Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
I knew they were watching me, but I had no clue it went this deep. Zoya’s fertility issues were only unearthed yesterday, so how the fuck does an organization with millions under its control know about them?
Dr. Hemway is my first guess.
He’ll be the first on my hitlist too if my theories stack up.
The rest of the insolent fools thinking I’m a puppet they can make dance on demand will soon follow.
I just need to unearth who they are first, which could be impossible without Arabella’s help.
Regretfully.
14
ZOYA
Mikhail slices his hand through the air, wordlessly advising the waitress that we’re not ready to order yet, before he returns his eyes to me.
I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve been frozen with shock. I doubt it is close to minutes, but it feels like a lifetime.
My first response to Mikhail’s confession is anger. Then it simmers to redemption. I didn’t technically do anything wrong—all that weight belongs on Andrik’s shoulders—but I still feel like I need to defend myself.
“I didn’t know he was married.” I swallow the burn hitting the back of my throat before correcting myself. “That he is married.”
Mikhail exhales deeply, grateful my shock has lifted enough for me to speak. “I know that. I just hope you know I was also unaware.” My brows furrow. Mercifully, he endeavors to eradicate my confusion without me needing to speak. “His nuptials are so recent that news about them only started circulating hours after I texted him to meet me at my penthouse. My message was delivered mere minutes after you left the bar with my keys.”
Even with my confusion as thick as a slab of concrete, his confession slithers through the hairline fractures several tedious minutes of drilling established. “You set us up?”
I don’t know whether to scoff in disbelief or anger when he bobs his chin.
“I knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself.”
“Am I meant to take that as a compliment?”
It takes everything I have to keep my hands balled in my napkin when he nods again. “You were good for him. He was different this morning. Happier. He was so fucking light on his feet he practically floated.”
“That probably has more to do with the fact he blew his load all over your sheets.” I’m a snarky bitch when I’m angry, and Mikhail is learning that the hard way. “More than once.”
When I leap to my feet and march to the front of the restaurant to fetch my coat, no longer hungry, Mikhail races to catch up with me. “Running won’t fix anything, Zoya.”
“What exactly am I meant to be fixing, Mikhail?”
If he says his brother’s infidelities, his left eye will be as shadowed by a bruise as his right.
I am startled by the first contender on his list. “You.” He loses me after that. “Him.” A hint of vulnerability dulls his bright eyes when he murmurs, “Me.” He wets his lips as I stuff my hands into my coat. “There’s more to his sudden wish to wed than he will ever let on, but I won’t find out what that is without your help. You are the first person to push Andrik off his life plan. You made him remember that he’s human.”
I like Mikhail. He’s the kindest stranger I’ve ever met, but only yesterday, he was precisely that—a stranger—so it isn’t my job to fix his family’s woes.
Furthermore, I have enough of my own family drama to contend with. I can’t accept more.
When I say that to Mikhail, he uses my wish for a healthy relationship with my sister to his advantage. “Then stay for your sister. It is barely eleven. She’s still got an hour before she can damage her insides with multiple forms of curdled cream.”
“And risk a possible run-in with Andrik?” When shock that I read his game plan so easily forms on his face, I let out a long-winded breath. “You shouldn’t wish that on your worst enemy, much less your brother.” A rebellion streak fires through me when I mumble, “I might ball my hand this time.”
Mikhail is clearly aware of his brother’s hankering for violence. “It’s worth a shot. It worked well for you last time.”
I “Ha!” in his face. “So well I was forced into adultery. Excuse me if I don’t rush to sign up for that again.”
I only get three steps away from him when his murmured comment stops me in my tracks. “Even if it will see him leaving his wife for you like he did this morning?” He waits for me to twist to face him before saying, “I only learned that he was married because his secretary attached his annulment paperwork to the quarterly business statements instead of the financial reports only ever compiled on Andrik’s laptop since he doesn’t trust anyone else with them.” He steps closer, his walk back to its cocky strut. “You rocked his world so fucking well that the first report he pulled up this morning was how to annul a marriage contract instead of the financials keeping his bank balance in the billions.”