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I need an heir. And if she can’t give me one…
“It won’t change a fucking thing,” I croak.
Kirill’s eyebrows rise. “But you need an—”
“The kid is strong. And capable. Andsmart. He’s already got the makings of a great leader. It won’t take much to mold him into a greatpahkan…”
Kirill rubs his temples in confusion. “What are you talking about?Whoare you talking about?”
My eyes lock on him. “Josh. I’m talking about Josh. I could make him my heir.” Kirill’s jaw drops, but I’m flying too high with this idea to care. “He’s a good kid. They all are. And they deserve more than the shithead of a father they’ve got. Emma’s trying to strip Ben of his rights. I could help her adopt them. Fuck—I could adopt them myself. It would lend legitimacy to Josh’s appointment. And then—”
“Ruslan. Stop.”
Kirill’s voice is soft but earnest. I hear that tone so rarely that I’m forced to stop for a moment and listen. All that gin is making it a little difficult, though.
“This is abigdecision. One that affects more than just you. You’re gonna need to think about it. Preferably while sober.”
I wave away his concerns. “There have been worse marriages of convenience, Kirill—”
“Oh, are we talking about marriage now?” he scoffs. “I thought that was off the table.”
“It’s for appearances’ sake,” I snap impatiently. “If I’m making Josh my heir, then adopting him makes sense. Marrying his mother makes sense. It’s pragmatic. I’m being fucking pragmatic.”
Why doesn’t he see how fucking perfect this is?
“I like her and I respect her. I care about those kids. I can take care of all of them. And I know Emma will agree—”
“Ofcourseshe’ll agree!” Kirill cries out, throwing his hands up. “She’sin lovewith you.” He leans in a little closer, his voice dipping low with urgency. “Ruslan, you can talk about convenience and practicality all you want—but feelings don’t give a fuck about pragmatism.”
I sit back, head spinning. “We have a contract.”
Kirill exhales wearily like he’s exhausted of my bullshit. “That contract means jack shit, man. It’s just a paper shield to protect your heart. To try to keep her out of it. But guess what? It’s too late for that.”
I’m feeling a lot more sober than I was a few minutes ago.
And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when are you going to cut the bullshit and admit to yourself that you’re in love with Emma, too?”
I grit my teeth. “If you were anyone else, I’d punch the fucking teeth from your head.”
He smiles cheekily. “Luckily for me, I’m not anyone else. I’m the man who’s been at your side from the very beginning. Iknowyou, Ruslan.”
I shake my head. “I can’t be in love with her, man. I just… I fucking can’t…”
“Because of your contract?” I narrow my eyes at him and he chuckles. “Let me ask you this; if Emma decided to walk out of your life today, would you fight for her or would you let her go?”
I open my mouth. A second later—I shut it.
I run a hand through my hair.
I breathe out sharply.
“Fuuuck!”
Kirill smiles. “Yeah. I thought so.”
