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I snort. “I’ll do no such thing—”
Graham continues as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “You’ll send her back to Manhattan until the baby is born. If it’s yours, then you may support it financially. However, my daughter wishes that your involvement be minimal to none. It will be a bastard who won’t inherit—unless you wish to repeat the mistakes of your father. Your emotions and inheritance will be for the children you sire with Saoirse.”
“The child is mine. I won’t hear this—”
“Do you think the table will accept the Russian whore as your wife?” Graham sneers at me. “Do you honestly think they’ll countenance you setting Saoirse aside and accept this Anastasia Ivanova—”
“I sit at the head of the table!” I roar, my voice finally rising as my anger bubbles over, the tension of the past days reaching a breaking point. “Isay what my decisions will be—”
“That seat is earned, not owed.” Graham’s green eyes are dark with anger. “Your father sat there for years because heearnedthat spot, not just because his father did. Do you think Viktor Andreyevtookhim to punish him for his deceptions? Do you think we let him take your father out back and shoot him like a dog because we are all toothless wolves when faced with the might of the Bratva?” Graham shakes his head. “No, lad. We gave Viktor your father because he earned his end, too. He lost his way. Your brother should have been there to inherit, but he renounced the folly of his family before that—leaving you. Your position is tenuous, Liam McGregor. You see my daughter as a shackle, but if she is, she’s one that will bind you to that seat in the eyes of every man there.”
“Graham—”
“Fidelity is not a condition of this marriage, lad. Desire and passion don’t have to be found in the marriage bed. You want mistresses? Keep them—no man at the table will fault you for that, least of all me.” Graham chuckles wryly. “Just not in your own house, lad. You need to be discreet about these things. And not Anastasia.Thatis not negotiable. The Russian girl has to go back to Manhattan—”
“None of this matters.” I cut him off, unable to listen any longer. “This isn’t about me wanting to fuck around, Graham. This isn’t even about my lack of desire for Saoirse—under other circumstances, I could learn to be happy in this marriage. It’s about Ana, and only her. I love her, and I want her and our child. I made a mistake in signing that contract at all. I can’t make that mistake again and stand up and marry Saoirse. Iwon’t. I’ll break one vow, aye, but I’ll break it to avoid making another that I can’t keep. My decision is made, Graham. It won’t change.”
“You’re a fool like your father, then, and to the devil with both of you.” Graham’s hand slips into his pocket, and he pulls it back out in a fist. “Saoirse thought that might be your answer, though I insisted I’d make you see reason.” He opens his hand, and I see the diamond and emerald ring, glittering in the sunlight. “She took this off, saying you could put it back on her finger when the Russian girl was gone. But it’s clear you’re so enamored of her that you’re willing to give that girl a corpse to cry over instead of a breathing man to miss.” He shoves the ring back into his pocket. “You’re making a mistake, lad, and digging your own grave. This will have to come to the table, and you’ll be given cause to regret this decision.”
“I have every intention of telling the Kings my decision,” I say coolly. “And I will, once I’ve dealt with other matters and can call a meeting. But I can guarantee you, Graham, that I will not regret my decision. And itismade.”
I turn away from him then, stalking back down the cobblestone path. I hadn’t meant to have it out with Graham today, but something about having it all in the open makes me feel lighter, though I can still feel the gnawing dread in my stomach.
My bravado about the Kings was little more than a bluff. I know very well how they will feel about my new choice of bride, and I know that Graham holds more than half the table under his sway. But I intend to make it all but impossible for them to force me to change my mind—and to test their loyalty to me and my position.
To hold the Kings requires strength.My brother had said that to me, too, once. I’ll show them strength and resolve.
At the end of the day, it’s only Ana that matters.
Nothing else.
NINETEEN
ANA
The minute I wake up alone in Liam’s bed, I reach for my phone and call the person who, after the events of yesterday, I want to talk to more than anything else in the world.
Sofia.
It’s not overly early, and she picks up on the second ring. “Ana?” she asks, a little breathlessly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m—well—I don’t know. I—I needed to talk to you. I’m sorry if I interrupted something—”
“No, you’re fine. I was just doing what passes for a workout when you’re pregnant, which apparently still wears me out these days. What’s going on, Ana?”
Just the wordpregnantis enough to make me burst into tears.Hormones, I guess. Or stress.God knows I’ve been through enough of it in the past months. “Sofia, I—I’mpregnant.”
There’s a moment of stunned silence on the other end of the line. “Are—are you sure, Ana?” Sofia’s voice is gentle, and I can hear a rustling as if she’s sat down suddenly.
“I took twelve tests.” I laugh a choked sound through my tears. “They were all positive but one, and it had a very faint second line. So yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh, Ana.” Sofia is quiet for a moment. “Is it—is it Liam’s?”
“I don’t know,” I admit through another wave of sobs. I start crying harder, pulling my knees up to my chest under the blankets. “I—I—”
“Ana, breathe. We’ll figure this out, okay? Just breathe—whose else could it be? Alexandre?”
I nod, forgetting for a moment that Sofia isn’t here and can’t see me. “Yes,” I manage to choke out. “I feel so broken, Sofia. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t even want to believe it was possible until I saw the tests and—”
