Page 63 of Fractured Empire

Bastian takes his role as tour guide quite seriously, mapping out the best way to show me around his childhood home. We start with the lowest level, which is easily the most surprising and exciting. There’s an indoor, in-ground pool room that we can only see through the glass door since it remains locked unless Leon is there to open it. A safety measure that I highly appreciate.

There’s also a gym that “Daddy uses” and a laser tag room that Leo and Bastian both insist that we play in later on. That’s an activity that they want to do with their father present, claiming that you need an even number to play in teams. Given that I’ve never played the game in my life, I would also appreciate Leon showing me how to work the equipment before I embarrass myself spectacularly in front of the kids.

The basement is only the first of many places the boys show me, taking me from floor to floor, room to room. I know within ten minutes of being shown around that I’m going to get lost a few times before I can commit the layout to memory. There’s several living rooms, offices, bedrooms, and closet spaces that aren’t even in use. Expectedly, the tour gets a little awkward when it comes to one particular wing of the house.

“These were her rooms.” Bastian doesn’t take me down the hall, stopping as soon as two doors are visible from the end of it. He looks stiff and uncomfortable, shifting on his feet and waiting for me to reply.

“Mama’s rooms,” Leo clarifies, his pale eyebrows scrunching in. “No go in.”

“Oh, of course,” I reply immediately. “I don’t need to go in them.”

“He means we can’t go in,” Bastian tells me, shaking his head slowly. “She didn’t like it.”

“I understand,” I reply, swallowing hard. From my understanding, their mother was sick for a long time. She probably kept her rooms as her space, and her space alone. She likely needed somewhere she could feel sick, or hide her symptoms without worrying about scaring the kids. “We don’t need to look here any further. Do you have any other rooms you want to show me?”

“Can we show pway room again?” Leo asks, looking excited by the possibility. He purses his lips together as if he’s pondering all of the fun that could be had in what’s obviously his favorite room. Since they showed me the space when I came for my interview, they haven’t shown it to me yet today.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I agree, humming as if deep in thought. “I think we could play with your race track again, don’t you? Maybe my car will win this time.”

Leo giggles mischievously. “My car win!”

“Hmmm, I don’t know. Bastian might beat the both of us. Should we go find out?”

Of course, I’m met with an enthusiastic yes. Surprisingly, it comes from both boys. Bastian has blinked himself out of whatever emotion captured him when faced with his mother’s old domain. The feeling doesn’t seem to linger as genuine excitement fills his expression. He’s a shy boy, not quick to warm up, but he’s still as fun-loving and youthful as Leo when given the chance to show it.

The two of them so effortlessly warm my heart, and I can see how truly easy to love they are.

In the end, my chosen race cars lose every single race. Bastian and Leo take turns in victory, cheering and laughing for each other every single time, and patting my arms or back in a show of good sportsmanship every time I lose unceremoniously. I don’t think their track likes me very much, but it’s okay with me. Watching them win is just as fun as it would be to win myself.

Racing quickly turns into playing with their larger remote cars, and then into being hungry from hours of playing and showing me around the house. Lunch is a much less intense affair, with no need for cooking. We all share leftover pieces of our pizza from last night, and nap time comes faster than I might have liked.

Time goes by quickly with them, so much so that I almost wish it would slow down. I know that I have all the time in the world, that I’m not going anywhere any time soon…but I want to savor it all the same.

Just as the thought crosses my mind, my phone buzzes in my back pocket.

Leon

I’m going to be more than a few hours, I’m sorry. You can call one of my siblings if you need back up. Cassio and Apollo would be the fastest options. They’re not busy and have access to the plane.

My lips shift, not down, but up.

Not only is he being thoughtful, and sorry for taking longer than expected, but I get more time to bond with his lovely children.

Katya

I’ve got this. Don’t be sorry. We’ll miss you, but we’re having fun. See you tonight. :)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Leon

Afew hours turns into an entire day, and I’m fucking pissed. There are no words to describe how infuriating it is when people can’t do simple tasks and your day is flipped on its head because of it.

I wanted to have a simple day, even leaving the house before sunrise to make things move along more quickly. I figured I would be home by a couple hours after lunch at the latest. Because let’s face it, a few hours of work is never truly a few hours—especially when you have employees and multiple streams of revenue to check in on. But half a day turning into not being home to put my kids to sleep? It’s rage-inducing.

I’m expecting the house to be dead silent when I come in, locking the front door behind me. To my surprise, it’s only my children who have seen themselves to bed. I find Katya in the kitchen when I make my way there to get a drink. Her back is to the entrance of the room as she sits at the counter on her laptop, her hair pulled back into a wavy ponytail. She’s wearing what must be a pajama set, the tiny, fuzzy shorts barely covering the top of her thighs, and the matching pink tank top cropped above her bellybutton.

She’s showing more skin than I’ve seen from her yet, and Jesus Christ I need to stop looking.