A Calculated Alliance

~Dorian~

"What do you mean Katerina and I are getting engaged?"

The words fly out before I can stop them, echoing through the sterile hospital room. My voice bounces off the walls, sharp, raw — like the disbelief clawing at my throat.

My father doesn’t flinch. He just sits there, looking infuriatingly calm — dressed in a clean hospital gown, his posture straight for the first time in months. His r