Chapter 74
2175words
Zurich | Hotel Belvedere | Suite 1107
Morning (CET)
Kristina leaned her head lightly against Eli’s as his face pressed into her shoulder. His warmth was steady, grounding, even though his hair was still mussed with sleep.
“Morning,” she whispered again, almost instinctively.
Lucian was still quiet, though his eyes were open, fixed on her as if she’d said something far heavier than a casual morning greeting. The word love still echoed in him, unsettled, undeniable.
Eli hummed, half-asleep still, but his voice low and lazy. “Mm. Thought I heard my name in someone else’s mouth. Who was flirting with who?”
Kristina felt her cheeks heat but kept her tone level, almost teasing. “Melissa. The flight attendant. She couldn’t decide if she was serving coffee or auditioning for your attention.”
Eli cracked one eye open, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile. “Oh? I didn’t notice.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Kristina said dryly, rolling her eyes, though her hand never left his arm. “That’s the problem with you—you’re oblivious until someone spells it out.”
Lucian’s mouth curved faintly, not quite a smile, but close. He stayed quiet, observing—reading the undercurrent of jealousy laced with affection, the way she tried to mask it with sarcasm.
Eli finally pushed himself up on one elbow, looking between her and Lucian with mock suspicion. “So, what, you two had a whole conversation about my imaginary admirers while I was sleeping?”
Kristina smirked, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “Not imaginary. Savannah. Melissa. I don’t like it—anyone trying to claim what’s already mine.”
Silence stretched. Lucian’s eyes flicked toward her, catching the shift, the choice she almost didn’t make. Eli seemed to hear it too, though he masked it better, leaning closer and kissing her temple, gentler this time.
“Guess I’ll have to behave, then,” Eli murmured against her skin.
Kristina gave a soft laugh, though it trembled on the edges. “You? Behave? That’ll be the day.”
The snow kept falling outside, framing them in a cocoon of warmth and half-spoken truths.
Kristina slipped off the bed, stretching lightly before reaching for her coat. Lucian and Eli followed suit, the three of them moving with the quiet rhythm of familiarity—shirts tugged straight, jackets pulled on, scarves draped over shoulders.
She moved between them without thinking, smoothing Eli’s collar here, brushing stray threads there before stepping over to settle Lucian’s lapel flat against his chest. Neither man protested—if anything, they leaned into the small touches, letting her fuss the way only she could.
“I swear, you’d both forget half of yourselves without me,” she muttered with a soft smile, stepping back to look them over.
“You like it,” Eli teased, adjusting his cuff and giving her a wink.
“Mm. Maybe,” Kristina answered, though her eyes softened as she reached for her bag. She ducked into the bathroom, rummaged for what she needed, then returned.
Kristina slipped back out of the bathroom, adjusting her sleeve as she walked into the suite again. Lucian and Eli were by the bed, standing close, mid-conversation about something half-serious, half-random—the kind of talk that was never about the words themselves, only about being near each other.
She crossed the room quietly at first, watching them with a faint smile. Something about the way they stood—shoulders angled inward, expressions softer than they would ever show anyone else—made warmth rise in her chest. When she reached them, she slipped one arm around Lucian’s waist and the other around Eli’s. Both of them paused, looking down at her in mild surprise.
For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Just stood there, pressed between them, her cheek brushing against Lucian’s arm. Her heart was steady, not racing this time. It felt right.
Then she lifted her gaze to Lucian. Her voice was quiet, but steady.
“I love you, Lucian.”
Before he could even answer, she rose slightly on her toes, closing the space between them. Her lips found his, not in a rush, but in a deliberate, lingering kiss. Long enough that she felt his hand settle against her back, anchoring her, long enough that when she finally drew away, his eyes stayed on hers with an intensity that said everything he didn’t yet speak aloud.
And then she turned. Looked up at Eli, her other anchor, her other impossible choice that wasn’t a choice at all.
“I love you, Eli.”
She kissed him too, softer at first, then holding it just a little longer—different from Lucian’s, but just as real. When she broke away, she caught the breath he let out, almost shaky, as if he’d been waiting years to hear it.
Neither man spoke right away, and that silence felt enormous, charged.
Lucian was the first to break it, his hand still resting at her waist. His voice was low, deliberate, almost reverent.
“You don’t say those words lightly, Kristina. Not ever. So if you’re giving them to me… to us… I will never forget it.”
Eli brushed his thumb lightly along the back of her hand where it rested at his side. His tone was gentler, but no less certain.
“I’ve wanted to hear that from you for longer than I’ll admit. And if you mean it, if you really mean it—then I promise you’ll never have to doubt me again.”
Kristina looked at them both, caught between the steadiness of Lucian and the earnest warmth of Eli. She could only smile faintly, overwhelmed but sure. “I do mean it. Every word.”
And there, in the quiet of the room with snow still drifting outside, all three of them stood in a fragile, unspoken vow—complicated, yes, but bound tighter than before.
Kristina was the first to slip her arms into her coat, brushing a hand down the front to smooth it. There was something brighter in her that morning, something freer. As they left the suite, she walked a few steps ahead, her hair catching light from the hall sconces, her laughter breaking easily at whatever teasing Eli threw into the air.
Lucian glanced sideways at Eli; Eli returned the look with a quiet smirk. Neither spoke, but there was an unspoken acknowledgment between them: they hadn’t seen her like this before. And neither wanted to miss it.
At the elevator, Kristina stepped in first, turning to face them as the doors slid shut. She stayed there, not beside them but in front of them, humming a soft, wandering tune under her breath. Eli bit back a chuckle, his shoulders shaking slightly, while Lucian allowed the faintest, rarest smile to show.
