Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
“I can see that.”
“Daddy, we’re soaking wet.”
“We’re going to get changed and then I’ll feed Sofia,” Alix said. “How is work?”
“Busy.”
Alix nodded and stepped back, giving him space. “We won’t keep you, will we, Sofia?”
“No, Daddy. Enjoy working.”
He chuckled and watched them leave, heading upstairs. His little girl already looked exhausted. There were a few times she stayed up to share meal times with him and Alix. Tonight wasn’t going to be one of those nights. Alix had kept her active and Sofia hadn’t stopped for her afternoon nap. It happened from time to time.
Stepping back into his office, he saw the time ticking by, knowing Alix was dealing with Sofia, and each second brought them closer to spending time with each other.
He ignored the last few emails in his inbox, and instead shut down his computer and stepped away from the desk. Dmitry was done for the day.
He had no reason to feel guilty. He was the fucking boss of the Balakin Bratva. He didn’t answer to anyone.
Making his way upstairs toward his tired daughter, he saw that Alix had already put her to bed. He checked the time to see it was already a little after eight in the evening. Dmitry opened the door just slightly and stepped inside, seeing his little girl seemed fast asleep. The night light was on. He moved closer, seeing her curled up with a bunny she had called Baby Bunny. Smiling down at her, he knew he would do everything in his power to protect his little girl.
“Night, Daddy,” Sofia said.
Dmitry chuckled and crouched down at the side of the bed. “You should be asleep, little girl.”
Sofia giggled. “You always say good night.”
“That I do. Good night, my sweet angel.” He pressed a kiss to her head.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Can Alix be my new mommy?”
“Do you like Alix?” he asked.
“I love Alix. She is … everything.”
He smiled. “Then, yes, she can be your new mommy.”
“Can I call her Mommy?”
“If you would like to.”
Sofia yawned and then nodded her head. “I want to, very much.”
He was pleased that she didn’t think about her real mother. He hoped Sofia had absolutely no memories of the woman.
“Good night, Sofia.”
“Good night, Daddy.”
He stepped out of the bedroom and made his way downstairs. Alix was already in the dining room when he got there.
“Did Sofia fall asleep?” Alix asked.
“She’s getting there,” he said.
“The little devil pretended, didn’t she?”
Dmitry smiled but he knew it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “She wanted to say good night to me.”
“She will always wait up for you, Dmitry.”
He nodded.
“What’s the matter?”
“Sofia … she asked if you could be her new mommy.”
“Wow,” Alix said.
“I told her yes. She might call you Mommy tomorrow,” Dmitry said, taking a seat. In the back of his mind, he knew that niggling feeling, and he didn’t fucking like it.
“Call me Mommy? Don’t you think that’s … wrong?”
“No.”
“She had a mother, Dmitry.”
“No, she didn’t. There was a woman who gave birth to her, that’s all. Other than being the basic vessel, she didn’t care for Sofia. She didn’t love Sofia. In the three years she spent with Sofia, she didn’t once spend time with her, and I know she did everything in her power to stay away. In the time you’ve been here, you’ve been a mother to her, Alix.”
“I just … I don’t want her to hate me.”
“I’ll deal with Sofia if she thinks that in years to come.”
“Okay. I do love Sofia,” Alix said. “I’ll take good care of her.”
Of that, he had no doubt.
“Dmitry, are you okay?” she asked.
He didn’t like how intuitive she was. He clenched his hands into a fist. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” she asked after he went silent.
He shouldn’t care. This shouldn’t matter.
“There’s a reason I asked you to marry me.”
“Because I was pregnant?”
“That’s not the only reason. You carry my child, yes, but I … I expect Angeloff and your ex to come. They are trying to take my place, and they will attempt to try when they believe me to be extremely vulnerable.”
Silence.
Dmitry stared at her. Alix didn’t have much of a poker face, but in that moment, he couldn’t read her.
“So, ugh,”—she stopped to clear her throat—“what you’re saying is our wedding is just a ruse to, erm, to find one of your men who betrayed you, including George?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t want to marry me?” Alix asked.
“I did want to marry you.” He went to reach out to her but Alix pulled away from him.
“But marrying me was just a happy … coincidence, right? You can keep your place by using the wedding to take them out. Turning our marriage into a bloodbath before it had even begun? Is that why you organized everything? I mean, I thought it was because you were excited about being married to me—”