breach of privacy, and I would have the answers. I would know if she still loved me or if she was just waiting for the right moment to put a knife in my back.
But as I looked at that drive, I remembered the look in her eyes on our wedding night. I remembered the promise I made to myself when I pulled her into my arms after she tried to end it all. I had promised to be her sanctuary. To be different from the men who had used her as a pawn.
"No," I said, my voice low and final.
Theo blinked, clearly taken tonight. "Roman, be reasonable. This isn't about pride. It’s about security."
"I promised to trust her, Theo," I snapped, turning my back on him. "I promised to do right by her. If I start spying on her, if I treat her like an enemy combatant, then I’ve already lost her. The marriage is a lie the moment I hit ‘clone.’"
"She’s already treating you like an enemy, Roman!" Theo argued, his voice rising in frustration. "You said it yourself, she’s sneaking into your office. She’s lying to your face. How can you protect her if you’re blind to what she’s doing?"
"I’ll handle it my way," I said, staring at my reflection in the dark glass of the window. "I’ll watch her. I’ll be present. I’ll give her every chance to come to me with the truth. I want her to choose me, Theo. I don't want to force her loyalty through surveillance."
Theo stayed silent for a long time. I could feel his disapproval radiating off him like heat.
"You’re playing a dangerous game," Theo finally whispered. "If she finds something... if she misinterpreted what happened that night... she won't come to you. She’ll run. Or worse, she’ll go to the authorities."
"Then I’ll be there to stop her," I said, though the words felt hollow. "But for now, we do nothing. No cloning. No tracking. We wait."
"And if she breaks your heart, Roman?" Theo asked, walking toward the door. "What happens to the family then? What happens to you?"
“Okay, whatever is fine by you.” He said.
I didn't continue the conversation, so he left. I just watched him leave, the heavy door clicking shut behind him.
I stood alone in the basement, the smell of sweat and blood lingering in the air. I wanted to believe I was doing the right thing. I wanted to believe that my love was enough to bridge the gap Marco had created.
But as I finished my whiskey, a cold, dark thought crept into my mind. I was leaving the door open for her to betray me. I was giving her the weapons she needed to destroy us both.
I am Roman Orlov. I had survived wars, betrayals, and the cold cruelty of my father. But as I thought of Luciana sitting in our room, waiting for me to leave so she could continue her search, I realized I had never been in more danger in my entire life.
I wasn't afraid of death. I was afraid of the look on her face when she finally found what she was looking for.
And as much as I told Theo I trusted her, I knew one thing for certain: I wouldn't stay in the dark forever. If she wouldn't come to me, I would make sure she had nowhere else to go.