Page 87 of Maddening Fixation

I closed my eyes.

I’d forgotten completely.

Egor laughed before I could answer.

“I knew it.”

“I didn’t forget,” I lied weakly.

“You absolutely forgot.”

“I’ve had... a complicated afternoon.”

His teasing softened.

“Everything okay?”

I hesitated.

There wasn’t a chance I could explain any of this over the phone.

Not about the trust fund and the conditions attached to it.

Not about the complications surrounding the inheritance or the resentment our relatives already harbored after learning they had been left with nothing.

“I’ll tell you another time.”

A brief silence followed.

Then he let it go, exactly as I’d expected he would.

“Fair enough.”

His cheerful tone returned.

“Well, everyone else is already here. We’re at the private meadows overlooking the lake. If you don’t show up soon, I’m stealing your share of the food.”

Despite everything weighing on me, I found myself laughing quietly.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I absolutely would.”

“You’ve become insufferable.”

“I’ve always been insufferable.”

That earned another reluctant smile. “Give me twenty minutes.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

The call ended.

For several seconds, I simply stared at the darkened screen.

Egor had become one of the few uncomplicated parts of my life.

Three months earlier, we’d met through mutual friends at a charity fundraiser. Unlike so many others, he had never seemed intimidated by my family’s reputation or overly fascinated by it. He treated me like an ordinary woman instead of the daughter of a Bratva leader.