Shattered Allegiance

OLAI'

lth serving as a cover for the strategic

vert gathering was taking place deep within the city's shadowy

t the ball, I got an anonymous message from someo

ter reading it through, and I was re

ng in the background. Wearing a fitted suit, Pietro Romanoff stood nex

ng with the aftereffects of the rain. As I got close

With a voice that cut throug

interest and disdain that I wa

concealed intents. With a tone full of implication, he answered. "I coul

vetlana, and I want to ensure nothing stands

etlana's family may have struck a deal, but I won't let Svetl

Pietro's lips, showing a hint of the e

Svetlana in your eyes. It's time to concede the inevitable and

. Rather, I took a stride towards Pietro, my d

love is not a chess piece in it. Dmitri Ivanova might not be aware of your t

as the anxiety increased almost instantly. Pietro's vague aspi

for what was about to happen. His intense innate nee

imed directly at my face. I dodged, feeling the

a painful groan, I felt the pleasant impact. The walls echoed th

moving with experienced ease. Once mo

t give up, I countered with a strong

ng with every blow. Pietro used well-timed blows, bu

my mind, and I could feel the heat

s. The alley was filled with the sound of our battle, a viole

e and resolution, but I was fighti

ssion in his eyes, grabbed a b

e rushed through me, I threw him to the ground, rip

locked with mine, and for an instant, I felt a twinge of terro

firm and icy. I got up, leaving hi

ver me as I turned to leave. The battl

*

d me later that day in the Pet

ent throughout the study; upholding the Pet

action," he said in an unyielding voice. "You have to be

promise never to give my heart away again in order to maintain loyalty. I love Svetlana more

emed to be like flint flashing against steel. "You'll follow in

truggle between duty-bound loyalty and the unwa

y, unfazed by the weight

eedless conflict between our families," I said, my

e your wars with Dimitri, but I won't

g resolve in my eyes, and in turn, I saw a glint of fear in

ng storm in the city's criminal underworld, posing

nces." I walked out of the study, my comments reverberate