She flops down onto the seat opposite me, sets her purse on the table, folds her arms across her chest, and glares at me. “Spit it out,” she demands.
“What?” I say, acting as confused as I can manage.
She rolls her eyes with extra dramatics. “Oh, come on, Simon. Don’t play these games with me. You’ve been acting so weird since the park. I know you’re hiding something. Now, do I need to start searching the penthouse, or are you going to tell me?” She moves to stand up, and my heart jolts.
“Sit,” I say quickly, a flicker of panic in my voice.
This brings a smile to her face. She knows she has me cornered.
I groan, loudly this time, and stretch my neck backward as I mull over all the ways I can try to avoid the truth of what’s going on. But this is Raya. Raya, who reads me like a book and sees straight through me.
“Fine,” I huff.
She raises her brows.
“At the park. The woman you saw… it was Selene…”
I wait for comprehension to shine in her eyes. It’s instant.
“Selene, Selene. As intheSelene?” she stammers.
I nod. “The one and only. But wait… it gets better. She was there with twins. Twins who are five years old and look exactly like me,” I say quietly.
“Noooo,” she gasps. “Are you serious! Did you talk to her? Did she deny it? Did she…”
“She’s here, in the penthouse. She didn’t deny it. They are my kids. A boy and a girl. They are so fucking incredible,” my voice chokes a little, and I laugh. “I’m a father.”
Raya sits in stunned silence for a moment, staring at me with her mouth dropped open. “Simon, this is…”
“Yeah, I know. It’s a lot. That’s why I’ve been so quiet and ignoring your messages. How do I tell you that over the phone?”
“You should never have kept this from us,” she huffs.
“The thing is that’s not the whole story…”
I proceed to tell Raya everything. Who Selene is, who her father is. That I don’t quite know what she is running from, but she is running. That there is danger, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
“You thought she was a spy, though,” Raya mutters quietly. “Do you have evidence now to prove otherwise?”
“No, but I need to wait and learn more before I condemn her to that accusation.”
“Simon, this isn’t right.If she is a spy…” She pauses. “We need to talk to the others. Matvei, Adrian, they all need to know what’s going on.”
“No, absolutely not. You know how they will treat her. I won’t let…”
“Simon, you have to. If she is a spy and her being here puts everyone in danger… they at least have a right to understand the potential of that danger and prepare for it. You can’t keep her hidden. Besides, you havechildren.Family. Family should meet family,” she says sternly. “At least the whole family can keep an eye on things, both with keeping her and the children safe, and with making sure she isn’t up to anything… mischievous.”
I sigh again, closing my eyes for a moment. “Dammit, Raya.”
“You know I’m right,” she says.
“I know,” I answer begrudgingly. “Fine.”
“Excellent. Dinner is on Sunday as usual. You missed the last one. I guess you will be bringing some guests to this one and…”
“Don’t tell them,” I blurt out.
“Oh?”
