For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Maya's attention wandered toward another frame.
A much older photograph.
Its edges slightly worn with age.
Curiosity immediately pulled her closer.
The image showed an elegant elderly woman standing beside a distinguished older man.
Between them stood a younger Roman.
Proud.
Confident.
Happy.
Maya tilted her head.
The resemblance was obvious.
Especially the eyes.
"That's Grandma and Grandpa."
Nadia joined her beside the photograph.
Her smile returned immediately.
This one softer.
Warmer.
"Father comes from a ridiculous mixture of nationalities."
Maya laughed.
"Clearly."
"Grandma was fully Russian."
She pointed.
"And Grandpa was Russian, Italian, and American."
Maya stared at the photograph.
They looked deeply in love.
The kind of love people wrote books about.
"Were?"
The moment the word left her mouth she regretted it.
Nadia's smile dimmed.
Only slightly.
"Yeah."
Her voice softened.
"They've both passed away."
Maya immediately reached for her hand.
"I'm sorry."
Nadia squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
"It's okay."
She smiled gently.
"It happened a long time ago."
Her gaze returned to the photograph.
"Grandma died first."
The sadness lingered only briefly before affection returned.
"And Grandpa followed shortly after."
Maya blinked.
"What?"
Nadia laughed.
"He refused to live without her."
Maya stared.
"He actually said that?"
"He did."
Nadia's eyes sparkled.
"He lasted six months."
Maya's chest tightened unexpectedly.
There was something beautiful about that.
Heartbreaking.
But beautiful.
The kind of love most people spent entire lifetimes searching for.
Eventually they moved toward the enormous trophy display.
And Maya immediately froze.
Rows.
And rows.
And rows.
And rows.
Of trophies.
Awards.
Certificates.
Plaques.
Recognition from every imaginable field.
She stared.
Then sighed dramatically.
Nadia burst out laughing.
"You are hilarious."
Maya pointed helplessly.
"Where am I supposed to start?"
"There are hundreds."
"Exactly."
Nadia laughed harder.
"If it helps, they're organized."
"That does not help."
Nadia doubled over laughing.
Maya continued staring.
Utterly overwhelmed.
"If you look closely," Nadia managed between laughs, "they all have inscriptions."
Maya leaned closer.
Sure enough.
Names.
Dates.
Achievements.
Events.
Competitions.
Everything perfectly categorized.
Her shoulders slumped.
"It's so unfair."
Nadia blinked.
"What is?"
Maya gestured toward the entire display.
"Some people are collecting trophies like Pokémon."
Nadia laughed immediately.
"Some of us are just surviving."
Nadia laughed so hard she had to grab the display cabinet.
Maya tried maintaining a serious expression.
Failed completely.
And joined her.
Soon both women were laughing together.
The sound echoed warmly through the room filled with memories.
And for the first time in years—
The photo room didn't feel sad at all.
Rege had searched almost half the mansion before he finally heard it.
Laughter.
Soft.
Unrestrained.
Familiar.
The sound drifted through the hallway like music, pulling him forward before he consciously decided to follow it.
He stopped briefly outside the family photo room.
Of course.
Nadia.
If there was one place she would bring Maya, it would be here.
Rege shook his head faintly.
Then opened the door.
The room beyond glowed beneath warm afternoon sunlight filtering through the tall windows. Golden light spilled across polished wooden floors, illuminating countless framed photographs lining the walls.
Maya and Nadia stood near one of the trophy displays.
Both laughing.
Maya's face immediately brightened the moment she saw him.
And that single expression made every minute of searching worth it.
Nadia noticed it too.
Of course she did.
Her grin widened instantly.
"Oh."
Maya already looked embarrassed.
"Nadia."
"No."
Nadia pointed dramatically between them.
"I'm leaving."
Rege didn't bother denying anything.
His eyes never left Maya.
Not once.
Nadia placed both hands over her heart.
"Look at this."
"Nadia."
"I haven't even left yet and he's already forgotten I exist."
Maya groaned softly.
"Nadia, please."
Nadia laughed.
Then began backing toward the door.
"I will leave you two lovebirds alone."
She reached the doorway before pausing.
"For now."
Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
"Maya, we're continuing the tour later."
Then she winked.
Actually winked.
Maya immediately looked away.
Her cheeks flushing beautifully.
Nadia's laughter echoed through the hallway as she disappeared.
The door clicked softly behind her.
Silence settled afterward.
A very different kind of silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Not awkward.
Something far more dangerous.
Because they were finally alone.
For several seconds neither spoke.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Warmer.
The distance separating them suddenly felt unbearable.
Rege crossed it first.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Like he couldn't help himself.
Like he had spent the last hour fighting the urge to do exactly this.
Maya's heart immediately betrayed her.
She could hear it.
Feel it.
Every step he took seemed to echo directly inside her chest.
When he finally stopped in front of her, she tilted her head upward.
And instantly lost her breath.
Because he was already looking at her.
The same way he always looked at her.
Like she was the only thing capable of holding his attention.
Like everything else simply faded into the background.
The sunlight caught inside his aquamarine eyes.
And Maya felt herself melting.
Again.
Always him.
Always those eyes.
Rege reached for her without hesitation.
His arm slid around her waist.
Firm.
