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I clench my fists under my desk. “Cora isn’t going anywhere with you. Ever.”
“Cora ismine,” Francia interjects.
She’s been quiet the last few minutes, but now, her teeth are bared and her eyes are dangerous slits. She looks every bit as crazy as I know she is.
“I’ll kill her for this,” she adds. “No one will get Cora except for me.”
Mikhail shrugs. “That could be fun to watch, too. After everything that bitch has put me through, it’s probably better for my reputation that I don’t marry her, anyway.”
He’s pretending to be cavalier, but I saw the rage in his eyes the other day. Mikhail is pissed. If he gets his hands on Cora, it won’t end well.
Konstantin slashes a hand through the air, cutting everyone off. “All that matters is that Ivan has to make a choice. Either he stays with Cora and I kill Katerina. Or he honors the promise he made, leaves Cora, and marries my daughter. What will it be, Ivan?”
It’s like choosing which gun I want to be shot with.
Either way, someone dies.
I know what I want to do, but the way Katerina keeps looking up at the camera… I can hear her voice in my head. Same as it was the day she came to me and begged to be set free.
Help me, Ivan. Please.
I’m trying to drum up a plan that can solve all of this when I hear a squeaky floorboard in the hallway outside my office.
“I need time to think,” I snap.
Konstantin shakes his head. “You’ve had enough time. Decide now or—”
“Tomorrow.”
“Ivan,” he growls. “We aren’t playing games here. We will kill her if you don’t—”
“I’m not playing a game, either. If you want to do this right, let’s do this right. We’ll finalize details tomorrow. Over dinner.”
The doorknob to my office starts to turn and I don’t wait for a response. I slam the laptop closed just as Cora steps inside.
54
CORA
I told myself everything was fine when I woke up alone.Ivan is busy. He can’t lie in bed all day. He’s probably working in his office. Don’t freak out.
I got dressed and brushed my teeth. I focused on the soreness between my legs as I walked down the stairs to his office. He asked me to stop taking my birth control last night. We might have a kid together! He’s committed.
Don’t freak out.
Then I walk into his office and see his face.
He’s looking at me, but he isn’t seeing me. His eyes are unfocused and his body is tense. His hand is shaking from the force he used to slam his laptop closed.
Never mind. This is the end.
Something is wrong and I should definitely be freaking out.
Instead, I smile. “Good morning.”
“You’re up early,” he says in a low monotone.
“After last night, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be rested again.” I try for a laugh, but it sounds hollow.
