Once Amos and Xenovia finally left, the atmosphere shifted almost immediately. The warmth from brunch slowly faded into something heavier.
Hak looked toward Rowan calmly. "You said you were going home."
"I did," Rowan answered evenly.
Ulyana immediately interjected awkwardly.
"Yeah… he did."
But Hak barely acknowledged her response. His attention remained fixed on Rowan.
"So while we were wrapping things up," Hak continued coolly, "you were off playing house?"
His jaw tightened slightly afterward. "With my—"
"She's not an object." Rowan's interruption was immediate and sharp.
Hak's expression hardened. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Can you both stop talking like I'm not standing right here?" Ulyana snapped suddenly.
The tension in the room spiked instantly.
Then she looked directly at Hak. "And what exactly is up your ass anyway?"
Hak gave a humorless laugh.
"What's up my ass," he replied flatly, "is apparently the same thing that's up yours too—"
"Watch your mouth." This time Rowan's anger was visible. But still controlled but now dangerous.
"Be careful how you speak to her."
Hak immediately paused.
The silence afterward felt sharp.
Then finally Hak looked toward Ulyana instead. And some of the anger in his expression faltered seeing the hurt on her face.
"…Sorry," he muttered quietly. "This isn't really about you."
That somehow only hurt her more.
"Hak…" Ulyana's eyes had visibly begun watering now. "I can't believe you."
"Yan," Hak said quietly, some of the anger leaving his expression almost instantly.
"I haven't slept in two days. Forgive me."
Ulyana looked at him with hurt still visible across her face. "Not forgiven."
Hak visibly winced at that.
Then more quietly, she added, "You seem to be apologising more than anything these days."
The disappointment in her voice hit harder than if she had yelled.
Finally she shook her head. "…Just piss off."
Then before either man could respond, Ulyana turned and stormed toward her room upstairs. The sound of her footsteps faded through the villa.
Silence settled behind her.
Rowan and Hak both watched her retreat quietly.
Then Rowan finally turned toward him coldly.
"What's your problem?"
Hak exhaled heavily and rubbed at his face. Then his expression shifted completely serious now.
"I needed to update you," he said quietly. "But there was no way she would've left otherwise."
That immediately changed Rowan's demeanor too.
Hak stepped closer and lowered his voice. "We identified who organised the warehouse explosion."
Rowan's jaw tightened. "And?"
Hak's expression darkened. "…He used to work under you."
Silence.
Then more quietly, "He's joined the new opposition."
The atmosphere instantly became colder.
Dangerous.
Because if someone from Rowan's former inner operations had defected—
Then this wasn't just a random attack anymore.
It was personal.
-
Truthfully, Ulyana wasn't actually upset.
The moment Hak's expression shifted downstairs, she had immediately realised he needed to speak to Rowan privately.
That tension hadn't really been about her at all.
So by the time she reached her room and shut the door behind herself. She was already calming down then after a moment, she flopped dramatically onto her bed with a groan.
"I genuinely don't understand why he couldn't have just said he needed to talk to Rowan alone," she muttered to herself.
A pause.
"…Dumbass." she still sounded fond.
- - -
After Hak finished giving Rowan the full update, the atmosphere between them remained serious for several moments longer.
Then eventually Hak checked his phone and sighed quietly.
"I need to head back," he muttered. "Graham's waiting at the other location."
Rowan nodded once.
But just as Hak turned to leave, Rowan suddenly spoke again.
"By the way…"
Hak looked back.
"Surely you know her better than this by now?"
Hak frowned slightly. "Huh?"
Rowan gave a small amused chuckle despite the exhaustion still sitting on him.
"She's fine," he said casually. "You could've just asked her to let us talk privately, you dumbass."
Hak blinked once. Then stared at his uncle speechlessly, because annoyingly he was right.
Rowan simply patted his shoulder once before calmly heading upstairs toward Ulyana's room.
Hak remained standing there for a moment watching him go.
Then another thought suddenly hit him.
…When exactly had Rowan become so familiar with Ulyana's villa layout?
-
Rowan softly knocked against her bedroom door.
"Come in!"
He stepped inside to find Ulyana sitting cross legged on her bed scrolling through her phone like nothing had happened downstairs.
The moment Rowan walked in, she looked up at him knowingly.
Without a word, Rowan crossed the room and laid down beside her on top of the blankets, one arm resting over his eyes dramatically.
"Quite the performance you put on down there," he said softly.
Ulyana rolled her eyes immediately. "He's an idiot for thinking I'm an idiot."
A faint laugh escaped Rowan. "True."
That made Ulyana giggle too before she set her phone aside and looked at him more carefully.
"…Is everything okay?"
