When Seri woke up, it was to find her vision blurry and her body feeling like it had been beaten black and blue. Most of the pain seemed to center on her lower left chest---

Oh.

Everything came rushing back, and when she opened her eyes again, the room she was in focused into view. She shifted slightly, turning on her side, and that was when she saw…Fyodor.

Upon realizing she was awake, he straightened abruptly in his chair. “Are you alright?” His voice was scratchy.

She nodded. “A-are you?” It looked like he had aged overnight, with the heavy lines of worry marring Fyodor’s forehead.

“Yes.” He reached for her with a visibly shaking hand.

Seri stiffened instinctively, a part of her remembering the time he had shoved her away---

Fyodor saw the look in his daughter’s eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking. His hand froze, and despair struck him as he, too, remembered the pain he had inflicted on her.

“I’m not going to hurt you, baby.”

Seri didn’t answer, afraid that she was just imagining the look in his eyes, afraid that she had misheard him.

Fyodor’s fingers clenched into a fist, and he said hoarsely, “I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry I believed your lies all too easily.” When her face started to crumple, he could no longer bear the distance between him and his baby.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so, so sorry.” He pressed his lips to the top of her hair and tasted his own tears in his kiss.

“P-Papa?”

His heart clenched at the uncertainty in her voice. “Yes, baby.”

Her tears fell faster when she realized that she could really call him that again. “Papa.” The sobs came crawling out, and there was no stopping them. “Papa, Papa, Papa.”

He bent his head, touching it with hers. “Never do that again, not for me or for any of your brothers. Da?”

“D-da.”

“I missed you so damn much, my baby girl.”

“Me, too, Papa. I missed all of you so, s-so much.”

Drawing back, he self-consciously wiped his eyes, saying, “Your brothers are waiting outside. May I let them in?”

Seri didn’t answer right away.

He said quietly, “It’s all three of them. Sergei, Misha, and Vassi.” When she only bit her lip, he asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to see them?”

“I do. I miss all of you. I miss us together, but Papa…” She tried to get the words out, but fear stopped her. She just got him back, and she was so, so scared to lose her father all over again.

Looking at her, he finally understood what was holding her back, and he sighed. “Seri.” When her frightened gaze met his, he said, “It’s okay. You and Vassi – it’s okay. I just want my children happy, and you and Vassi loving each other – it’s what makes you two happy, don’t you?”

She gave him a small nod.

“Then I’m happy, too.” When Seri still looked troubled, he suggested softly, “How about I give you time to think about it? You can see them all together or just Vassi first, with or without me here. It’s what you want that counts, baby.”

She managed a smile, saying, “I’d l-like that.”

“Then that’s how it will be. For now---” His voice turned brisk. “How about I get you a glass of water first?”

Her smile widened a bit. “I’d like that, too, Papa.” She watched her father move towards the en-suite pantry and it was easily one of her happiest moments in the world, knowing that her father was back in her life and that he didn’t hate her anymore.

“I have a bento for you, too.” His brows furrowed, and his voice was a touch dissatisfied as he added, “Nothing fancy, unfortunately, because I made it here while waiting for you to wake up.” Fyodor looked at her over his shoulder hopefully. “Are you hungry?”

She choked back a teary giggle. “I think so.”

“Great.”

As Fyodor prepared her bento, she noticed her phone lying on the bedside table and took it. There were several unread texts, but the first one she clicked was of course Vassi’s.

Vassi: Where are you? I’d like to talk to you.

There were texts from her other brothers, too, and even Max’s, and then there was another message from an unregistered number.

Clicking it, the first thing she saw was an embedded video.

Below it was a message…from Daniela.

Daniela: I’m sorry for sending you something so crude, but I just thought you wouldn’t believe me if I didn’t do this. And I don’t mean to hurt you. You can choose to trust me or not. But I just wanted you to know the truth – and I don’t want him to hurt you like he hurt me. I’ve loved Vassi for years. Maybe not as long as you have but even when I dated other men, he was always in my heart. The night before the press conference, something happened between us, and I thought he was finally over you. That there could be an us – but the next day…he couldn’t even look me in the eye. He told me he didn’t love me, but he also told me he didn’t love you either. And it just made me realize – he’s been stringing us both along. He’s so twisted inside, he likes blowing hot and cold to keep us running after him. But the truth is, the only person he loves is himself.

When Seri reached the end of the message, she slowly clicked for the video to play.

Ah.

The phone slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor.

At the sound, Fyodor immediately whipped around and was aghast to see Seri ashen-faced and tears rolling silently down her face.

He went to her swiftly, demanding, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, whispering, “I just don’t know what to believe anymore, Papa.” And if she was unconsciously echoing the words Vassi once said, it was probably because she now understood why Vassi could so easily lose his trust in her when she had pretended to love him for his money.