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“That was good of you. Alejandro might have killed him otherwise.” Ruslan raises both of his brows, and we both laugh.
“He probably would have.”
“Do you at least like Santos?”
What a loaded question.
“I like certain aspects about him, sure. But you and I both know I don’t have the luxury of marrying a man I’m in love with. That’s not how this works.”
“I don’t want you marrying a man who you never imagined falling in love with, either.” Ruslan’s firm in his words. “So, can you see yourself caring for Santos, or is this simply political?”
I know what my brother wants me to say. He wants me to tell him that I can see something growing between Santos and me. “I’m not killing the idea that I couldn’t be happy with him, brother. Maybe I can, but the importance of this marriage is too great for me to throw it aside. I have Santos on a leash, which will completely crucify every bit of power his father has. We need that, and Alejandro needs it too.”
“Eset.” Ruslan shakes his head. “I want you to be happy.”
“So let me do what I think is best, and then I might be happy.” I swallow hard, trying not to get upset at my brother because I can’t bear to get schooled by him right now. “I have a very busy day, so I need to get going. I love you, and I’ll speak with you later.”
I don’t give Ruslan time to say anything before I leave his office. I say hello to Amelia and Karim briefly, and then Goran and I leave their penthouse. We make our way down the elevator, and then we’re downstairs when my phone begins ringing. I don’t even look at the caller ID before I answer.
“Hello?”
“Eset.” My mother’s voice rings through the other end of the line, and I’m completely blown away. Why in the fuck would she be calling me?
“What do you want?” I keep my tone stoic, without an ounce of emotion in my voice. She doesn’t deserve to get a rise out of me, that’s for damn sure.
“It would be nice if you came over to visit me.”
Come over to visit her after everything she’s done? “Why would I go visit a woman who destroyed half of my art studio? I had hours upon hours of hard work and time invested in those pieces, and you shredded them like an angry cat and threw my pottery across the attic. You destroyed it all without even one care in the world.”
“I only did it because I was angry. You’re my little girl, Eset. I need you.”
“And that gives you the right?” At this point, I’m screaming into the phone. For the most part, I can keep my emotions in check, but she’s pissing me the fuck off so badly right now. “You should’ve thought about how much you needed me when you were destroying my life’s work.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I was so angry at your brothers for being part of your father’s demise. After taking some time to think it all over, I know you couldn’t have been involved in it. You’re too pure to stoop to such a level.”
I’m laughing now because why not. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mother. I was very much a part of it, and I gladly took part. His atrocities were sickening, and the way he betrayed our family was… indescribable. How could you be okay with that?”
“We can work this out, Eset. I know we can.”
“Actually, I don’t think we need to work on anything.”
“I would like it if we could… I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, Eset. At least think about it.”
“I’ll think about it, but that’s all I’m going to do.” I hang up the phone on her. I can’t even process what she’s told me right now. After everything she’s done to my brothers and me, she wants me to be there for her now?
When in the fuck was she ever there for me when I needed her? Oh, that’s right… never.
Chapter Eleven
Santos
It’s just past eight in the morning, and I’m in my kitchen, fixing some scrambled eggs, bacon, and avocado toast. I already had a plate ready and made coffee as soon as I woke up. The eggs are almost done, and I discovered a trick a couple of years ago. Most people think I’m nuts by doing it, but if you add a little bit of water to your egg mixture while you’re whipping them up, it makes them fluffy and delicious. I like to put a bit of shredded cheddar cheese on my eggs, so I put some over the top and give the cheese time to melt on the eggs. I put my bacon slices on my plate, pop two pieces of toast into my toaster, and already have an avocado chopped up.
A lot of people make the avocado spread by using lemon and salt for the mixture, but I like to use a bit of honey to give mine a little element of sweetness. By the time the toast pops back up, my eggs are done, so I turn off the burner on the stove and plate my eggs. I grab a knife and rub the avocado mixture over the toast, and I’m good to go. All I have to do now is pour some orange juice into a glass, and then my breakfast is ready. After I get some orange juice, I head back out to my favorite spot—the veranda.
There’s nothing better than a good, hearty breakfast every morning. I glance down at my phone, letting my father know Eset had something pop up, so our trip to Switzerland has been delayed for at least a few days. I offered my services for anything he might need until then, and he told me that I should be focusing on doing whatever I can to make sure my marriage to Eset goes off without a hitch. He and I had a lengthy conversation about what Eset expects from me, but I didn’t tell him anything that would put her at risk. The fact of the matter is my father doesn’t need to know everything about our relationship, nor should he.
My phone begins ringing, and it’s Eset. The last time I spoke to her was yesterday when she said she’d be giving me a call in the morning and asked what time I wake up. I told her around this time would be good, and seeing as there’s an eight-hour time difference between Cancun and Grozny, it’s about evening time there.
