Melissa "The Truth and the Gun."

Yes, this is the story I need to tell Roman to explain why these girls will be living in his penthouse. There's nothing more for them to do here, and they want this for themselves.

I knew that if things had turned out differently, I might not have become who I am today. For many, what happened to me would be a reason to run away, but for me? It was a motivation. To prove to everyone around me, but most importantly to myself, that a woman is capable of anything, no matter how broken our hearts are, no matter how much it hurts, and that we have the strength to rise and continue the fight. I was alone, but I learned to live in a way that made everyone need me.

Perhaps all of this was in vain, but some part of me realizes that it was necessary. Yes, I gave it all up 11 months ago. That's right. But just because I almost died. It was then, when my husband no longer played the role of safety, that I realized there was no point in being with him. But if it's necessary for my children, I'm willing to do it because when I remained silent in the past, it ended in disaster. And I don't want that anymore.

Without even looking at Alex, I tightened my grip on the girls' hands, feeling as if I had finally found what I had been searching for so long. What I needed. Even if the air was unbearable, filled with disappointment in my brother, I could no longer stay here. Not now. Not after everything.

The girls looked at me with wide eyes, full of confusion about where we were going, but they followed me without resistance. Their little hands were warm in mine, anchoring me in this moment, reminding me why I had to leave. I had to protect them - from the anger in Alex's voice, from the uncertainty hanging over every conversation we had. This was not the life I envisioned for them when I was pregnant, for myself.

I felt Alex watching us, the weight of his silence pressing down on me, but I refused to acknowledge it. Turning around would mean facing disappointment, irritation written on his face. It would mean admitting that our bond had become something I could no longer bear.

The girls walked beside me, their little feet hurried to keep up as I quickened my pace as if escaping. I thought only about leaving. Leaving the fights, the tension, the suffocating feeling of being trapped in a box where I was constantly lied to. Pretended. Betrayed.

With every step, my resolve grew stronger. I didn't know how to find the right words for Roman, but I knew I had to take them to a safe place - far away from here.

We were almost to the door when I heard a voice behind me in the living room.

"Melissa." I froze, causing the triplets to stop as well.

I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Lilith's voice - Alex's wife - rang out theatrically softly yet restrained, filling the space between us.

"Where do you think you're going with my children?" I slowly turned, trying to remind myself to keep my composure because the children were nearby. Lilith stood calmly, arms crossed behind her. She always maintained that restrained elegance that made many feel small, even if she didn't raise her voice. But I was no stranger to that dynamic. I did it better. I expected this confrontation to come much later. I just wanted to leave and not come back, but reality was far worse.

"They're not your children." I raised an eyebrow. "And they want me to take them right now, so..."

"They're just little kids." Lilith interrupted me, her voice growing colder, though still restrained. "They just don't understand, so step away from them. And you have no right to take them from me. Not after the favor I did for you."

I squinted my eyes, my gaze sliding to the door behind her and then back to Lilith. I felt a thin voice whispering to me to crush this bitch's throat like an invisible haze tightening around my throat. "Where are your manners? And by the way, you're not starting a game you can win." Looking at the girls, I calmed down a bit. "I don't owe you anything."

"Of course." She snorted. "So we raised them with Alex, didn't sleep when they cried, and you come in thinking you can take away the finished product." God, I don't believe in you, but give me all the patience you have.

I stepped forward, shielding the girls behind me. "Product?" I asked bitterly, and my lips curled into a slight smirk. "Stop playing Mother Teresa when you're not, and if you're afraid that my children, whom you took from me, were what still hasn't made my brother get rid of you, then I just feel sorry for you."

Her body flinched as I got too close to her. There it was. You just need to know your opponent's weak spot, and that's enough. Lilith's weak spot - my brother, who can act differently every day, and there's no guarantee when he'll throw her out. And it's all because everyone wants power and money.

"The fact that you're silent makes me think I might be right again." I smiled brightly and turned away.

"No." Lilith replied sharply and unexpectedly. "They're mine, Melissa. You are nobody to them. I am their family. Their mother. You will never be that, no matter that they came from you because of the lustful Kirillov's passion."My jaw clenched tightly as I saw the poor girls plug their ears. What the hell is she doing?

