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I wish my brother was here. Finally, I know exactly what Maksim went through all those years ago when he and Cyrille lost their first baby. That ripe, rotten hopelessness. The sense that no matter how powerful you might be, some things are just beyond your control.
Including the beautiful, unknowable woman who’s carrying your child.
“What about you?” he asks.
I look up and blink the memories away. “What?”
“Is it taking a toll on you?”
I clench my jaw. “I’m fine.”
Konstantin doesn’t look convinced, but he knows better than to persist with this line of questioning. “Okay, listen: I’m not sure you have the bandwidth for something like this right now, but Anatoly from accounting gave me a call this morning. He said he tried to contact you a few times but you weren’t picking up.”
“I was with Paige,” I say dismissively. “What did he want?”
“He wanted to ask if there was a reason you were funneling off money into a separate bank account through the joint account you have with Paige.”
“I haven’t been…” The realization sets in like cold water down my spine. I stand, bones stiff, anger solidifying in my veins. “Excuse me. I have to go talk to my wife.”
He winces. “Go easy on her,” he calls. In a whisper I’m not meant to hear, he adds, “For my sake, if nothing else.”
* * *
Paige is on the sofa in front of the TV when I walk in. Rada is sitting right next to her, the two of them watching some 90s sitcom with a braying laugh track that grates on my raw nerves.
When she sees me, Rada jumps to her feet and flushes with color. “Sorry, sir. I… I’ll just be going.”
She scurries out of the room and I turn to Paige. “Good to know I pay her to put her feet up.”
Paige frowns. “You pay her to take care of me. Today, I was lonely. I needed a friend. Lay off her.”
I came here for a purpose, but I feel a little jolt of unease when she says the word ‘lonely.’ But I force myself to focus. “Why have you been siphoning off money into a separate bank account?”
She stiffens, but tries to remain casual. To her credit, she doesn’t deny it. “Because the other account is joint.”
“I’m not following.”
She gets to her feet slowly. She’s wearing a beautiful silk kimono that hugs her body tightly and highlights her cleavage.
Fuckingfocus, Misha.
“It’s a joint account,” she repeats. “You’re the main account holder. If something were to change between us, you could withdraw all the funds. You could freeze the account. You have all the control, and I wouldn’t have any access to my own money.”
“What makes you think something might change between us?” I snarl.
She shrugs weakly. “I was with Anthony for eight whole years. I thought I was married to him for six. We bought a house together, started a business together, built a life together… and in a matter of moments, all of it disappeared on me. Including him.”
“I don’t appreciate being compared to thatmudak.”
“I’m not—that’s not what I’m—” She takes a deep breath. “I’m not comparing you to Anthony. I’m comparing me to… past me. I may have been a fool back then, Misha, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from my mistakes. I need my own money, independent of any man. I need to know that if you decide to get rid of me, that I’ll have something of my own to fall back on.”
She folds her hands together nervously, tangling and untangling her fingers.
She’s expecting anger on my part. Indignation. Suspicion. Maybe that’s why she stands her ground, close enough that I can feel each breath that leaves her lips.
“We may look like a married couple to the rest of the world. But, let’s face it, you and me—this was and is a business proposition. And those come to an end the moment they stop being profitable.”
I don’t know how to ease her mind. I don’t know how to comfort her. That was never my strong suit. So instead, I offer her the only thing I can.
