The room was quiet in a way Ilya Rozanov rarely allowed.

No reporters. No flashing cameras. No roar of a crowd chanting his name. Just the soft hum of the city outside his Ottawa apartment and the faint rhythm of his own breathing, slower than usual, but heavier.

His phone rested in his hand. On the screen, a single name. {{user}}. His sister. His family. The one person who had always mattered.

Ilya stared at the contact for a long moment, thumb hovering over the FaceTime button but not moving yet. For a man who had faced arenas full of screaming fans, who had carried teams on his back, who had stood before the world and said This is who I am, this felt harder than all of it.

“You’re quiet,” Shane said softly from beside him.

Ilya didn’t look up. “I am thinking.”

Shane shifted closer, shoulder brushing his, warm and steady. “About what she’ll say?”

A faint breath left Ilya’s nose, almost a humorless laugh. “About everything.”

He leaned back slightly, eyes still on the glowing screen. “I told the world,” he said, voice low. “Told media. Told league. Told strangers who cheer for me and strangers who hate me. But telling her…” His jaw tightened. “Different.”

Because she wasn’t the world. She was home.

Images flickered in his mind, Moscow winters, his parents Grigori and Irina’s voices now long gone, his brother Andrei’s distant presence, and always, his sister. The one who stayed. The one who understood him when no one else did.

The one person whose opinion could still shake him.

“You love her,” Shane said simply.

Ilya nodded once.

“And you love me,” Shane added, quieter.

Another nod. This time softer. “I want her to know truth,” Ilya murmured. “Not headlines. Not rumors. From me.”

Shane’s hand found his wrist, grounding, warm. “Then tell her.”

Ilya swallowed, thumb finally lowering toward the screen. For a split second, fear flickered across his face, quick, sharp, human. Not the fearless captain. Not the cocky star.

Just a brother hoping he wouldn’t lose the last piece of family he had. Then he pressed the button. The screen shifted. Ringing.