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“But then I met Sofia,” I told her mother. “And it no longer became about ambitions or bloodlines or my mentor’s desire for ultimate power. There was only her and how much I love her.”
“Yet it was also still about Oleksandr,” Victoria argued. “You strived to get Sofia pregnant—as Oleksandr wanted. You didn’t tell her about her biological family. You didn’t admit to anything. Whether you do, in fact, love my daughter is still to be determined because, from your actions alone, they don’t speak of an undying love. Yesterday, I wouldn’t have doubted your love for her, but now I know better. Sofia might be special to you, but not enough. You were still working on your agenda. Or rather, Oleksandr’s.”
“It’s all my fault,” Yulia muttered, more to herself than anyone else in the room. “If I’d just kept my mouth shut when I married Volodymyr, my father never would have known she existed. She would have remained safe from their scheming. God, she could have met some nice man who would have loved her as she deserves, and none of this would have ever been an issue.”
Just thinking of Sofia with anyone other than me spiked my blood with jealousy. “No one will ever love her as much as I do. Not one goddamn man in this world will cherish and adore her like me.”
They all looked at me for a few seconds before bursting into loud, humorless laughter. Every one of them, with the exception of Olena. “I believe you, Zakhar,” she said softly, causing the others to roll their eyes at her. “But you are going to have to prove yourself to everyone, especially Sofia.”
“How?” I rasped out, begging her with my eyes to help me. “Please, Olena. I’m at a loss here. I broke something precious, and I have no idea how to put it back together.” Tears stung my eyes, and I unashamedly let them fall. “When I came to live with you, that was the first time I knew what having a family meant. But it wasn’t until Sofia loved me that I understood how that emotion truly felt. She…she doesn’t even hate me right now. There is just indifference, and that is a million times worse. Because if she hated me, at least I would know she still felt something for me.”
“Give her time to heal,” the only mother I’d ever known urged, her touch soft and kind when she grasped my hand. “She’s in shock. Finding out about us, about your scheme with Oleksandr, nearly losing the baby. All of that is too much to take in for anyone.”
“It is a lot for anyone to take in,” Victoria agreed. “But Sofia is stronger than that. She’s a fighter. This…” She swallowed roughly. “This is not my Sofia. The hurt goes too deep. Raven and I have decided that Sofia will return to Creswell Springs with her as soon as the doctor clears her for travel. Time and distance from here are what she really needs.”
“What?” I exploded. “No!”
“Yes,” Victoria bit out. “The wedding is off. You two are no longer together, and you have no say in the matter. Be thankful I’m even telling you where she will be.”
I scrambled for something to use to hold on to, to keep her in New York, but I only had one thing I could use. “She’s pregnant with my child!”
“Raven will keep me updated on Sofia’s progress, and I, in turn, will share the details with you,” Victoria said with a shrug. “When her due date approaches, I will join them. If you don’t piss me off any more than I already am between now and then, I might find the will to care enough and share photos of my grandchild’s birth with you.”
“And what does Sofia say about all of this?” I gritted out.
“I haven’t told her yet, but I’m sure she will agree that it is in everyone’s best interest—especially hers and the baby’s—to put as much distance as possible between the two of you.”
“You’re not taking my woman and unborn child away from me!” I snarled. “Doing this makes you no better than Oleksandr and what he forced Yulia to do when she discovered she was pregnant. You are separating a parent from his child.”
Victoria blanched, but she quickly squared her shoulders, her voice turning to pure ice. “I disagree. According to more than one person in this room, Oleksandr would have killed his own child and grandchild for his own gain. I am merely puttingmychild as far away from the person who has hurt her the most in this world, so her heart will have time to heal while she grows and nurtures the baby she carries within her.”
“Sofia just told me herself that we could share custody of the baby.”
“And that is her right to decide,” Victoria said with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “But the birth is still many months away. The two of you can revisit the custodial agreement when the baby is born. Until then, I suggest you return with Oleksandr to wherever the fuck you came from and leave Sofia alone.”
“I will never leave her!” I roared.
Victoria jerked away from her sister’s hold and got in my face. “Listen to me carefully, Morozov. My baby girl isn’t herself right now. Because of you. She nearly lost my grandchild.Because of you. The only thing that is keeping me from slitting your throat right here in this room and letting your surrogate mother and sister watch you bleed out at my feet, is that you are the father of my grandchild. As badly as I want to end your life for hurting my daughter, it is for her sake that I will allow you to continue to breathe. Until she’s herself again, and can cognitively make her own choices, I will refrain from ending your pathetic life.”
It was there in those brown depths, the truth that she would do exactly as she had threatened. I didn’t doubt for a single moment that she would have done just that. Slit my throat and possibly even danced in the pool of my blood. Perhaps even taken a vial of it back to Sofia as a souvenir.
This woman was a hundred times stronger and braver than Yulia. It made me thankful she was the one who had raised Sofia. But there was only so much nurturing could provide. Right then, it was Yulia’s weaker biology that was coursing through Sofia, making her fragile in light of what had happened.