Rowan was quiet for a moment beneath his arm. Then finally, "Mm. Can't really say just yet."
Ulyana groaned dramatically and lightly shoved his shoulder.
"Ugh. You're so annoying."
"I've been told that before."
"By literally everyone?"
"Mostly Hak."
"You know…" Rowan said quietly after a while.
"Hm?"
"Having Hak turn up during brunch…" His voice trailed slightly. "It reminded me of something."
Ulyana looked at him curiously. "Of what?"
Slowly, Rowan moved his arm away from his eyes and turned his head to look at her properly.
For once, there was no teasing in his expression anymore just exhaustion. Something quieter and more vulnerable.
"It reminded me that I don't really get this," he admitted softly.
Ulyana frowned slightly. "Get what?"
Rowan looked at her silently for a second before searching for the right words.
"I'm not really…" he exhaled quietly. "…this."
Ulyana studied him carefully. "…Soft?"
A faint humorless smile crossed Rowan's face.
"…Lucky."
The answer caught her off guard.
Because suddenly he looked tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep.
Almost sad.
Like someone painfully aware that good things rarely stayed in his life for very long.
Something in Ulyana's chest tightened painfully seeing him like that. For the first time, she could clearly see the loneliness beneath Rowan's composure.
And more than anything, she suddenly wanted him to understand that with her…
He could have softness.
He could have peace.
Without really thinking about it, Ulyana reached over and gently ran her fingers through his hair.
Mindlessly playing with the soft strands near his forehead.
The gesture seemed to surprise him slightly.
But he didn't pull away.
If anything, he relaxed into it.
After a quiet moment, Ulyana spoke softly.
"…Can you tell me how you ended up in this world?"
Her voice carried genuine curiosity; not judgment or fear, but a desire to understand him better.
Ulyana stayed quiet afterward, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Her fingers continued absentmindedly combing through his hair while Rowan stared quietly toward the ceiling for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
He began speaking.
"Well," he said softly, "to begin with… I'm Australian by birth."
Ulyana blinked in surprise.
"You're not Hassanic by birth?" she asked immediately. "You're not from the Hassano Islands?"
Rowan shook his head slightly. "I am ethnically Hassanic," he explained. "But I was born and raised in Australia."
Ulyana hummed softly while continuing to play with his hair, silently encouraging him to continue.
He did.
Rowan spoke about his father first.
About how he had built an enormous underground empire almost entirely through sheer force of will, fear, intelligence, and influence but strangely, he explained that his father had also been something of a twisted Robin Hood figure.
Dangerous.
Ruthless.
Yet oddly protective over poorer communities and people forgotten by the system.
"He was feared," Rowan admitted quietly. "But he also made sure people ate."
Then Rowan spoke about his childhood.
How he and his older sister had been spoiled rotten growing up despite the darkness surrounding their family world.
How his father had strangely tried to preserve innocence within the household for as long as possible.
But then everything changed after Hak's mother was murdered.
Rowan's expression darkened slightly at the memory.
"He was never really the same after that."
His voice had grown quieter now. "He became paranoid. Colder."
Then eventually, his father got sick too.
"And despite everything…" Rowan admitted, "he never wanted me involved in this life."
That surprised Ulyana slightly.
"He wanted something different for me."
A quiet bitter smile crossed Rowan's face afterward.
"But eventually there was nobody else left to hold things together."
Then more softly, "After my father passed… your grandfather helped more than anyone."
Ulyana looked at him carefully. "Deda?"
Rowan nodded once. "He mentored me quietly behind the scenes."
There was genuine respect in Rowan's voice when speaking about Nikolai.
"Without him…" Rowan exhaled quietly. "I probably wouldn't have survived those years."
Ulyana listened quietly before softly admitting, "I never knew that."
Rowan gave a small shrug. "The only people who really know the full story are Nikolai, Hak… and Graham."
That made something click into place for her.
"…That's why there's no bad blood between our families," Ulyana realised aloud.
Rowan nodded slowly. "There never really was."
Then after a moment, "Even when my father was alive."
His gaze drifted briefly.
"They actually had very similar moral compasses."
A faint smile crossed Rowan's face afterward.
"To a point, anyway."
But Ulyana had stopped properly listening.
Because unfortunately she had become distracted simply staring at him while he talked.
The soft seriousness in his expression.
The calmness in his voice.
The way he looked laying there beneath the afternoon light.
Finally, completely absentmindedly, she blurted out, "You're so good looking."
Rowan paused mid though and slowly turned his head toward her. A laugh escaped him immediately.
"That's what you took from everything I just shared?"
Ulyana smiled softly at his reaction, but her expression remained completely serious.
