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Chapter 42

Author: Kosi Antonia
last update publish date: 2026-06-18 23:19:57

NIKOLAI pov:

Rafael stood up and shook my hand. This time the smile came easier, like he’d decided to just move on from whatever had passed between Viktor and me.

“We meet again.”

“Indeed.”

I held his hand a second longer than I needed to, then let go and nodded at the empty chair next to him.

“Mind if I join you?”

Viktor hadn’t sat back down. He stood there half-turned toward the table, jaw clenched tight—the way I’d only seen a few times in twenty years. I looked at him, letting the question
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