Protective.
Certain.
Then he pulled her closer.
Not enough to hurt.
Not enough to startle.
Just enough to erase the space between them.
The movement felt instinctive now.
Natural.
Like he'd done it a thousand times.
Maya inhaled sharply.
Neither of them seemed capable of maintaining distance anymore.
The realization settled between them quietly.
Dangerously.
His gaze searched her face.
Every feature.
Every expression.
Like he was reassuring himself she was truly there.
Still smiling.
Still happy.
Still his.
The thought appeared before he could stop it.
And strangely—
It didn't frighten him.
"Krasota."
His voice emerged low.
Rougher than usual.
Maya's heartbeat immediately betrayed her.
Rege noticed.
Of course he did.
His hand tightened slightly.
She swallowed.
"Yes?"
For a moment he simply looked at her.
As though trying to decide whether he should say it.
Then he gave up trying to be careful.
Because careful never seemed to work around her.
"I missed you."
The confession came effortlessly.
Without hesitation.
Without pride.
Pure honesty.
Maya's breath caught.
Because those three words carried more emotion than entire conversations.
Maya's entire expression softened.
Her smile became smaller.
Shyer.
Warmer.
The kind of smile reserved only for him.
"Me too."
The words barely rose above a whisper.
But Rege heard them.
Every syllable.
Every hidden emotion inside them.
Something inside his chest tightened painfully.
Because she meant it.
And somehow that mattered more than it should.
Neither moved afterward.
Neither looked away.
The room seemed to disappear around them.
The photographs.
The trophies.
The sunlight.
Everything.
Until only Maya remained.
Only her.
Rege lifted one hand.
Carefully brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.
The gesture felt impossibly intimate.
Maya leaned into it before realizing she'd done it.
His eyes darkened immediately.
Not with amusement.
Not with teasing.
With affection.
The kind she still wasn't completely used to receiving.
"You have no idea what you do to me."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Maya's breath caught.
Her pulse stumbled.
And for once—
She couldn't think of a clever response.
Couldn't hide behind humor.
Couldn't look away.
Because she felt it too.
Every second.
Every glance.
Every touch.
The pull between them had become impossible to ignore.
So instead she simply smiled.
Softly.
Honestly.
And that was somehow worse.
Because Rege loved that smile more than he should.
More than was safe.
His forehead rested briefly against hers.
A quiet moment.
A stolen moment.
One neither of them rushed.
One neither of them wanted to end.
And standing there surrounded by generations of Hastings family history—
Generations of people trying to find their way back to each other.
Among photographs of love, loss, loyalty, and heartbreak—
Rege realized something frighteningly simple.
For the first time in years...
He had found someone he never wanted to let go.
Before Maya could gather another thought, Rege closed the remaining distance between them.
The kiss wasn't rushed.
It wasn't careless.
It was something far deeper.
A quiet surrender.
A moment where all the restraint he carried so naturally finally disappeared.
Maya's breath caught immediately.
Because Rege did not kiss her like someone trying to prove something.
He kissed her like someone who had spent too long denying himself something he desperately wanted.
Her hands instinctively found him, resting against his chest as if she needed something solid to remind herself that this was real.
That he was real.
That this man who seemed untouchable to everyone else was standing here looking at her as though she was the only person in the world who mattered.
The family photo room remained silent around them.
Generations of Hastings history watched from the walls.
Old photographs.
Old memories.
Faces from a time when the family had been whole.
Yet somehow, in the middle of all that history, Maya felt like she and Rege had created a small world entirely separate from everything else.
The sunlight continued spilling through the windows, catching against the edges of the frames and painting the room in warm gold.
But neither of them noticed.
Not really.
Because all Maya could feel was him.
The way his usual control disappeared when he was with her.
The way he looked at her afterward like he was still trying to understand how someone like her had found her way into his carefully guarded life.
When they finally pulled apart, neither moved far.
Their foreheads remained close.
Their breathing slowly returned to normal.
Maya looked up at him, her expression softer than before.
"Rege..."
Her voice carried everything she couldn't quite say.
The surprise.
The affection.
The overwhelming realization that this man who had spent years keeping everyone at a distance had somehow allowed her closer than anyone else.
His thumb brushed gently along her cheek.
A small gesture.
But from him, it meant everything.
"You make it difficult to remember how I was supposed to live before you."
Maya's heart tightened.
Because Rege did not say things lightly.
Every word from him carried weight.
And that was what made him different.
He wasn't someone who filled silence just to avoid it.
When he spoke, he meant it.
Maya smiled faintly.
"And here I thought I was the dramatic one."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
The sound immediately made her smile wider.
Because she loved that she could still bring that out of him.
The man everyone feared.
The man who seemed impossible to reach.
Laughing because of her.
Rege looked at her for a long moment.
Then pulled her closer again, not with urgency, but with a quiet certainty.
Like he simply needed to feel that she was there.
Maya rested against him.
And surrounded by the photographs of a family that had once known happiness before things became complicated, she realized something.
Maybe love wasn't always about finding someone who completed you.
Maybe sometimes it was finding someone who reminded you that you were already whole.
And for Rege—
Someone who had spent years carrying responsibility, expectations, and silence—
Maya was becoming the one place where he didn't have to be anything except himself.