Hak stood near the window for a while before finally walking over to her bedside. Unlike the twins, he carried silence naturally. It settled around him instead of feeling empty.
"You should sleep soon," he said.
Ulyana looked down at her hands. "You keep saying that."
"Because you don't."
A faint smile tugged at her lips, though it disappeared quickly.
The conversation stayed shallow after that, it was safer that way. They spoke quietly about his departure, about logistics, about how long the flight would take. Nothing personal. Nothing that acknowledged the heaviness sitting between them.
Yet Ulyana's hurt was impossible to completely hide.
Hak noticed every small change in her expression, every pause that lasted a second too long and he understood why she was pulling back.
Because if she let herself depend on him fully, his leaving would destroy her. And honestly, if he allowed himself to stay too close, he wasn't sure he would leave at all.
"I'll return as soon as the assignment is complete," he said eventually.
Ulyana nodded once. "You always say that."
Hak was quiet for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, he leaned down toward her.
His hand gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before he pressed a soft kiss against her cheek.
It was careful. Restrained.
A goodbye he had convinced himself was enough.
But the second he began to pull away, Ulyana caught the front of his jacket.
Hak stilled. Before he could react, she leaned forward and kissed him properly.
Not hesitant and definitely not uncertain. The emotion she had spent days suppressing finally surfaced all at once in that brief moment.
Hak froze. For the first time, his composure cracked.
When she finally pulled back, Ulyana's breathing had quickened slightly, though she forced herself to hold his gaze.
Hak looked at her for a long moment, something conflicted and intense moving behind his eyes. Then he rested his forehead briefly against hers.
"Wait for me," he said quietly. The words were low, almost dangerous in their sincerity.
Before she could respond, he stepped back.
And this time, when he left the room, Ulyana did not stop him.
-
Ulyana remained sick for another week.
The doctors blamed exhaustion and stress, but deep down she knew it was more than that. Her body recovered faster than her heart ever could.
Every day blurred into the next as she lingered around the mansion, restless and irritated by her own emotions. At first, she convinced herself Hak would contact her soon.
Then days passed.
Then weeks.
Then months.
Nothing.
Not a single call. Not even a message.
The only thing she had left of him was the small cream coloured puppy he had gifted her the year before.
Ulyana sat cross legged on the floor of her bedroom one evening, glaring at the dog while it happily chewed on one of its toys.
"Isn't he selfish?" she huffed dramatically.
The puppy tilted its head and barked once.
"Exactly!" Ulyana exclaimed, pointing accusingly. "He is a bastard."
The puppy barked again, tail wagging furiously.
"Making me wait for him…" she muttered bitterly before crossing her arms. "Whatever. As if I would."
Still, her chest tightened every time she thought about him.
Ivan and Vadim called whenever they could. Their conversations were usually short and vague, especially while they were actively working.
They shared stories about business deals, travel, and occasionally complained about each other, but whenever Ulyana tried asking about Hak, the answer never changed.
"He says hi."
That was it.
No explanation. No details.
Just those words.
At first, she pretended not to care. Eventually, even hearing his name started hurting.
It felt cruel in a way she couldn't explain. Hak had been the one to tell her to wait for him, only to disappear completely afterward.
Some nights she was angry, other nights she missed him enough to hate herself for it. So eventually, she decided she was done waiting.
One evening, after months of frustration and loneliness, Ulyana agreed to go out with a group of friends.
The girls dragged her from bar to bar across Silvercrown until the night dissolved into flashing lights, loud music, and far too many drinks. By the time they ended up at a karaoke bar, everyone was intoxicated.
Especially Ulyana.
She stood on the small stage laughing into the microphone while dramatically singing an old heartbreak song to the amusement of her friends.
Her cheeks were flushed, her movements less graceful than usual as she pointed accusingly at random strangers during emotional lyrics.
The crowd around them laughed, cheered and even sang along.
Afterward, while she stumbled away from the stage to get another drink, one of the male patrons approached her.
At first he seemed harmless enough, but then his hand lingered too long on her waist.
Ulyana immediately frowned. "Don't touch me."
Instead of backing off, the man laughed drunkenly and grabbed her wrist.
"Relax, sweetheart."
Before she could properly react, he had already started pulling her toward the back exit of the building.
"Let go," she snapped, trying to yank herself free.
The alcohol in her system dulled her coordination just enough to make struggling difficult.
The moment the door opened to the alley outside, a cold breeze hit her face.The man had pinned her against the alley wall.
Then suddenly, the man was ripped away from her violently.
Ulyana stumbled backward in shock.
Hak stood there.
His presence felt unreal for a second, almost like a hallucination her intoxicated mind had created out of longing and anger.
His expression was dark, terrifyingly calm as he shoved the man hard against the wall.
"Leave," Hak said coldly.
The man, immediately sobered by the threat in Hak's voice alone, scrambled away without another word.
Silence followed.
Ulyana stared at Hak.
Months.
Months of nothing.
And now he suddenly appeared again like this.
Something inside her snapped.
