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Maybe what I’m most pissed off about is the sneaking suspicion that, quite apart from being the solution, I may have been the fucking problem.
To make my black mood even blacker, I catch Melissa’s eager face when she jumps to her feet the moment she sees me. “Oh, hello, Mr. Rus—”
“Oryolov,” I snarl. “It’s Mr. Oryolov.”
“Right.” She giggles like the insipid dolt that she is. “Can I get you a coffee?”
“Read the fucking room, Melissa.”
I stalk into my office and slam the door, forgetting momentarily that Kirill is right behind me. “Oh, you ass—!” he exclaims as the door narrowly misses taking out his nose.
But his reflexes kick in just in time and he’s able to pound the door back. “Brother,” he scowls as he follows me in, “you havegotto calm down.”
“Calm down?” I spit, pacing furiously.How can I calm down when she’s at risk?But that’s not what I say. What I say is, “How can I calm down when the baby’s at risk?”
Kirill’s eyes narrow. He plants himself right in front of me, breaking my frantic pacing. “Ruslan.” His voice is heavy with accusation. “If you don’t slow down for a goddamn minute andlistento me, you’re gonna lose your heir. In fact, you might just lose them both.”
I force my heart rate down as I focus on Kirill. He looks just as angry as I feel right now.
“Dr. Owens gave her a full exam. Her blood pressure has spiked in the few weeks since her last check-up. Which means it’s not a condition that requires treatments or drugs. It’sstress.”
My fault.
My fucking fault.
“I get that you’re pissed at her. I know you feel betrayed. But right now, she’s carrying your baby. She doesn’t need to be punished; she needs patience and care. She needs to belooked after.”
As much as I hate getting a damn lecture from my second-in-command, I know I have to hear this. I know he’s right.
“It’s stress?” I ask tentatively.
Kirill nods. “She’s going through a lot right now. Her parents are suing for custody of the children. She’s got no one to talk to but me and those kids. She’s completely isolated and it doesn’t matter how big your estate is—to her, it’s getting claustrophobic.” He takes a breath and his clenched jaw softens marginally. “I know you’ve got a lot going on, brother. But so does she. You want this baby to be born safe and healthy? Then you’ve got to be a little gentler with the mother.”
Blyat’.
I stare back at Kirill. I can see all my mistakes, all my stupidity reflected back in at me through his eyes. I tear myself away and head for the door.
I’m done talking.
I need to go back home.
I need to see her.
27
RUSLAN
The kids are all over me the moment I get back home.
It’s not the usual excitement I’m met with, though. There’s a fearful kind of desperation in the way they flock around me. I take a few minutes to sit with them before I go upstairs to check on Emma. I balance a little girl on each knee and look Josh head-on when he sits down opposite us.
“Is Aunt Emma going to be alright? Kirill said we weren’t allowed to d-disturb her,” Josh tells me quietly. His voice is shaky, his lip quivering, that stutter peeking out to show just how badly he needs to be reassured.
Caroline nods. “Yeah, even after we promised not to fight anymore.”
Reagan’s bottom lip is going a mile a minute. I run a hand down her beautiful curtain of hair. “Listen to me: your aunt is strong. She’s going to be fine. It’s just that growing a baby isn’t easy. So we’re all going to have to be really mindful of that from now on, okay?”
“We won’t fight anymore!” Reagan promises. “And if we do, we’ll fight far away from Auntie Em.”
