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Emma’s reply is over-the-top indignant. “Is that what your spies tell you?” she asks.
“Don’t be like that, Emma,” I reply more harshly than I’d like. “I’ve seen the looks you two share. And the inside jokes, the whispers, and the touching …”
“What do you expect?” She stops to gesture wildly with her hands. “We spend time together! He’s the only person my age. Everyone here is old! We’re just friends.”
“No, you’re not,” I reply. “I know flirting when I see it.”
Glaring, she crosses her arms over her chest. But Emma has made fewer attempts to run away, and Dad isn’t the only reason she’s staying. I don’t back down, and this time, I win the standoff.
Emma sighs. “Okay, we do spend a lot of time together. More than I thought we would. He’s cute and kinda badass at the same time.”
I steel my gaze and reply sternly, “Emma, he isn’t like the guys you go to school with … he’s dangerous.”
She sighs, letting out a long breath. “Your baby daddy is no different.”
I want desperately to tell Emma the truth about the stolen money, but I know that if I do, it’ll just lead to her questioning me more. Once again, I realize that my baby sister is growing up, and it’ll be harder to guide her while she’s watching me not do as I say.
It makes me miss Mom more than ever. Even though she was never around, at least I got to experience what it was like to have a mom for a little while. No matter how much Eva dotes on Emma, she’s not our mother.
I glance up to the heavens for strength. “Emma, it’s not the same.”
“You’renot the same.” She narrows her eyes. “You’ll only ever be a wannabe. They talk about you, you know. They say things behind your back. You’re not as hot as you think.”
The words sting. I thought I had made an impression. I thought they had accepted me. Were they faking it again at my baby shower? It didn’t seem so, but I recall Andrei’s morose look as he stood by the wall, watching everyone.
Maybe they had to act happy for his fake wife’s sake, or else.
Emma’s eyes widen with concern when she realizes how deeply her words cut.
“Paige, you’re just overdoing it. People like you, especially Eva and Sonya. Things will be okay.”
No, it won’t be okay unless I do something. Dad is a lost cause, but Emma is not. And we still have a chance. Before she can run off again, I grab her arm tightly and spin her around.
“Tell me. Have you done anything with Viktor?” I demand. “Has he touched you?”
Emma blushes scarlet. “We’ve only kissed. I swear it. It was one time, and it won’t happen again.”
I don’t believe her. But I don’t get a chance to press her.
At that moment, Natasha emerges from the front door dressed in tight black running gear. Emma darts over to her eagerly, and Natasha gifts Emma with one of her rare and elusive smiles. Before I can call Emma back, they sprint down the drive, heading for the open gate.
I sigh, preferring Emma with Natasha rather than Viktor.
I caress my stomach, wondering if I’m even ready for motherhood. I’m definitely not ready to deal with a teenager.
“I hope life won’t be as complicated when you’re born,” I sigh. “But it probably will be—if not more.”
The front door opens again, and smiling, Eva beckons me inside for tea. I hope Andrei will be a good father, but how? How can he teach our child to be a good person in between crooked business deals and ordering hits? Andrei can be kind, but his world will never let him go completely.
Emma’s right. This place has changed me.
Chapter 23
Paige
I still can’t sleep. I start the evening curled up against Andrei, content and secure in his arms. He also wants our baby and is trying hard to keep his promise to be a good father. The bed is cozy, and I feel loved, though he hasn’t said the word. He shares more with me now, but I’m keeping things from him.
Maybe it’s that little wedge—the little distance between us—that sometime in the night makes the bad dreams start again. Instead of Andrei’s arms, the cage surrounds me in my dreams, and I have to tell myself it’s not there before I go mad.
