AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can feel my cheeks burn up. “Excuse me?”
“Selling Ruslan out for money? It’s below you, Emma.”
I bite down on my anger. “You know what? Fuck you. And fuck your boss, too. I didn’t rat him out for money. I would never do that and, one day, Ruslan’s going to figure that out. But it’ll be too late. By the time he realizes it, I’ll be long gone. Now—” I pull at the handle of the car violently. “—let me out of this damn car!”
The locks click open and I practically soar out of the vehicle. I run into the building and watch Kirill drive away from the corner window.
Is this it then?
The roar of Kirill’s engine feels like the severing of my last tie to Ruslan.
I wipe my face dry as I take the stairs up to the apartment, but I’m still on shaky ground. I have no idea how I’ll respond if one of the kids asks me about Ruslan.
What I want to do is force a smile and answer evasively.
What I’ll probably do is burst into fresh tears.
No—you’re stronger than that. You can do this, Emma. For the kids. For Sienna.
Josh, Rae, and Caroline swarm around me the moment I walk through the door. I give them all big hugs and sloppy kisses and take comfort in the fact that there are at least three little people who still think I’m a decent human being.
Of course, all three of those little people also think having ice cream for breakfast is a great idea. But right now, I’ll take what I can get.
I relieve Amelia of her nannying duties and, after we send her off, I sit on the living room floor and pretend that I’m invested in a game gone wrong that includes competing tea parties that Reagan and Caroline are hosting against each other. Any other day and I’d have been splitting my side, laughing at their sibling rivalry, but today—
Well, fake it ‘til you make it.
“Aunt Emma?” Josh asks, venturing over to my side. “If you’re feeling tired, I can look after the girls.”
I wrap an arm around Josh and kiss him on the forehead. “Thanks, kiddo, but I’m fine.”
He doesn’t seem convinced. He keeps looking at my face as though he can will away the bruises if he just concentrates hard enough.
“Auntie Em!” Reagan cries, clearly upset about the fact that Mr. Bunny has chosen to go to Caroline’s tea party instead of hers. “Whose tea party are you coming to?”
“I’m coming to both.”
Reagan puts her hands on her hips. “You have tochoose.”
“I can’t choose between my two favorite nieces. I love you both equally.”
Caroline’s attempt to lure me to her side comes in the form of old brown playdough. “My tea party has chocolate swiss rolls.”
Despite my dark mood, I find myself chuckling. The chuckle dies in my throat when Ben rounds the corner looking… halfway presentable?
What the fuck is happening?
His shirt is free of stains, his jeans are free of holes, and everything he’s wearing is clearly brand spanking new. My eyes pop when I notice the shoes on his feet.
“Are thoseYeezys?”
He lifts the shoe up so I can get a better look. “Pretty damn snazzy, huh? I liked ‘em so much, I got the same pair in white. Can’t believe they’re selling these things for like five hundred a pop.”
My hands ball into fists. “Girls, can you take your tea parties to your room, please? I need to speak to your dad.”
Josh gets up right away and starts hurrying his sisters along. The moment I hear the door close, I turn to Ben in a fury. “You spent fivehundreddollars on a pair of shoes?”
“Did you not hear me say I bought two pairs? Or are you just really bad at math?”
