Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
These are valid points that I should probably pay more attention to, but I don’t.
It’s not because I trust Sasha. On the contrary, I do believe that she’s hiding more than her gender.
And because I have my suspicions about her, I have to keep her closer now more than ever.
“He’s doing this on purpose to fuck with our heads.” My brother’s voice reaches me as I get to the bottom of the stairs.
Yulia, who’s dressed like a queen in some dark red dress, lifts her nose higher in the air. “And you’re letting him get in your head. You will never win against Kirill if you keep rising to his provocations.”
“You’re right, Mother.” I stroll inside, a hand in my pocket and looking absolutely nonchalant. “He’ll never win. The rest of the sentence is redundant.”
My brother, who can’t control his temper to save his life, pushes off his seat, eyes blazing. “You think your games could affect me?”
They already are, fool.
I ignore him and stare at a composed Yulia. If she didn’t blink, one would think she was a statue.
“To what do I owe this morning’s meeting?” I ask.
“While it’s true that your father named you as the head of the family, that won’t be possible if we vote you out.” She pauses. “We’re here to do just that.”
“Are you sure, though? Konstantin here will only bring trouble to the family due to his tantrums—to put it mildly. He’s not leader material. You know it, he knows it, and everyone in your family knows it, too, considering the worried phone calls I’ve received since I landed here.”
“You fucking—” Konstantin lunges in my direction, but I swiftly grab him by the arm, turn him around, and twist it against his back.
“Down, boy.”
That only makes him thrash harder, but he doesn’t manage to free himself from my hold.
“As I was saying.” I meet Yulia’s stonelike gaze and throw her favorite son in her direction. “Not leader material.”
My idiot of a brother is about to attack me again, but Yulia stands and clutches his shoulder, keeping him in place.
“We’re voting you out,” she says easily, with no change in her expression, as if nothing of the previous show happened.
“How about a deal instead?” I approach and then stop a small distance away from them. “I will lead this family and give you larger cuts in return. If you disagree, I’ll just take everything. You have…twenty seconds to accept the offer.”
“You’re a fucking bastard with no code of honor whatsoever.” Konstantin steps forward. “You should’ve stayed in Russia while you could.”
“Ten seconds.”
“It’s two to one, Kirill. You’re voted out.” Yulia sounds as cold as ice.
I definitely got my tone and mannerisms from her. We’re two unemotional beings who can’t be perturbed by any change of events.
She hates it, though. I can always see the amount of loathing she has for the fact that I’m more like her than her darling Konstantin will ever be.
“Five.”
“Fuck you,” Konstantin tells me.
“Aaaand zero. Your time is up.”
I’m about to turn and leave when I spot a petite girl with a mane of blonde hair running down the stairs, her fluffy robe flying behind her.
She marches straight to Yulia and Konstantin. “Don’t I get a vote?”
“Why, of course.” Yulia stares at her like she’s a nuisance that shouldn’t be here.
And by here, I don’t mean this meeting, but the world in general.
Konstantin smiles victoriously. “It’s three to one now, brother.”
Karina looks out the window across the room as she says, “My vote goes for Kirill.”
“As I said, three to—” Konstantin cuts himself off and swings to face Karina. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Kirill.” She looks him right in the eye. “He has my vote.”
He grabs her by the arm and starts to shake her. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You know what? Your vote doesn’t count.”
“Mother just said it does.” She glares at him even as she winces.
I step between them, effectively breaking his hold on her. “Leave her alone.”
“Were you plotting this all along? Getting Karina? You didn’t even care about her before, and now, you’re acting all brotherly and shit? Wow. You’re such a fucking asshole.”
“What did he give you?” Yulia asks, barely managing to hide her irritation.
“Nothing. I just felt like it.” She lifts a shoulder, crosses her arms, and stares behind her.
At the top of the stairs, I catch a glimpse of a smiling Sasha giving Karina a thumbs-up.
Something my sister lifts another shoulder to and mutters, “Whatever.”
Then she climbs up the stairs.
When I glimpse back at Sasha, she’s already gone.
That little fucking—
I offer a fake smile to my mother and brother, then follow after Karina.
She actually tries to run away, but I catch up to her at the top of the stairs and grab her by the elbow.
“Why did you do that? Now, you’ll make an enemy out of them.”