Page 13 of Reckless Royalty

She doesn’t look up. She just keeps sobbing, her thick blonde hair falling in loose waves around her face, her whole body trembling from the force of it.

I take a step closer, my fists clenched at my sides, wanting nothing more than to pull her into my arms and make it all stop. But I know her too well for that.

“Sofia,” I repeat with a softer tone.

She snaps her head up, her piercing gaze locking onto mine with a fury that sends a chill down my spine.

“Get out.”

I stay rooted where I am, refusing to back down.

“We need to talk.”

Her full lips curl in a sneer, and she wipes the tears from her face, but it does nothing to soften the anger simmering behind her gaze.

“Talk? You want to talk? After what you did?” she exclaims.

I grind my teeth, trying to keep my voice calm. “What I did? What the fuck are you talking about?”

She stands up, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she steps toward me.

“You stood there and let that woman walk away! You didn’t even look at her the way she deserves to be looked at. You didn’t make her talk. You—” She cuts herself off, her voice cracking with emotion. “You’re taking her side, Mihai!”

I exhale sharply, taking a step closer to her. “Sofia, that’s not what’s happening. I’m not taking her side. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Protect me?” She laughs bitterly, shaking her head. “I don’t need protection. I need answers! I need to know who killed my father, and that woman is the only one who knows!” Her voice is rising again, her temper flaring how it always does when she’s hurt—when someone she loves is hurt.

I reach out, and grab her arms gently, forcing her to look at me.

“Listen to me, Sofia. I know you’re angry, but you need to understand what’s happening. Madison lost her family that day too. Her mother and sister were killed in that restaurant. She has no one left.”

She flinches at my words, her eyes flashing with pain and disbelief. “No one?”

“No one,” I confirm, my grip tightening just slightly. “You’re not the only one who’s grieving, Sofia. She’s carrying the same weight you are, maybe worse. And she hasn’t spoken a word since it happened. She’s not the enemy. She’s just … broken.”

Sofia stares at me, her chest rising and falling with the effort of holding back more tears. For a moment, I see the cracks in her armor, the vulnerability she tries so hard to hide. It’s the same look she had the night we ended things—when we both knew we had to walk away, even if it tore us apart.

I feel the tension between us crackling like electricity, the space between us shrinking as we face off. Sofia’s temper is legendary, but right now, that fire is burning out of control.

“But you’re protecting her,” she whispers, her voice softer now, but still filled with hurt. “You’re protecting the woman who holds the answers I need?”

I release her arms, running a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.

“I’m protecting her because that’s my job. You know as well as I do, if she dies, we lose everything—your father’s murder stays unsolved, and the killers win. Is that what you want?”

Her lips tremble, and she looks away, blinking back the tears threatening to fall again. “No… no, of course not. But it feels like you’ve chosen her over me. Over my family.”

I take a deep breath, stepping closer, lowering my voice. “Sofia, that’s not true. I’m doing this for you, and for yourfather’s legacy. If Madison survives, if we keep her safe, she’ll talk. And when she does, we’ll get the truth. I promise you.”

She closes her eyes, and for a moment, all I hear is the sound of her breathing, ragged and uneven. When she opens them again, the anger is still there but it’s softened.

“I just… I don’t know what to do, Mihai,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “I don’t know how to be without him.”

Her bottom lip trembles and she looks away, her arms still crossed tightly over her chest like she’s trying to hold herself together. The sobs she was trying so hard to bury rise up again, and before I can think twice, I reach out and pull her toward me.

At first, she resists, her body stiff in my arms. But then she breaks. Her arms wrap around my waist, and she leans into me, her sobs muffled against my chest. The familiar scent of her perfume grips my heart in a vice as I hold her tightly, feeling the tension drain out of her as she cries, her body trembling against mine.

“I miss him,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “I miss him so much, Mihai.”

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