Between Fellowship and Enemies

Between Fellowship and Enemies
Dominic’s Point Of View

I arrived at the Degrassi mansion with all my senses on high alert. The car had barely come to a complete stop, and I was already taking in everything around me. The imposing facade, the strategically positioned security guards, the discreet movements of watchful eyes feigning friendliness. This wasn’t a party to me; it was enemy territory disguised as a celebration, and I was leading everything that mattered most in my life straight into that damn cage.

Maggie, Yulia… my children.

My jaw clenched tightly as I stepped out of the car, adjusting my suit out of pure habit. It wasn’t about appearance; it was about control. I needed to look in control, even when every instinct inside me screamed that this was a terrible idea. I had made it clear more than once that, as soon as the deal with Marco was over, I would set foot on that territory with blood in my eyes to tear him from my country by force, and now… there I was, walking into his house as a guest. And as if that weren’t enough, there was something even worse. Massimo Esposito, trapped somewhere in that house. The mere idea of that psychopath being under the same roof as Maggie and Yulia sent a chill down my spine. I didn’t trust that situation, I didn’t trust Marco, and I definitely didn’t trust leaving Massimo alive. If it were up to me, my family would be anywhere but there. But I hadn’t been able to convince Maggie and Yulia to back out, and that had put me exactly where I didn’t want to be.

My eyes scanned the room slowly, assessing entrances, exits, and the men’s positions. At my side, Nicolai was doing exactly the same. We didn’t exchange words at that moment, but we didn’t need to. Years together were enough to know we were thinking the same thing.

As for Maggie, Yulia, and Jamie…

They seemed far too comfortable. They were a few steps ahead, talking about decor, gifts, colors; as if this were really just a party. I watched Maggie for a second longer than I should have. She walked slowly, her belly at the peak of her pregnancy making every movement more careful, yet… she was beautiful; more than ever. There was something about that image that squeezed my chest in an almost unbearable way.

Damn… she was leaving.

I forced my gaze away before that thought could take root.

“Noah really does get us into the best kind of trouble,” Nicolai muttered beside me.

I let out a small grumble, shifting my attention.

“I can’t even say it’s entirely his fault; after all, I was the one who suggested the wedding.”

Nicolai let out a snort of laughter.

“Did he have to fall in love with his wife, father a little baby with half-Russian, half-Italian blood, and now force us to socialize with these wretches as if we were one big family?”

Despite his tone, a smile played on his lips, and deep down, I knew. We were all… satisfied with it. Noah and Chiara’s marriage had worked out, and that went far beyond politics or temporary alliances. It was rare… but sometimes… something worked out amidst all the shit.

“And the worst part is that this is just the first of many get-togethers we’ll have to endure because of that baby,” I added.

Nicolai snorted.

“There are still tongues that will say we’re insensitive to love…”

I let out a low laugh, almost without humor, and my eyes automatically returned to Maggie. She was right ahead of us, her hand unconsciously resting on her belly as she talked with Yulia. The soft late-afternoon light fell on her, highlighting every detail… every curve… every feature.

Damn.

“Is she really leaving as soon as the baby is born?” Nicolai asked, more quietly this time.

My answer came out automatically.

“Hmmm.”

I didn’t take my eyes off her.

“Are you okay with that? Are you just going to let this happen without a fight?”

That made something tighten inside my chest, but I kept my face impassive.

“I’m tired of fighting, Nicolai.” I finally looked at him. “Marriage shouldn’t be a battlefield all the time. My father told me that once.” The words came out with more weight than I expected. “I remember seeing him fall silent over something my mother was willing to fight to the end for. And when I asked why… that was his answer.” I shook my head slightly, looking straight ahead. “Maggie and I… this has gone too far. We’ve already done too many things that hurt each other in the name of what we feel for one another.” My voice dropped. “Is that what love is supposed to be like?”

Nicolai was silent for a moment. I could already see the mansion’s entrance ahead of us. Armed men, impeccable suits… and pink and blue ribbons pinned to their chests.

It was almost ridiculous.

“I don’t think love should be like this,” he said at last. “But I also don’t think it’s wrong to go to hell for the one you love.” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “To protect. To care for them the way you think is right. Maggie did that. You did that.” He sighed, his gaze fixed ahead. “Find a way to live with it… and move on. By making better decisions.”

There was something in his voice, a different tension, perhaps frustration.

I narrowed my eyes, analyzing him.

“Do you have something to tell me, Nicolai?”

He paused for a second and grabbed my forearm; the gesture was firm enough to make me stop too.

“When this shit is over… I really have something to talk to you about that can’t wait any longer.”

I stared at him for a moment, trying to read beyond those words, then nodded.

“All right. We’ll grab a drink as soon as this shit is over and we’re out of Degrassi territory.”

He let out a sigh, as if he’d been holding something in for too long, and just nodded. We started walking again; I quickened my pace until I caught up with Maggie and Yulia, standing beside them without saying a word. My gaze swept the room once more as we approached the entrance, because now… We were entering the lion’s den, and no matter how beautiful, decorated, or “harmless” that place might seem… it was still a danger.

