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So I grin at him. “What does it look like I’m doing? Looking at how handsome I am while waiting for my father.”
“Igor left.”
“Oh, he did? I didn’t know that since, you know, I was talking to Rai.”
He steps in and grabs me by the collar of my shirt. “Hurt a hair on her head and I will rip your heart out.”
I push him away, still smiling. “I see you’re still loyal to the Sokolovs—nice. But you don’t have to threaten me. I intend to cooperate with her.”
He narrows his ghostly eyes. “Cooperate how?”
It’s my turn to get in his face. “It’s a husband-and-wife matter. Stay out of it.”
I don’t know why I say that. Since I’m on a mission to be everyone’s favorite, I don’t want to provoke Vladimir. However, the way she was always close to him—and apparently, still is—pisses me off to no end.
Ask me why it pisses me off. Go ahead.
The answer is, I have no fucking clue, which is even more infuriating.
I step past Vladimir to leave when he says, “She’s not your wife yet.”
Stopping, I meet his flat gaze with mine. “She will be.”
I feel the words instead of just saying them, because there’s no doubt in my mind that she will be my wife. It’s not even completely because of the plan.
Rai will fall to her knees in front of me.
Just like everyone else will.
7
Rai
Concentration escapes me for the rest of the day at work. I can’t get my mind to focus no matter how much I try. I even go as far as taking breaks to meditate, but that doesn’t work either.
So I sit in my office, head lying back on the top of my leather chair as I stare at the library across from me.
Despite having the worst college experience, where I had to attend most classes online, I got my degree in business management. I didn’t need Dedushka’s last name to accomplish that. I did it on my own and with my own effort.
It took me so much to come this far, and yet I’m still expected to take a husband. Either that or Anastasia will pay the price. Either that or this position will eventually be snatched away from me.
I’m not a fool. I know I only rank so high because Granduncle is in power. The moment he’s gone, I’ll be kicked out or demoted, and I can’t do anything about it because of my damn gender.
My phone vibrates, and I retrieve it. An automatic smile paints my lips when I see the name flashing on the video call. She’s exactly what I need under the circumstances.
I straighten and answer with a smile. The exact replica of my face greets me. Well, almost exact. My identical twin sister has her hair loose to her shoulders, and she has pink lipstick on like the girly girl she is.
“Hey, Rei.”
“Hi, Rai! Look who wants to say hello to his aunty.” The screen shakes a little before she steadies it again, holding a tiny human on her lap.
He has his mom’s light hair, but his eyes are a deep forest green like his father’s.
Reina smiles at him. “Say hi, Gareth.”
My heart squeezes at the way she named him after Dad. It’s like he gets to live another life after his sudden and heartbreaking death.
“Hi, Aunty.” He grins, showing his baby teeth, and makes a kissing sound. “Miss you!”
“Hear the boy?” Reina scowls at the camera. “It’s been exactly six weeks since we last saw you.”
“You’re counting?”
“Damn right I’m counting. You’re my only family, Rai.”
“No, I’m not. You have Asher and Gareth. Also, Asher’s father treats you like his daughter.”
“None of them are my twin sister.”
“You know I can’t meet you often, Rei. It’s for you and your family’s security.”
They’re already using Anastasia against me, and while I can’t send her away because of who her father is, I can at least save Reina.
No one but Granduncle and Vlad knows she exists. Wait, no—Kyle helped me in saving her from Ivan’s coup seven years ago, and therefore, he’s well aware of her.
Shit. That’s one more reason to keep Reina as far away as possible.
I was feeling safe concerning her because Sergei would never hurt Dedushka’s other granddaughter, but Kyle is another story. He won’t hesitate to use every weapon in his arsenal.
“I know.” She releases a breath, stroking Gareth’s hair as he runs a car toy along her thigh. “Sometimes I wish I took your place.”
“Don’t say that. We both ended up where we should’ve.”
“Did we, though? Maybe it would’ve been different if I were the one who went to Grandpa’s side.”
Mom and Dad separated when we were born because Dedushka didn’t approve of her union with an American, even though he was a rich businessman.
Our parents decided to split my twin sister and me. Dad took me, and my birth name was Reina Ellis. Mom took my sister, whose birth name was Rai Sokolov.
