Damian leaned close, his lips brushing Nikolai's ear as he whispered something only he was meant to hear.
Nikolai's face turned cold instantly. The warmth drained from his eyes, replaced by something sharp and dangerous. He gave a slow nod.
"We are leaving tonight," he said flatly to everyone in the room.
"Noooooo!" the girls protested dramatically.
"We have business to attend to. So get y'all asses up. We leave," he said firmly.
No one argued after that tone.
Lilith sat on the couch between her brothers, completely unaware of the tension. They were holding her tiny hands, and she was playing with their fingers, tracing the lines of their palms and giggling softly.
After two hours of fun and shopping, bags filled the cars.
"Bye bye Mumma!" Lilith chirped happily as the girls drove off with her.
Nikolai stayed behind with Doctor Leonid, who had been studying Lilith's case with Anika for weeks.
"By next week I will be in Russia," Anika said seriously.
"Good," Nikolai replied.
"We are coming too!" the boys shouted.
"Us too!" everyone echoed.
"Goodbye, Murad family," Nikolai said before getting into the car and driving off.
At the airport, Lilith was already asleep in the back seat, her head resting on a pillow. They boarded quietly. The plane took off into the night sky.
Four hours into the flight, Lilith began coughing in her sleep.
At first it was soft.
Then violent.
Her small body trembled.
Suddenly she coughed out blood — warm and bright red — directly into Nikolai's hands.
His heart shattered.
Everyone froze in horror.
She was still asleep.
"Any solution?" Nikolai asked Leonid, his voice low but shaking.
"Yes," Leonid said carefully. "But only for the blood cancer. Not the brain damage."
Silence filled the cabin.
"I need a bone marrow donor that matches hers. Also her blood. One of her brothers' blood type matches. In two weeks, I will begin surgery."
Nikolai slowly wiped his hand clean, staring at the blood like it had personally betrayed him.
They landed in Russia.
It was cold. Snow was falling heavily.
Lilith stepped onto the white ground and stomped her little legs, fascinated by the crunching sound.
Nikolai walked behind her.
"Come on, Bambi. Let's go home, hm?" he said softly.
She nodded.
He wasn't happy.
As they entered the car, he gently applied vermilion to her hairline and adjusted her wedding chain. He stared at her nose rings for a moment. He was obsessed with them.
He decided he would make more for her himself.
It was 29th March.
Nikolai's birthday was on 2nd April.
He was turning 27.
"Lily's brother's birthday is next week Thursday," Meghan whispered into Lilith's ear.
"Really?!" Lilith whisper-yelled excitedly.
Meghan nodded.
"Lily give Nikki a gift," she suggested.
Lilith giggled mischievously.
They were driving home when Lilith spoke from the backseat.
"Nikki?"
"Yes, Bambi?"
"Do you l…l…like f…flowers?"
He looked confused.
"Maybe. Why?"
"W…what f…flowers do you like, Nikki?"
Why is she asking me this? he thought.
"Uhmm… Black Rose. A beautiful flower called Anemone. Black Dahlia. And Red Camellia."
She blinked seriously.
She took out a tiny pencil and paper and wrote it down carefully.
"Pretty please?" she asked, handing him the paper.
He signed it obediently.
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
A small smile formed on his face.
They arrived home.
Lilith practically ran inside.
"Homieeee!" she screamed happily.
"Lily!" Addison warned.
Lilith jumped very high.
Her ankle twisted mid-air.
She fell hard.
The cry that escaped her was loud and painful.
Nikolai rushed in immediately. He bent down and picked up his tiny wife, carrying her straight to his room.
"They told you to stop jumping, Bambi," he scolded softly.
He brought the first aid kit and carefully wrapped her ankle in bandages.
She sniffed her nose sadly.
He handed her a huge lollipop.
She giggled through her tears and licked it.
"Lily w…w…will m…make Nikki v…v…very happy!" she whisper-yelled.
Later that night, Nikolai stepped out of the bathroom and saw her asleep on their bed.
He had moved all her things from her room into his.
He never allowed anyone into his room.
Even after marriage.
But for her, he did.
He tucked her in and kissed her cheek before leaving quietly.
No one saw him.
He arrived at an old warehouse.
He tightened the bandages on his arms.
"Boss, they paid ₽3 billion," one of his men informed him.
He nodded.
It was an underground fight club.
Rich billionaires and millionaires placed bets while watching brutality for entertainment.
Don Ruslan Orlov had placed the ₽3 billion bet.
Nikolai stepped into the ring.
"I think I should give that money to Bambi's health," he whispered to himself. "They destroyed her for me. I wanted her better."
He was getting extremely angry.