"You—!" she shouted before storming toward him.
Her fists slammed against his chest repeatedly, fueled more by hurt than actual anger. Hak barely reacted physically, simply standing there while she hit him over and over.
"Where were you?!" she yelled. "You told me to wait for you!"
"Hak says hi," she mocked bitterly between strikes. "'He says hi!' That's all they ever said!"
Hak caught her wrists gently but firmly. "Ulyana."
"No!" she snapped, trying to pull free. "Don't touch me!"
"You're drunk."
"And whose fault is that?!"
She finally yanked herself away from him and turned, stumbling down the dark path beside the building.
"Ulyana, stop."
She ignored him completely. "Don't follow me!"
The second the words left her mouth, her foot caught awkwardly against a loose rock.
Pain shot sharply through her ankle as she twisted it and fell forward with a cry.
Hak reached her almost instantly.
Before she could even try standing again, he was crouched beside her, one hand steadying her while the other carefully examined her ankle.
"It's swollen already," he muttered.
"Don't act like you care now," she said shakily.
Hak's jaw tightened slightly.
Ulyana's anger suddenly crumbled beneath the weight of everything she had been holding in for months. Tears spilled down her face before she could stop them.
"Why do you always appear like this?" she cried. "Why is it always when something bad happens?"
Hak looked at her silently.
"You disappear," she continued, voice breaking. "Then you come back and save me like nothing happened. Do you know how cruel that is?"
The hurt in her expression hit harder than any physical blow she had given him moments earlier. Hak looked genuinely affected.
But he had no immediate answer.
The alley was tense with silence after Ulyana's outburst, broken only by her uneven breathing and the distant noise of music spilling from the karaoke bar.
Then suddenly the clubs back door burst open.
"Yan!"
Her friends stumbled outside in heels and half buttoned coats, clearly intoxicated and panicked after realising she had disappeared.
"Are you okay?!" one of them gasped before their attention immediately shifted to Hak.
The entire group froze.
Then one of the girls blinked rapidly. "Wait… is this him?"
Another pointed dramatically at Hak. "The guy?"
"The bastard who disappeared for months?" one of them slurred indignantly. "Seriously, what a dog."
Hak stared at them in complete silence.
He had dealt with armed men, assassins, interrogations, and rival syndicates with more patience than he currently possessed for a group of drunk socialites.
Ulyana, meanwhile, looked mortified.
One of the girls leaned toward her loudly. "Okay but… he's ridiculously handsome."
"Like unfairly handsome," another whispered back, not quietly at all.
Hak exhaled slowly through his nose. Without acknowledging any of the comments, he glanced toward the street where a black limousine waited nearby.
"See that limo?" he said flatly. "Get in. It'll take you back to your hotel."
The girls immediately looked toward Ulyana for confirmation.
Still sitting on the ground beside Hak, she sighed tiredly and gestured weakly with her hand. "Go."
That was all the encouragement they needed. The group rushed toward her first, surrounding her in dramatic hugs.
"Text us when you get back!"
"Don't die!"
"We love you!"
One of the girls crouched beside Ulyana and stage whispered far too loudly, "He's hot, girl. Your taste is insane."
Another nodded enthusiastically. "The face card is lethal."
Hak looked away though the faintest hint of amusement flickered across his expression.
Then, just as she stood up to leave, one of the girls suddenly dug through her purse.
"Oh my God, wait."
Ulyana narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
The girl grinned mischievously before shoving a small packet into Ulyana's hand and winking dramatically.
"Good luck, diva."
"Are you insane?!" Ulyana hissed in horror.
The girls dissolved into drunken laughter before sprinting toward the limousine together, their shrieks echoing down the street.
The car door slammed shut moments later and the vehicle pulled away, leaving the alley quiet once more.
Silence settled between Hak and Ulyana again. Then Hak's gaze dropped toward the item still clutched awkwardly in Ulyana's hand.
Ulyana immediately hid it behind her back, face burning with embarrassment.
Hak actually laughed quietly at her cuteness. Low and brief, but unmistakably real. And that only made her more flustered.
Hak noticed the way Ulyana awkwardly hid the item behind her back.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "What is it?"
"Nothing," she replied far too quickly.
"Hm."
Before she could stop him, Hak reached forward and effortlessly wrestled the item from her grip despite her protests.
"Hak!"
He looked at it casually, only for his expression to freeze immediately.
A condom.
There was a very brief silence.
Then Hak immediately coughed awkwardly and shoved it straight back into Ulyana's hands as if it had personally offended him.
"Girls," he muttered under his breath with visible exasperation.
Ulyana stared at him in disbelief before narrowing her eyes. "You're acting like I gave it to myself."
Hak rubbed a hand across his jaw, clearly trying to recover whatever composure he had left. "They're terrible influences."
"My friends are amazing."
"They handed you a condom in the middle of the street."
"They were being supportive!"
Hak looked at her flatly. "Supportive of what exactly?"
Ulyana opened her mouth, then immediately shut it again.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Hak's lips at her silence.
Which only made her glare at him harder.