Chapter 71

VALERIA’S POV Once they were gone, an eerie silence settled between us. Magnar didn’t move, didn’t speak. He just stood there, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. “What? No ‘you should have let them hit you’ speech?” He let out a low, humorless chuckle. “No. I think you handled yourself just fine.” I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. Magnar never said anything without a reason. “Then why are you still here?” He exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “I saw you leaving Dimitri’s office earlier. I overheard some things.” His gaze locked onto mine, intense and unreadable. “We need to talk.” Something about the way he said it made my pulse quicken. Magnar always had an agenda. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear whatever this was. “No, we don’t,” I said firmly, turning to leave. “Valeria, wait,” he called after me, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t want to. Did he really think everything was normal now? That we could just talk like none of this