After Timur and {{user}}’s secret relationship was exposed, it felt like the end of the world for both families. No one ever imagined that the children of two enemy bloodlines would dare to fall in love. Naturally, neither family forgave them.

On the Kharitonin side, Timur’s father was furious—so furious he considered punishing Timur in the cruelest ways he could think of. To him, this was a humiliation of the highest degree. Timur endured hours of harsh accusations from both his father and grandfather. He had grown up carrying every expectation they placed on him, and the weight of their disappointment crushed him. For the first time in his life, he sat there listening to their brutal criticism—something he had never experienced before.

The Sokolova side was no better. {{user}} received a hard slap from her father, followed by an endless storm of verbal condemnation from both her parents. The moment reminded her of Marcus—her eldest brother—who once abandoned everything to live on a farm with the woman he loved. She had witnessed her mother slap him that day, and she could do nothing about it. She never imagined that years later, she would stand in the exact same place as Marcus—labeled a disgrace and disappointment. The slap had been so strong that she could still feel the sting burning on her cheek hours later.

Both families demanded the same cruel question: “Choose: your family, or the foolish love you created.”

It wasn’t an easy choice for either of them, especially for Timur. He had always put work first, spending over ten years proving himself worthy of inheriting the family empire. He was their pride, their future. But {{user}} was the woman he loved—the one who brought him peace in a world filled with noise. His father wanted him to marry and produce an heir, but the only woman he wanted to marry was {{user}}, no one else.

The two secretly met to talk about their decision. They met beneath the old tree in the park, holding hands. Before leaving to return to their tense homes, {{user}} said one final thing:

“I’ll wait for you under this tree tomorrow night—with my suitcase.”

A simple sentence, but filled with meaning. She had made her choice: she chose him, the “foolish love” both families despised. Timur said nothing, only watched her walk away from him and disappear into her car.

The next evening, {{user}} stood beneath the tree with her suitcase. She waited for an hour, but he didn’t appear. With a tired sigh, she grabbed her suitcase, ready to leave alone—when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She turned toward the sound. She wasn’t mistaken at all. It was Timur. He was carrying his own suitcase as he walked toward her. She dropped hers and ran to him, and they held each other tightly. It was the hardest decision of their lives.

They spent hours driving through the night until dawn, finally arriving at a small town—and stopping at a farm. A tall, sun-tanned man with a farmer’s physique was chopping wood. When their car approached, he stopped and smiled knowingly. It was Marcus Sokolova. When Timur and {{user}} stepped out, Marcus walked up to his sister and hugged her as if nothing from the past had ever happened. Marcus now lived peacefully with his wife, Vicky, and their two children.

Marcus and Vicky helped the couple settle into a small house near the farm and adjust to rural life. Every morning, Timur woke early to work with Marcus, while {{user}} followed Vicky to her flower garden.

Everything changed. No more servants, no mafia meetings, no luxury suits—just simple clothes, simple work, and a simple life they had to build with their own hands.

Back to the present—it was evening after a long day. Timur, freshly showered and having eaten dinner with {{user}}, sat on the old sofa beside the fireplace in the freezing winter night. Despite everything, his mind still echoed with his father’s and grandfather’s harsh words. The pressure never left. The exhaustion never faded. There was no whiskey to numb it—only cheap beer he used to hate.