"Call my children a product of lust one more time..."I didn't even turn back but whispered loudly enough for her to hear. "You will find out what the result of my anger is." Lilith took a deep breath behind me. "And you seem to have forgotten that I am also the wife of the head of the mafia?" She asked. "You are leaving now, and I will be in such grief that my husband will start a war, and then those children will definitely not have a safe and stable life. They will have a terrible childhood, won't they?"

The atmosphere in the room changed as Lilith's voice became loud and sharp. I watched the girls, realizing it was time to deal with this bitch but without them.

"Hey, girls." I called to them, forcing myself to speak lightly as I approached. "Why don't you go play in your rooms? I'll be right here, okay?"

Gianna removed her hands from her ears faster than her sisters. "But we want to stay with you!" She protested, nervously glancing at Lilith.

"Yes! And then we'll leave together." Josie added, her eyes were wide open.

"I understand, but I need you to leave me and Lilith alone. You will have fun together. I promise I will come back in a few minutes to check on you." I replied, trying to calm them.

Lilith crossed her arms, staring at the girls. "Why don't you just leave? You were told - quickly to your rooms!" She snapped, venom hanging in the air from her words. She... just yelled at my children?

The girls exchanged worried glances, hesitating. "Please?" I pleaded for the first time, softening my gaze. "Just for a few minutes."

After a moment of silence, Gianna sighed. "Fine, but you promise to come back?"

"I promise." I assured her with a gentle smile.

Reluctantly, Gianina stepped forward, and the others followed her out of the room. The door slammed behind the girls, leaving us in perfect silence for someone's blood. I slowly turned to Lilith, who stood still with her hands behind her back.

"Repeat that." "Don't you dare..." "If you're so brave, repeat your words." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I said that if you take them away, Alex will start a war because of me." "A war? You think you are so important to my brother that he would start a war because of you? You seem to love to fantasize." "As if your husband started a war because of you, so how would you know how that works?" Her eyes burned.

"Lilith, Lilith, Lilith." I shook my head. "I don't need that because I can start a war myself, and all you know how to do is open your mouth and yell at my children." "And so what?" "For things like this, I would rip your tongue out, sweetie." I winked like a psychopath. "But your blood stinks too much. I don't want to get infected."

Her face flushed with my words, and it seemed like she would stomp her foot in outrage. "Don't worry, you smell even worse." "Oh, I'm actually curious to hear that. Go ahead." "You're just Kirillova, Melissa, not a goddess. A pathetic psychopath who thinks she's a queen just because one man wants her so badly." "That still sounds better than your story. A stupid bitch wanted money, married my brother, and no one wants her. The end." I let my hands drop to my sides. "Is that all? Because I'm taking my children now."

But instead of realizing that it would be better to end this wordplay, Lilith's expression darkened. In one swift moment, she reached behind her back, and I frowned as she pulled out a gun - Alex's gun. I could always separate him from it. The metallic gleam of the weapon caught the light, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze.

"And what are you going to do with that?" I truly felt amused.

Lilith aimed the gun at me, her hands steady, but her eyes betrayed her confusion. "What I do with people like you. Kill." "Funny plan." I clicked my tongue. "And you call me a psychopath? I'd think about the consequences if I were you, sweetheart." "Consequences?" Lilith echoed, laughing bitterly. "What do you know about consequences? You've never faced real problems. You live in your perfect little world that Roman built for you. A queen who has never known problems in the real mafia world."

My brain raced. I understood that in this state, if I took a step - she would shoot. But my words were the least I could do. "And you? Hm? What do you know about it? About my mafia world?"

"And is yours any different from any other?" "I made myself. Men will never kneel before you if you are that weak. You have to be strong. Not just decorate a gun and aim it at someone who did nothing to you."

"Did nothing?" The gun trembled in her grip. "As soon as you appeared, Alex seemed to stop noticing me at all. He only cared about one thing - how you are living?" "And is it my fault you're such a wife?" I took a step closer. Risk is what my life consists of. "Don't come any closer." "Do you really think you can threaten me?" I moved slowly like a snake. "I said stay where you are, or I will shoot!" She shrieked.

