<b>Chapter </b><b>205 </b>
Alexei left, carrying with him the cup of tea Natasha had carefully bought after her meal.
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When he noticed the drink in her hands, a faint warmth seemed to soften his otherwise icy expression.
All things considered, it <b>was </b>fortunate they parted without bitterness.
Natasha’s hectic, multifaceted life returned to a simpler, two–point routine.
Yet each time she went home, she would instinctively nce back at the shadow that once followed her.
Other than the doubled bnce in her bank ount, no one knew he had ever been there.
The anniversary of Emilia’s death came once more with relentless rain.
Unwilling to return home, she slipped into the apartment she had yet to <b>vacate</b>.
Copsing on the bed, she feigned the stillness <b>of </b>a corpse–silencing her thoughts, her breath, her awareness of the world.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, a cold hand brushed her forehead. A voice spoke, “Natasha, what sort of morbid game are you ying, hiding away here alone?”
Natasha’s eyes flew wide open.
Standing before her was Alexei, covered in wind and rain. <fnf283> Updates are released by ?ovelFind</fnf283>
His hair was damp, his clothes were still dripping, and his face was flushed from running.
“Alexei!” Natasha cried with joy. She didn’t know why, but she was suddenly very happy and hugged his waist.
“Why did youe back?” Still wet from the embrace, she looked up at him and asked.
Awkwardly averting his eyes, Alexei drew a small box from his arms, protected carefully from the rain. He answered, “I suddenly remembered someone’s birthday <b>is </bing. I think I once promised to spend it with her. To prove I keep my word, I came back.”
He spoke as though it were casual, but in truth, returning <b>so </b>suddenly was an enormous risk.
Natasha opened the box to reveal an exquisite pair of dance shoes.
Her eyes curved into a smile, “I’m so happy.
“Alexei, thank you.” She rushed forward to hug him once more.
On a day when the whole world abandoned her, at least he remained.
Alexei watched her smile, and in that instant, the shadow of regret disappeared.
7:17 <b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>8 </b>
<b>“</b>Happy birthday, Natasha,” he whispered, gently stroking her hair.
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In the end, that small room was never vacated.
Alexei quietly bought it.
After that, they never met again.
Alexei <b>was </b>dangerous, and he refused to drag her into his dark, bloodstained world.
Until one day, word reached him from a subordinate: Natasha had been in a car ident.
Alexei himself had sent the protector. Even though he had concealed every trace of their connection after her birthday, he still insisted on leaving someone at her side, just in case.
He never regretted that decision.
Thanks to the bodyguards‘ quick response, Natasha’s leg injury was not severe.
How could a girl who lived for dance lose her stage?
He rushed back overnight from a war–torn country and found her, forgotten by her family, lying alone in the hospital.
When she saw him, her tearful eyes resembled a stray cat’s, and she called out his name with intive relief.
“I once thought you would be better off without me, but clearly, I was wrong,” he said
He extended his hand to her and asked, “Natasha, will youe with me?”
From then on, nurturing this fragile rose became his responsibility.
*****
Alexei didn’t show up directly; instead, he used Rhea’s name to make Natasha leave the rk family.
This process is not difficult.
The Pena family handed Andrew several major projects he had always coveted and hinted that Rhea, childless and deeply fond of Natasha, longed for apanion.
Andrew deliberated for less than half a day before sending Natasha and her belongings <i>to </i>Rhea.
Olivia wanted to object, but she had a car ident on her way home from school, leaving her with an <b>injured </b>leg, and was still hospitalized at the time.
By the time she returned home, the die was <b>cast</b>; Natasha had even transferred her household registration to the house her teacher Rhea had ‘given‘ her.
No <b>one </b>knew that Alexei was listed as Natasha’s guardian.
A boy not yet twenty thus began raising a little girl more than three years younger than him.
Only muchter did Alexei realize he had taken in a mischief–maker.
After leaving the Turner family, Natasha began cautiously testing boundaries. But once she discovered the depth of his patience<b>, </b>she pressed further.
Like a fledgling imprinting on the first figure it sees as mother, even though she grew close to Rhea, deep down, she acknowledged only Alexei.
Every day, she called to demand his whereabouts. If he returned even slightly injured, she interrogated him endlessly. When he asionally cooked, sheined his ribs were no match for a chef’s.
It was as if Alexei lived under her spell.
One day, lying gravely injured in the ruins, listening to her chatter through the phone, the realization struck him: he had to survive.
If he died, who would protect that delicate little rose?
Natasha, thousands of miles away, seemed to sense his struggle; her voice softened, tinged with tears. “Alexei, you must live ande back to see my performance,” she said.
Her constant questions, her clinginess–those were mere pretenses. But her fear for his life was not.
She knew he was endlessly busy, with countless enemies seeking his head. And she herself was powerless–she knew nothing but dance and painting. So she could only whisper over and over: “Alexei, I’m waiting for you toe home.”
She even braced for the worst: if death came, at least she would know where to find his body and bring him
back.
That time, Alexei did return–bloodied, battered, but alive.
During her recovery, they spent long days together, something they had not shared since the rental house.
That night, Natasha knocked on his door, pillow in hand. Ignoring Alexei, still wrapped in bandages, she slipped straight into his bed.
Alexei let out a helplessugh, “Natasha, has no one taught you the proper boundaries between men and
women?<b>” </b>
She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
He reached to move her, but she slyly wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her head to his stomach. “Sleep, I’m so tired,” she said.
<b>7:17 </b>Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep 8 </b>
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Beyond worrying about how risky it was for such a young girl to be so close to a vigorous young man, Alexei had endless other concerns–her studies, her dancepetitions, her diet, her clothes…
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And whether she might fall into early romance with that clingy childhood friend.
For the first time, Alexei realized raising a child was truly arduous.
So, to solve the problem once and for all, he sent her abroad with Rhea to study.
*****
While living abroad, daily transantic calls remained constant. What changed was the bright, beautiful, and talented dancer growing into her own and the increasingly mature young head of the Turner family, who was making waves.
On the day he officially took over power from the elder, he relocated his mother’s grave to the South Hill and picked up the renowned dancer, who had returned from a global tour with her teacher, at the airport.
The girl jumped into his arms like a rabbit. She cried, “Alexei, you haven’t visited me in twenty–four <b>days</b>.”
Alexei hugged her tightly, then lowered his head and kissed her hair. “No, it’s 24 days, 7 hours, and 45 minutes,” he corrected. That was how long he hadn’t seen her.
“Don’t ever miss my performances again,” she said.
Alexei replied, “Never again. I will be there for every one of your special moments.”
The car stopped at the civil affairs bureau.
“Natasha, want to get out?” he asked, standing outside and extending his hand with a smile.
Natasha ced her hand in his, her smile bright. “Yes,” she replied.
From the moment he <i>took </i>the hand that would lead her away all those years ago, their fates were destined to intertwine, through life and death.
On that day, the lonely wolf king married the little rose he had raised himself.
From then on, every <i>day </i>was bright.