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“I’ve heard nothing from your sister, Andrei,” she finally offers. “I know Sonya is why you agreed to this. And I apologize for deceiving you. But I’m willing to negotiate a truce until after Sonya’s wedding.”
“How gracious of you.”
“Sonya knows nothing about the accounts,” Talia answers. “But I do. The war is currently in your favor because she’s a scared little girl playing at pakhan with a boy wearing his father’s suit. You agree to a truce with me now, and maybe you can save your sister from a wedding she doesn’t want.”
“That isn’t a truce, Talia,” I snarl. “That’s a fucking demand.”
“A truce doesn’t meanIsurrender, Andrei.” She leans forward and folds her fingers neatly on the table. “Do Anatoli Popov, Radomil Sorokin, and the rest of them know who your wifereallyis? Do they know who her father was?”
“Leave my wife out of this,” I warn her.
“You know damn well I can’t,” she replies coldly. “Not after you put her on the board. Agree to the truce, or I turn this war into a bloodbath in a heartbeat. Those are my terms to the truce. Do you agree?”
“So long as you leave Paige out of this,” I reply. “I will agree to it. A truce until after Sonya’s wedding.”
She nods. “After Sonya’s wedding it is. But you cannot stop me from talking afterward, Andrei.”
She stands up, grabs her purse quickly off the table, and starts walking away.
“Remember, Talia Afanasyevna.” A cruel smile crosses my lips, and I lean back in my chair. “Sometimes messengersdoget killed.”
She stops in her tracks and turns back to me, questioning me with a narrow look. “Do you really think you are heartless enough to kill me? After all this time?”
“To protect my wife?” I reply without hesitation. “Always.”
Her mouth opens and I expect a bitter retort. But instead, I hear and see something I’ve never witnessed from her: a soft pained gasp, and a single tear rolling down her cheek.
I watch through the glass as Talia marches out of the restaurant before Valeri has time to stand up and follow her.
Chapter 31
Paige
Andrei tells me he loves me, but I have strong doubts. Not about his love, but whether we can survive a life together.
Through my lashes, I watch Andrei as he grabs his pants off the floor and steps out of the room to take his call in private. I heard a woman’s voice when he answered. If it had been Natasha, he wouldn’t have left the room. If it was Sonya, he would’ve sat on the edge of the bed.
Only Talia would send him out the door.
I hug the pillow and listen for him to come back. This is ridiculous. After an hour, I jump out of bed, turn on the light, and get dressed to wait for him. I pull my dress on so savagely that I hear the stitching crack.
“Paige what’s going on?” Andrei looks around the room as he enters two hours later. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I want to go home.”
He looks at me in confusion before a slight smirk appears on his face.
“What?” I snap, pulling on my shoes. “What is it?”
Andrei shrugs. “Not too long ago, you would’ve demanded to leave that place.”
“Fuck you!”
I scowl at him, wishing lasers could shoot from my eyes.
I want to lunge at Andrei and hurt him so he knows how it feels. I grab the pillow off the bed and throw it at his fat head. Andrei catches it in his hands easily, and the look on his face startles me. His eyes narrow on me as his lips curl into a devious grin.
I try to duck and run, but Andrei catches me easily in his arms. I beat him with my fists uselessly. The way Andrei laughs at me makes me feel stupid.