"You're just pathetic." I didn't listen to her. "Remember, I'm not the one who can easily forget such things. Put down the gun, or you might just become even more pathetic." "I'd rather become even more pathetic than give you anything that's mine. If you took Alex from me, then these children are mine." After her psychopathic speech, Lilith's finger pressed the trigger, and a loud shot rang out.

I felt a piercing pain erupting in my stomach as the bullet pierced my body, the world spinning around me. I gasped for breath, my vision blurred as I collapsed to the floor, the cold tiles hitting my back with a brutal impact. "God!" Lilith's squeal rang in my ears along with the dull thud of the gun hitting the floor. *"I... I didn't mean to... I..."

My hands instinctively reached for my stomach, feeling the warmth of blood pooling under my fingers, sticky and red. Panic engulfed me like it did on the day I went into labor when I tried to breathe, each breath feeling like the last. The room filled with chaos: voices screamed, footsteps rushed.

"Melissa!" A distant voice shouted, but the sound seemed muffled, as if I were underwater.

My mind raced, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Was this really happening? Or was I trapped in some nightmarish vision?

"Roman?" I murmured, my voice trembling. "Is this... a dream?"

"No, Melissa, it's real! Hold on, okay?" he said, his voice calm despite the situation.

As I lay there, caught between consciousness and the abyss, faces blurred, but I clung to the sound of their voices, the warmth of their hands.

The world around me dimmed, colors swirling into a smudged blot as I lay on the cold, hard floor. A deep pain ripped through my abdomen, a sharp reminder of the bullet that had struck me moments ago. I gasped, each breath becoming a struggle, as if the air had turned to thick fog.

Warmth continued to spread across my belly, soaking my fingers as I pressed them to the wound. Blood flowed relentlessly, each heartbeat pulsing in rhythm with the life I felt slipping away from me. A primal instinct fought against the encroaching darkness. I could feel my strength fading, the warmth that had once enveloped me now replaced by an overwhelming cold.

"Help..." I whispered, though the word barely escaped my dry lips, a ghost of sound swallowed by the oppressive silence. The room felt distant, as if I were on the other side of a glass wall, and my vision flickered. I struggled to focus, but shadows danced at the edges of my sight, teasing me with the promise of relief.

The heart that I still felt pounded loudly in my chest, a panicked thrum that echoed in my ears. I can't die like this. Not now, not when I still have so much to do.

The reality of mortality hung in the air like a suffocating blanket. The pain intensified, and with it came the realization that I was disappearing, slipping into the abyss.

"Melissa!" His voice pierced the fog again, a familiar sound that temporarily grounded me. But even this felt like a distant echo. "Roman." And somehow, even now, I felt hope. "Will you let my end be like this?" "Never."

My body felt heavy, as if an invisible force pressed down on it. I could feel my consciousness starting to blur, the edges of my vision fading into darkness. A final rush of adrenaline surged through me, but it was too late; my body was giving up. "Where are you? I can't see you." Letting out a trembling sigh, my strength drained away.

My head landed on something softer than the floor. Someone's knees? And then I saw him. So beautiful, as if everything I hated about him hadn't existed. I saw the man I had fallen in love with. "Can I lie to you one last time?" His palm rested on my cheek. So warm. "No, not the last." "I... it's so easy to hate you." I still lied. "And I never learned how to hate you." Our eyes met. In that moment, it was as if I wasn't falling into darkness. "Because I looked at you and saw only my krasavica."

"I have just one request." I squeezed out very quietly, feeling myself losing even more blood from the wound but also my vital essence. "Hate someone as much as you hate me, and then love even more. Don't be alone. And don't start hating her again, okay?" My eyelids began to close. "No, no, no, open your eyes, Mel!" I heard from a distance. "If you die now, I'll lie in the same grave with you, do you hear? I can't breathe without you." And I already can't take a single breath for you. For the darkness has swallowed me. That evening - I died.

To be continued...