Page 17 of Seeking Shadows

“I need you to train me.”

I blink, not sure if I heard him right. “Train you?”

He steps closer, his jaw clenched tight, like this is something he’s had to swallow for too long. “You heard me. I need you to teach me how to fight. I’m not gonnalet you—”

“Wait,” I interrupt, my heart suddenly pounding harder. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” he mutters, his eyes not leaving mine. “I don’t care if you don’t want to. You’re gonna teach me. You’re gonna train me. And if you’resmart, you’ll teach me well.”

I hesitate, unsure of what to say. There’s still so much between us, so much anger, so much brokenness. But there’salso something I can’t ignore—a flicker of hope. And as much as I hate it, I need that hope to keep us both moving forward.

“I’ll teach you,” I say finally, the words coming out slower than I intend. “But don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

He smiles, just a little. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

And in that moment, everything feels like it's spiraling into something I can’t control, but maybe that’s the point.

Maybe thisis what we both need—this mess, this chaos, this fight.

Because somehow, somewhere between the anger and the silence, I think we still have something to fight for.

CHAPTER 4

MIA

“Miss, wouldyou like to have dinner before heading to your father’s event?” Olga asks in her usual professional tone.

I smile. “Olga, are you married?”

“No, ma’am,” she replies.

“Why not? You seem like a catch. Any man would be lucky to have someone so organized.”

“I don’t have time for men. They’re usually useless.”

“Women then?”

“I’m not attracted to women.”

“Are you attracted to anything?”

“Knitting.”

“Really? You could teach me sometime. I bet it would be fun.”

“Eat your food, Mia.”

I grin. “Ha! You finally called me by my first name. I think we’re making progress.”

Olga just stares at me with her usual deadpan expression, but I catch the ghost of a smile.

“I made something for you,” she says, setting a plate of waffles with ice cream in front of me.

“I thought Paulina wouldn’t let me eat carbs.”

“What carbs? Those are fruits, ma’am,” she says, amused.

My smile widens. “Only after dinner.”

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