There was no teasing in her eyes now.
Only sincerity.
Slowly, she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead.
The quiet affection of it seemed to undo something in Rowan entirely.
In one smooth movement, he shifted and pinned her carefully against the mattress, bracing himself above her without hurting her.
His expression had darkened with emotion now.
"You're playing a very dangerous game right now," he murmured quietly.
Ulyana held his gaze steadily. "I'm not playing."
That answer shattered the last of Rowan's restraint. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, all the tension and emotion from the past two days pouring into the kiss while still remaining careful with her.
Ulyana looked up at him sheepishly, though there was still a sincerity in her expression that made Rowan's chest tighten.
Slowly, her hand lifted to his face.
"I'm being serious," she murmured softly.
Her fingertips lightly traced his features while she spoke.
"Such nice lashes… your jawline… your lips…"
Rowan stayed completely still beneath her touch, watching her with an unreadable expression.
Then Ulyana smiled faintly. "I feel really lucky that you're mine right now."
For a moment Rowan genuinely looked caught off guard by the honesty of it.
Then his expression softened completely.
Carefully, he took her hand from his face and pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles while resting his forehead briefly against hers.
"And I feel lucky that you exist at all," he admitted quietly.
Ulyana looked at him quietly for a moment before softly asking, "Why do you like me so much?"
Rowan's expression immediately softened.
Then without hesitation, he started listing things off calmly.
"You're brave."
His thumb brushed lightly against her hand.
"Daring. Youthful. Intelligent."
A faint smile crossed his face afterward. "And incredibly attractive."
Ulyana immediately hid part of her face in embarrassment while Rowan chuckled softly.
"But honestly?" he continued more quietly. "If I had to talk about your appearance…"
His gaze softened further while looking at her.
"Everything."
Ulyana's heart skipped slightly at the sincerity in his voice.
"You're beautiful," Rowan admitted softly. "Like genuinely beautiful."
Then with a faint tired smile, "Like my own personal angel, honestly."
Ulyana narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "You seriously expect me to believe you weren't a complete player at my age?"
Rowan looked genuinely amused.
"No," he answered simply. "I really didn't have time to be."
"Oh really?" she challenged skeptically.
"Yeah, really."
He shifted slightly before continuing more honestly.
"By the time I was your age, I was already being dragged into business meetings, security issues, faction politics…"
A faint tired smile crossed his face. "My father was trying to shield me from that world while simultaneously preparing me for the possibility I'd inherit parts of it one day."
Ulyana studied him carefully.
"So you're telling me twenty-something Rowan Volkov wasn't out here breaking hearts?"
Rowan laughed quietly. "Angel, I was exhausted and stressed most of the time."
"That's not an answer."
A smug look crossed his face now. "It is if you're smart enough."
Ulyana groaned dramatically and lightly pushed his shoulder while he laughed again beside her.
"Okay," Ulyana said suspiciously, "so what I'm hearing is you needed women around just to let off steam."
"Woah, hold on," Rowan immediately protested through a laugh. "That is not what I said."
Ulyana grinned triumphantly. "Then prove me wrong."
Rowan looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head in disbelief. "You really enjoy causing problems, don't you?"
"Only for you."
"That somehow makes it worse."
Ulyana laughed while Rowan lightly pinched her cheek in retaliation.
"Angel," he sighed dramatically, "you've created an entire fictional version of twenty-something me in your head."
"And?"
"And apparently he's far more exciting than the real one."
She gasped dramatically. "So you're saying you weren't handsome and mysterious?"
"I was stressed and sleep deprived."
"Close enough."
"Okay," Ulyana continued smugly, "so you were stressed, sleep deprived, and using women to let off steam."
Rowan stared at her in disbelief for half a second before immediately retaliating by tickling her.
Ulyana shrieked in surprise before dissolving into uncontrollable laughter beneath him.
"Rowan— stop—!"
He laughed quietly while continuing just enough to make her squirm dramatically.
"I was not."
Ulyana laughed so hard she could barely breathe properly, and Rowan suddenly found himself momentarily distracted by the sound.
Because he had never heard her laugh this freely before.
So bright.
So sweet.
Completely unguarded.
He realised very quickly that he wanted to hear that sound for the rest of his life.
Rowan eventually stopped tickling her, still laughing softly along with her lingering giggles.
The room settled into a warm quiet afterward.
Ulyana looked up at him sweetly from beneath him, her expression softening again now that the laughter had faded.
"…Do you really have to go tonight?"
The question was quiet and almost reluctant.
Rowan's smile faded slightly at the edges.
Then he sighed softly. "I do."
The answer hung heavily between them for a moment, because neither of them wanted him to leave anymore.