Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
24
ANTON
There’s no end to the nonsense that Elena will say to get my attention.
But this?
Her assumption that Liliana isn’t sipping her champagne for the toast because she’s pregnant?
It’s too crazy to believe.
Or is it?
One look at the panic Liliana is trying to mask, and I know this isn’t my ex jumping to conclusions.
Liliana has been hiding this news from me.
I witness it in the fear in her eyes, so doe-like and vulnerable under my ex-wife’s accusation. I hear it in the slight gasp she lets out, the sound of pure panic. But most of all, I sense the hope she can’t hold in as she watches me, tense and anxious.
It’s true.
She is far too expressive to deny it.
And as I stare back at her, mesmerized by the promise of a future I suspect I’ll always want with her, the emotions rocking through me shake me to the core.
The thrill surges through me.
I swallow hard, my mouth bone-dry. If it weren’t, I’d speak. Celebrate. Cheer this news. A baby. A child to welcome into the world with her. A new beginning to savor. Nothing but pure joy fills me as I picture it all.
“It’s true!” Elena’s shrill screech garners the attention of everyone around us. I can’t look away from Liliana, willing her to confirm it, but I’m aware of the burn of all their stares. Elena, no doubt seething as she tries to get closer and demand that I face her instead. Roman’s back, too, Viktor near him as he attempts to keep him away from me.
They surround us, but as I watch Liliana, we might as well be the only two people in the world. A bubble closes around us as I will her to say it’s true.
“It’s true. Look at her!” Elena points at Liliana, the dark red of her manicured nail like an arrow tipped with blood. “She can’t deny it.”
Ignoring her, I take one step toward Liliana. I hate the fear on her face, like she’s been dreading my reaction to this. We’re still getting to know each other, but that’s an adventure I’ll gladly take with her for a very long time.
“Liliana?”
She draws a quick breath and nods. It’s a subtle, barely there jerk of her chin. She’s not making excuses, and with the vulnerability on her sweet face, there’s not a single hint of her using this to deceive or manipulate me.
“See!” Elena stomps her foot and lunges forward. I don’t care what she has in mind, I won’t allow her anywhere near Liliana. “You greedy little bitch!”
I block her, stepping between Elena and Liliana.
Instead of pulling Liliana close and assuring her this is good news, not some horrible secret she had to keep from me, I have to fend off my ex-wife first. Viktor is there to help, like always. He forms up at my side and blocks Elena from reaching Liliana. The guards who’ve been hanging in the background surge forward, ready to protect me.
“Oh, so that’s how it is now?” Elena rages, spittle flying from her mouth. Guests have edged back, but a crowd is forming to gawk at the drama. “You’re going to stand by her? This little slut who’s trying to baby-trap you?”
Liliana clutches the back of my jacket and tries to get around me. No longer naïve or quiet, she growls and shakes her head. “That is not true.”
“Oh, shut up!” Elena sneers at Liliana. “Shut. Up! You are. You think you can weasel your way close to him! And trick him into knocking you up all so you can have a baby to distract him with.” Elena wags her finger at Liliana as Viktor forces Elena to retreat. “I know exactly what you’re doing. You’re nothing but a slut. A homewrecker trying to break up my family.”
“That’s enough.” I don’t shout it, but the finality in my voice that has others backing up. All the Sokolov guards know that tone all too well, and they move in to keep Elena away.
Before I can turn to Liliana and focus on her, Roman’s there, shaking his head, his hands on his hips. “You’re pregnant?” he demands.
“Get out of my way,” I tell him, blocking him with my arm as I pull Liliana closer to me. She slips up against me, fitting so perfectly at my side.
“It’s mine,” Roman decides with a haughty laugh. Like his mother, he’s livid too, but he’s trying to twist this to his favor.
“No, it’s not,” Liliana argues. She advances, but I don’t let her get too close to him.
“The fuck it’s not! We were together for a year,” my son taunts. “That’s my kid!” He scowls at me, loathing pouring off him.
“It’s not!” Liliana insists. She’s not screaming, but the distress that laces her words bothers me. “When I learned that you were sleeping with my best friend for who knows how long, I got tested. Because of you, I was terrified you gave me something—a disease or a baby. This is not your child.” She hugs herself, stacking her arms over her abdomen. The action isn’t lost on me. She’s already this defensive and protective of this new life we’ve formed in the heat of the moment, from a reckless night neither of us expected.