We were led by a smiling employee through the interior of the mansion, going up to the second floor, passing through wide hallways, lit by elegant chandeliers and decorated in an almost over-the-top style. Ribbons in soft shades of pink and blue were tied to columns, banisters, doorknobs… every detail carefully thought out to celebrate a new life. My eyes couldn’t stop; every door, every curve in the hallway, every face that crossed our path was analyzed. I took it all in, automatically, as if my brain were mapping out an escape route in case everything went wrong.

When we entered the main hall, I found exactly what I expected… and yet it was overwhelming. The space was already fairly crowded, people chatting, laughing, glasses being raised, background music filling the air with something too light for that place. Noah had said it would just be Chiara’s family, what he didn’t say… was that Chiara’s family seemed enough to fill an entire party.

Italians everywhere. Talking loudly, gesturing, taking up space as if they owned the world. Which, in that house… in a way, they were. I shouldn’t have been surprised; I remembered their wedding very well and how I’d been surrounded by that same kind of energy… from all sides.

“Aaah! You’re here!” The shout cut through my thoughts, and I turned my face just in time to see Chiara practically running toward us—or trying to run.

Her belly was already visible, but still smaller than Maggie’s. Even so, my protective instinct kicked in immediately when I saw Noah right behind her, his arms slightly open, ready to catch her if she stumbled. I understood that, I understood it perfectly.

The difference…

Was that Noah could touch her as much as he wanted, without having to think twice.

Chiara came up to us with a radiant smile, her eyes shining with emotion. She hugged Yulia first, then Maggie, gently, but without hiding her happiness.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to come,” she said, her voice almost breaking.

“Won’t be able to? That would only happen if Maggie went into labor,” Yulia replied casually.

Beside me, I heard Nicolai let out a small snort of laughter. I watched the scene for a second, in silence; whatever Nicolai had to tell me… was pounding at the back of my head, and from the way he’d been acting… I was almost certain it involved Yulia.

I wasn’t an idiot, nor was I blind.

I’d seen the way they’d grown closer. There had always been caution there, protection… but now there was something more, something different. Still, I said nothing. If there was something to be said… he would tell me.

“Dominic.” Nicolai’s low voice pulled me back.

I turned my face toward him, and he discreetly nodded his chin toward a spot in the room; I followed his gesture and found Marco Degrassi. He was holding a glass of whiskey, talking to one of his men, but his eyes… were on me.

Alert, always calculating.

I let out a low, almost imperceptible sigh, then took a step forward, approaching Maggie. My hand instinctively found her waist, and I immediately felt her body react, becoming stiffer, more alert. That didn’t go unnoticed. I tilted my head slightly, bringing my mouth close to her ear.

“I’m going to step out for a few seconds; stay close to Nicolai,” I murmured.

She turned her face toward me at that very moment, our faces coming dangerously close.

“We’re at a party celebrating the arrival of a baby… no mafia tonight,” she said firmly.

There was a request in that, and a warning. I held her gaze for a second.

“There won’t be any mafia, I promise.”

My hand gently squeezed her waist before letting go, and then I stepped back. I exchanged a glance with Nicolai, who was already on alert, and began walking toward Marco, who was now alone.

“Volkov,” he said as soon as I approached. “I could have sworn that after our last meeting, we’d only meet with guns drawn, pointing at each other’s faces… but look at us now, surrounded by cute decorations.”

There was a smile on his lips, but not in his eyes.

“Forced truces sometimes happen for the greater good,” I replied, stopping in front of him.

He raised the glass to his lips, drinking calmly.

“The things we do for love, right?”

His eyes slid over my shoulder. I didn’t need to look to know where.

Maggie.

“Should I go talk to the little lamb, or is she still too mad at me for bringing her to Russia?” he asked, turning his gaze back to me at the last second.

My jaw clenched.

“Don’t bother my pregnant wife,” I said, my voice low but laden with warning.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Your wife? I heard something about a divorce… isn’t that right?”

He was studying me closely now. I held his gaze, without blinking.

“How is Esposito?”

The change was immediate. Subtle to anyone on the outside, but not to me. His posture shifted, his shoulders stiffened, and his gaze hardened.

I’d been right.

“If I recall correctly,” he said slowly, “when you handed him over to me, you said that from then on, he was my problem.”

“A problem that might become too big to be yours alone,” I retorted, without looking away.

He gave a small smile.

“Don’t worry. The little bird is in a cage; there’s no way he can sing outside of it.”

I stared at him in silence for a moment.

Something was wrong. He didn’t seem… satisfied; he didn’t seem in control the way he wanted to appear. Maybe Massimo was putting up more resistance than expected, or maybe… he’d said something Marco didn’t want to hear. His brother’s death wasn’t just any old matter, and if he’d gone so far as to keep Massimo alive because of it… then there was more to it.

“Marco,” I said, more seriously now.

He looked at me.

“Esposito is mine. It has nothing to do with you anymore.”

