One my father is paying special attention to.
“So,” my father says, swirling his wine lazily. “There might be a grandchild on the way. You don’t date. You don’t commit. And now, suddenly, you bring a beautiful woman to my table who may be carrying your child.” His lips curl faintly. “I don’t know if I should be thrilled or insulted.”
“Insulted?” Sienna mocks, sounding a bit like herself. “I’m missing something, Mr. Volkov. If you disapprove?—”
“On the contrary?—”
“It wouldn’t matter,” I cut in, playing my role as if my father’s suspicions weren’t justified. “Don’t worry, princess. Regardless of my father’s feelings, I’m not marrying you to appeasehim. If he’s unhappy with the match, he has another son he can play puppetmaster to.”
My father scoffs. “I’d hardly say it’s fair for me to buy into this when I’ve never heard of you wanting to marry or date in the first place. This is a surprise, Benedikt. I know you’d feel the same.”
“I would,” I agree. “However, we both know who would’ve gotten the key to your kingdom, father.”
He lifts his features. “Would we? And who would that be?”
Not me.
I’ve sat here and tried to convince myself that, if I get married and have a child, Nikolai will always be his number one choice. It doesn’t matter how much of a fuck up he is or how many times he gets himself into trouble. My father is ignorantly and stupidly faithful to my older brother—period.
I smile, something I don’t do, and I know it doesn’t reach my eyes. “You think I wasted my time finding a woman to agreeto marry me so I could buy my way into your good gracious, father?”
I did all that.
It was a long shot. I knew what I was gambling. I needed a reason to keep Sienna.
However, even before the woman at my side stepped into my office with a birthday cake, I knew then she would pay her father’s debt formybenefit.
No matter what that was.
“I do,” Ivan admits. “However, it’d be out of character.”
“And then some.” I reach for my wine glass and bring it to my lips. “I’m not here to show off. I’m here because you and Nikolai won’t give up on me coming to this dinner. So, I’m hoping you have something to tell me, and that’s why my presence was subtly required.”
“I don’t”
I hum my indifference, finishing the wine in one gulp before I shove my chair back. Sienna put on the performance I needed, and I have to get planning on my plan B.
Not to sit here and be judged all night.
But before I’m able to stand, Nikolai steps in.
He stops just inside the room, his eyes scanning the table until they land on me, then her. The smirk that follows is pure provocation.
“Well, who is this?” he inquires, his voice dripping with amusement. “Is this the beautiful woman we were supposed to save a space for?”
“Nikolai,” my father starts. “This is Sienna Graves. Your brother’s fiancée.”
“Fiancee?” He walks forward, not sounding surprised or buying into this as well. “How convenient.”
“We were just leaving,” I deadpan.
“No,” Ivan says smoothly, cutting through my words like a knife. “You’re staying. Your brother is here, dinner is almost ready, and I’m sure Sienna would appreciate more than five minutes with her future family.”
I meet his gaze, reading the unspoken command there.
It’s not a suggestion.
It’s a performance, and we’re all actors whether we like it or not.