By the time they reached the hotel’s restaurant, Ash raised a brow as he caught Kristina’s light expression. “Well, someone’s in a good mood.”
Vex grinned, tapping his fork against his glass like an improvised bell. “Do tell, what miracle happened overnight?”
Zurich | Hotel Belvedere | La Terrasse Étoilée
The maître d’ guided them to La Terrasse Étoilée, the Belvedere’s glass-walled restaurant where sunlight spilled across white linens and polished silver.
Kristina was the first to break away from their little trio. “Good morning,” she greeted lightly, her voice carrying a brightness as she moved toward the table where Ash, Vex, and Sebastian waited. She slid into a seat almost without pause, choosing one flanked by two empty chairs.
She fell quiet immediately, though her expression stayed soft. It stayed there, fixed and genuine, while her eyes roamed across the restaurant as though she were searching for something—or someone.
Ash tilted his head, already halfway to asking, but Lucian, who sat immediately on her left, cut smoothly across before curiosity could form into words. “Sebastian,” he said, tone businesslike, “what’s the latest on the afternoon flight?”
Sebastian straightened, answering at once, though his gaze flicked once to Kristina before turning back to Lucian. His voice filled the small pause, sparing Kristina from the weight of questions.
Eli, sitting on her right, caught the subtle maneuver and hid a grin behind his water glass.
Moments later, waiters began arriving with the first of their breakfast dishes—porcelain plates set down in quiet rhythm. Coffee carafes, warm breads, eggs, smoked fish, and bowls of bright fruit filled the table with color and scent.
Kristina rested her elbows lightly on the table’s edge, her smile softening as she finally brought her attention back to the food in front of them.
Ash reached for the basket of bread, tearing a piece in half before offering it across the table.
“You’re smiling like you know something the rest of us don’t,” he said to Kristina, his tone teasing.
Kristina shook her head, brushing her hair back with one hand. “Maybe I do,” she answered softly, though she didn’t elaborate. The smile stayed, unshaken.
“Ah, secrets,” Vex muttered, already slathering butter across his bread. “That’s dangerous at this table. One of us will break eventually.”
Sebastian glanced at her more closely, his protective instinct tugging, but Lucian leaned back in his chair and cut across smoothly. “Tell me about the jet, Sebastian. Fueling? Security clearance for takeoff?”
Sebastian hesitated, then nodded and gave the report, professional as ever. Ash and Vex glanced at each other knowingly—Lucian’s tone was as much a warning as it was a request for information.
The waiters returned with steaming plates: poached eggs, rösti, cured salmon, and bowls of ripe berries. Kristina reached for her glass of orange juice, her movements deliberate, her smile softening into something more content than distracted.
Eli caught her gaze. He didn’t ask, didn’t press, only gave the faintest tilt of his head as though to say, I see you. Her smile deepened.
Ash, never able to leave quiet alone for too long, leaned forward on his elbows. “All right, then. If nobody’s going to spill, at least tell me this—are we getting champagne with breakfast or do we have to pretend we’re civilized?”
Vex chuckled. “You? Civilized? That’d be the real secret.”
Even Kristina laughed at that, a quiet sound but genuine, her fingers curling lightly against the stem of her glass.
Then, Kristina’s laugh faded quickly, her smile still in place but her eyes slipping back toward the windows, toward the door, toward anywhere but the table.
Sebastian caught it again—the way she was here but not entirely.
He didn’t say anything, not with Ash and Vex trading barbs beside him, but his gaze lingered a little too long on Kristina’s profile. She looked like someone rehearsing calm, not living it.
When she glanced up, her eyes met his for just a second. She must have seen the question there, the flicker of concern he didn’t bother to mask. Her smile didn’t falter—if anything, it widened—but she broke the eye contact too quickly.
Sebastian leaned back in his chair, letting Ash and Vex’s bickering play on. His eyes flicked toward Kristina again. She was smiling, not saying much, but it wasn’t the practiced poise he’d known from her in the past—it was lighter, almost careless.
It threw him off balance.
Kristina had always been composed, sharp, deliberate with every move. Now she looked like someone carrying a secret joy, something that made her glow in a way he hadn’t seen before.
Sebastian didn’t voice the thought. Instead, he stayed quiet, studying her in silence, trying to place where this change had come from. Whatever it was, he realized, it wasn’t something he needed to be wary of. It was something she was holding close—and maybe, for the first time, it wasn’t about control.
The last of the plates had been cleared, and coffee cups sat cooling on their saucers when Kristina lifted a hand to catch the waiter’s attention.
“I’ll take the bill, please,” she said lightly, her smile soft but certain.
Lucian’s brow furrowed almost immediately. “Kristina—no. This is a company expense. Breakfasts like this are charged directly.”
She shook her head, cutting him off gently. “Let me, this time.”
“Not necessary.” His tone was even, but there was an edge of command beneath it.
Her eyes softened, and though her voice remained calm, it carried something personal. “Please, Lucian. You hired me to keep you safe, but all of you… you’ve done more than that for me. You’ve cared for me. Looked out for me. Let me say thank you in my own way.”
A silence settled briefly at the table. Ash raised his brows, exchanging a look with Vex, who smirked but said nothing. Eli tilted his head, watching her with quiet amusement, though the warmth in his gaze betrayed his agreement.
Lucian leaned back in his chair, studying her. The faintest curve touched his lips, but he didn’t argue again. “If you insist,” he said finally, his voice carrying a mix of resignation and a trace of pride.
Kristina handed her card to the waiter with an almost shy confidence. When she turned back, the warmth in her face held steady—one that spoke not of duty, but of belonging.
And sometimes, it isn’t the silence that binds people together, but the truths finally spoken.
—To be continued.
