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I shrug. “It just… happened.”
“And the children—did that just happen, too?”
“It was sort of a package deal.”
“And that didn’t dissuade you?” he asks shrewdly. “We both know you aren’t very interested in fatherhood. At least, you weren’t.”
I glance down at his plate. “You’ve barely touched your French toast.”
He pushes the plate away from him. “It’s too dry. Not enough sugar.” I suppress a sigh. That’s not the reason he doesn’t like the French toast and we both know it. The real reason is… “Your mother used to make the best French toast.”
“Mama’s not here,Otets.”
His eyes flash angrily. “You don’t need to remind meof that.”
Sometimes, I intentionally try to piss him off. It’s the only indication I have that there’s still some life left in that hollow shell he’s dragging around.
“Try the salmon then.”
He grunts. “I’m not hungry.”
He never is anymore. He eats to survive; that’s it. In the past, when I wasn’t pitying the poor bastard, I resented him.
Today is the first time I actually feel like Iunderstandhim.
The thought of losing Emma or one of those kids drives me insane. I lie awake at night trying to think of all the different ways I can keep them safe. On bad nights, I find myself thinking about all the different ways I could lose them.
It’s a special kind of madness.
So if what I’m experiencing now is even close to what my father has endured, I’m willing to give him credit for dragging himself away from his gardens at all.
Fyodor fixes his milky blue eyes on me. “You’re avoiding my question, son.”
“I couldn’t explain it even if I tried,” I admit. “I stumbled into this situation and now, I don’t know how to get myself out of it.”
Fyodor raises his eyebrows. “Do you want to?”
“No. I don’t.”
He doesn’t exactly smile but he doesn’t look quite so morose anymore, either. “It won’t always be easy. But trust me—it’ll be worth it.”
Until one of them dies and you spend the rest of your life a walking ghost…
I banish that thought before it can even begin to manifest. I have to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. Iwillmake sure history doesn’t repeat itself.
I clear my throat. “The launch for Venera is next week. Will you be there?”
Fyodor nods noncommittally. “I hear that the soft launch was an outstanding success.”
I can’t help a smug smile. “It was adequate.”
“I have to admit, when you first told me about this venture of yours, I thought it was insanity. I thought you’d struggle and dump the idea before it even got to development. But you proved me wrong. You actually saw it through. You did it.”
It takes a big man to admit that he was wrong. Just like Fyodor, Vadim had hemmed and hawed his way through my entire proposal, but hell would freeze twice over before he ever acknowledged his doubts now.
“It does look like we’re on track to make a killing.”
At the moment, there are no obstructions or misgivings in sight. The road ahead is clear and everything is going according to plan. The city is abuzz with talk of the new magic drug on the market. Bane Corp. is doing better than ever. And things with Emma and the kids are perfect.