The bell rang.
A tall man lunged at him.
Nikolai made a tight fist.
"Lily," he whispered.
His punch was powerful enough to knock teeth out.
He didn't stop.
He broke the man's arms.
He made him bleed.
The opponent managed to leave only one mark on Nikolai's face.
With one final devastating punch, Nikolai knocked him unconscious.
Ruslan Orlov was shocked.
He had injected his fighter with drugs.
And still lost.
Mr Greyson — Nikolai's trainer and his father's old friend — sat calmly.
Nikolai joined him, drinking water.
"I heard you married a mentally unstable girl," Mr Greyson said bluntly.
"She's not mentally unstable," Nikolai replied coldly. "They destroyed her brain. She's stuck in that state. Her treatment begins soon."
"I want to meet her. I heard she's a sweet pea."
Nikolai chuckled lightly.
"Yeah. The family and the group loves her."
"Your father contacted me two weeks ago," Mr Greyson continued.
Nikolai froze.
"He wants to meet you. He got back with your mother and elder brother. They want to see you and your siblings. They know you're married."
"I don't want to see any of them. They shouldn't go near my house. Nor my siblings. Not even my wife," Nikolai said coldly.
"Twenty years and you still hate them. They want to fix things. I don't blame you though. It was their fault for abandoning you and the kids. I'll give you time, Nick."
He nodded silently.
Morning came.
Lilith sat with everyone.
"Dammy?" she called.
"Yes, Lily?"
"C…can you help me with s…s…somethings? I n…n…need—"
She clutched her chest tightly.
"Mihu?" Vishal stood up.
She began coughing.
Blood spilled from her lips.
She struggled to breathe.
"GET THE CAR!" Rima screamed.
Yulian carried her immediately.
They rushed to the hospital.
Two hours later…
Nikolai sat at the top of a mountain overlooking the city he ruled.
His phone was on silent.
"Brother pick up! Come on!" Arina cried over the phone repeatedly.
Inside the hospital, chaos erupted.
Lilith was having a breakdown.
She broke equipment.
She screamed violently.
"AHHHHHH! NO NO NO NO!"
Nurses were injured.
Doctors were thrown aside by her abnormal strength.
"Something doesn't feel right," Nikolai murmured when his driver handed him the phone.
"Sir, your sister is on the line. Everyone has been calling you."
He answered.
He heard Lilith screaming in the background.
"Brother please come quickly! Lily has lost her MIND!" Arina cried.
"What?!"
"She broke everything! Injured people! Please come!"
Nikolai sped to the hospital recklessly, arriving within three minutes.
Crowds had gathered.
He pushed through them.
Inside the room, Leonid's team was pinning Lilith down.
"Let me GO GO GO!" she screamed, her voice breaking into something abnormal.
She was bleeding.
She was crying.
She was too strong.
Nikolai bent down.
"Bambi?" he whispered gently.
Her body immediately stopped jerking.
She looked at him with teary eyes.
"N…n…nikki… h…help…"
They injected her.
She passed out.
Nikolai lifted her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
"I am so very sorry, my love," he whispered.
He called her his love.
He placed her gently on the bed.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Well boss, she called my name. She wanted to tell me something. Before she finished, she couldn't breathe. Then she started coughing blood. We rushed her here. Then this happened," Damian explained.
Leonid walked out, his gloves covered in blood.
"We need to start treatment tomorrow. Please call her family. We need the blood immediately. It's important."
"Damian. Call them," Nikolai ordered.
"Yes boss."
"Nikki… Nikki… B…baba… help…" Lilith mumbled in her sleep.
Nikolai looked at his phone.
Over a hundred missed calls.
Messages.
He held her hand and kissed it.
"I'm sorry, Bambi."
Damian called her family.
"EVERYBODY GET PACKING!" Karim shouted.
Two hours later, it was past 4 a.m.
Nikolai held her hand and fell asleep beside her.
She opened her eyes weakly.
"Nikki?"
"Are you okay, Lily?" Yulian asked gently.
"Y…Y…Yeah…"
She pulled out a folded paper.
"C…can you help me with this? N…nikki birthday soon. Lily wants to give him this…"
She handed the paper to them.
Zhanna.
Daria.
Arina.
Meghna.
They all read it together.
"P…p…pretty please?"
"Of course, sweetie. Is this what you wanted to tell Damian?" Daria asked.
She nodded.
"No problem, love. We'll help you," Meghna promised.
Lilith fell asleep again.
Nikolai had heard everything.
What does she want to give me for my birthday? he wondered silently.
He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
"I'm sorry, Bambi," he whispered again, sitting beside her and watching her breathe.