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I shook my head and walked around him. “This is your fault.”
“Excuse me?”
“He chose her because ofyou. But he and I… There was no ulterior motive. When he met me, he didn’t know who I was. What we have—what wehad—it’s real.”
“A man like Ilarion can’t truly love, Taylor. He would have gotten bored with you eventually. He’ll get bored with Celine, too. I tried to make her see that, but—
“She’s in love with him, too!” I laughed crazily. The sound was unhinged, even to my own ears. “Isn’t it ironic that the man you betrayed is the same man that both your daughters fell for?”
“You’re tired,” Dad said. “You need to sleep.”
“I’m never going to stop loving him, Dad. Does that burn you up inside? Does it make you hate me?”
He looked at me then away, his eyes clouding with sadness. “It just makes me sad. You deserve to love a man who can give you the same love in return. For Ilarion Zakharov, his Bratva, his empire, his legacy will always come first. He will throw you to the wolves before he sacrifices a single iota of what he’s built.”
* * *
“I’m serious.” I lean against the pane of my window as I face Dad on the bed. “Ihavemoved on from him. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
He sighs. “I have so many things to worry about that I can’t possibly keep them all straight. But at least I get to see Celine again. That’s something.”
“What do you think she’ll be like now?” I ask.
“Different in some ways,” he says vaguely. “The same in others.”
“Gee, that’s helpful. Thanks.”
“Has he…talked about her much?”
I think about that phone call from her that he declined. I might have been able to discern something of their relationship if he had just picked up the call. But as it stands, I’m just as in the dark as Dad seems to be.
“He’s great with Adam,” he says absentmindedly, but he doesn’t seem angry about it. “That’s a good thing. You should encourage that.”
“What are you talking about? Cee can’t suspect anything.”
“It’s more than that.” Dad rubs the bridge of his nose. “If Ilarion genuinely loves his son…you have no idea how much power that holds over him. How much power Adam holds over him.” He clears his throat and stands up straighter. “You need to allow Ilarion to name him heir.”
I scoff. “We are not having this discussion. I said no, and I’m not changing my decision.”
He slowly nods. “You’ve always been stubborn like that.”
“I wonder where I get that from.”
He laughs sadly. “That’s exactly what frightens me the most. It scares me to watch you make the same mistakes I made, Little Bird. You’re more like me than either one of us realized.”
I pause. Damn it all, he’s right.
I’ve become my father.
And I’m suddenly realizing that, like Dad, going back with Ilarion just might be my death sentence.
21
ILARION
Zakharov House is asleep when we arrive.
I planned it that way on purpose. I wanted to make sure that Adam and Taylor were settled in and I prepared Celine properly before I told her that they were here.