His voice came out harsher than before, different from his usual tone. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I know how blind we can become when it comes to matters that affect us,” I said. “If you need…”

He let out a small, humorless laugh.

“You’re going to help me? Careful, Dominic. That goes against everything you told me at our last meeting.”

I stared at him for a long second.

“I’d rather help you and keep someone like Massimo Esposito as far away from our lives as possible… than let something happen and then have to deal with this shit spiraling out of control.”

“Everything’s under control,” he cut in, firmly. His fingers tightened slightly around the glass. “I don’t need your help.”

It was like talking to a wall. Marco was blind, completely blinded by whatever he was trying to pry out of Massimo, and I knew that kind of obsession… it made an intelligent man make stupid decisions. Which never ended well.

“All right,” I said, clenching my teeth, forcing my voice to stay steady. “I promised my wife… no mafia today. Let’s enjoy the party.” I held his gaze for one last second. “I hope you were telling the truth, Degrassi.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I turned my back and walked away, already grabbing the whiskey glass from a waiter’s tray as he passed by me. The liquid burned slightly in my throat when I took a sip, but it wasn’t enough to ease the tension still coursing through my veins. I could feel his gaze on my back, but I didn’t look back. I kept walking, letting my eyes automatically find Maggie. She was already watching me, attentive… always reading me better than anyone else. Her gaze quickly shifted backward, toward Marco, and then returned to me. I nodded slightly, offering a small smile. A silent “everything’s under control.” She let out a sigh, as if trying to convince herself of that, and then looked down when Jamie tugged at the hem of the long skirt she was wearing. I watched as she leaned in slightly, listening to what he was saying with all the patience in the world, and then… before I could take another step… Jamie ran toward me.

“Papá and Jamie!” he announced, clapping his little hands on my legs.

A smile slipped out before I even realized it. The tension in my body eased instantly. I bent down, lifting him into my arms with ease, pulling him close.

“Jamie and papá,” I replied, kissing his cheek.

His scent… his warmth… that was everything. For a few seconds, nothing else mattered. I walked with him in my arms over to where Nicolai was standing, a little way away from the women, but close enough to keep everyone in view.

“Noah said that as soon as Chiara sits down for a moment, he’ll come over to talk to us properly,” Nicolai remarked, with a slightly amused tone.

I followed his gaze to Noah, who really did look like a shadow behind his wife, attentive to her every step.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said, dryly.

“That’s not going to happen,” Jamie repeated immediately, mimicking my tone.

I looked at him, surprised… and completely smitten.

Damn.

Every day he spoke more, learned more; it was one new thing after another, and I… I was about to lose all of it. My chest tightened almost unbearably.

“Boy, you’re very smart,” Nicolai said, nudging Jamie lightly.

Jamie burst out laughing.

“Very smart, Mommy says. Jamie very smart,” he said, proudly, his little chest puffing out.

I smiled, nodding.

Yes.

Very smart… and I wouldn’t be there to see it all.

That damn distance was going to kill me. Literally. I ran my hand down his back, holding him a little tighter against me.

I had to figure this out somehow.

“So,” Nicolai said, as if reading my mind. “Still okay with your wife and kids moving away from you?”

I turned my face slowly toward him. Ah… he wanted to play this game today, so fine.

“I’ll answer that,” I said, too calmly for someone about to provoke him. “If you tell me what’s really going on between you and my sister.”

I saw it. Damn, I clearly saw the exact moment he froze. It was quick, but enough.

“You know?” he asked, now serious.

“I have my suspicions.”

“Suspicions… suspicions… suspicions…” Jamie repeated, laughing, clearly charmed by the word.

I let out a little snort and looked at him.

“So, Jamie, what’s your hunch about the relationship between your Uncle Nicolai and your Aunt Yulia?”

“Uncle Nicolai…” he pointed to the side, in Nicolai’s direction, then hopped excitedly onto my lap and pointed forward. “Aunt Yulia…”

I followed his gaze and saw that Yulia had stopped talking to Maggie and was staring at us. Her eyes slightly wide, she had heard.

“Dominic…” Nicolai called out to me, in a warning tone.

I turned my gaze back to him.

“I’m giving you the opening you wanted to speak… so speak.”

I held his gaze, without flinching, without softening. If there was something between them… I was going to hear it from his own mouth. The seconds stretched out.

“What the hell is going on here?” Yulia’s voice cut through the moment, anxious and confused at the same time.

She stopped beside Nicolai, looking between the two of us. I didn’t look away from him.

“All right, then,” Nicolai said, finally.

His hand slid to Yulia’s waist… pulling her closer. Possessive and decisive. Yulia tensed at the touch, clearly surprised.

“Nicolai, what the hell…”

“Yulia and I are together.” His voice came out firm, confident, and… proud.

I stood in silence, watching. Feeling something strange form in my chest—it was one of my hunches, but hearing it come out of his mouth, seeing it on her face, was a whole other fucking feeling. It wasn’t anger; it was… protection.

Instinct.

And, deep down… the need to decide if I trusted him enough to entrust my sister to his care.