As soon as Elena walked out of the massive compound, Andrei watched her retreating figure with a tightness in his chest he could hardly breathe through. She didn’t look back—not once—and that alone pierced him deeper than any argument could. The gate closed, and with it, the air around him seemed to shift from hurt to something sharp and burning.

He inhaled, turned around, and walked straight back into the grand dining room.

The clatter of cutlery, the quiet conversations among his ...