“You have molded Kira and used her in ways she can’t even grasp. You manipulate to suit your needs.”
“Yes. But she lives.” Yakov winked and lifted his glass in cheers before he swallowed the liquor in one gulp. As he stood, he added, “Who wants a fat wife?”
Chapter eighteen
Trouble
Kira watched her father drive away. She kept her smile, waved, and blew him a kiss even from a distance. But when the car finally vanished, and there was no possibility of being seen, she dropped all emotions and stood as still as a statue. It was what she was anyway, a moldable statue, meant only to look pretty and represent the name that would no doubt be engraved at the bottom of her feet.
Why did she continue to hope for more? Kira thought it was a positive mindset that altered futures. She felt that if she controlled her emotions and her thoughts, she could control the outcome to fit her. All this time, she judged her sisters for being miserable. But now, she was beginning to understand them.
She hated that about herself.
Kira broke from her statue-like stance. She would not give in to what so many expected. She was going to fight it. She could still make her own choice, and even now she was going to choose to be something more.
When she turned around, she stumbled, coming face to face with Maxim. Kira bowed her head, embarrassed to be caught so emotionally vulnerable in front of him. She hoped Maxim hadn’t noticed her father’s subtle insults. Not everyone understood Yakov. He didn’t personally mean to hurt feelings, but he was used to speaking without a filter.
“I’m sorry if my father–”
Maxim shook his head. “Do not apologize for your father.”
She nodded vaguely and stepped around him, but Maxim grasped her arm. She looked down at his hand, surprised by its gentleness. He moved her in front of him, and when he cupped her cheek, her brows knit, looking up at him.
Then his lips were on hers, and she sucked in a breath, her whole body seizing. She didn’t respond at first, completely taken off guard. He broke from her, caught her gaze again. It was a silent second of reassurance, and when he leaned again, she eagerly accepted the kiss, pressing into his lips and molding against his chest. She didn’t care what changed his heart; she only wanted to feel like she mattered, and for whatever reason, Maxim was providing that. Did he understand? Could that be possible?
Maxim’s arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and she folded her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened, as his tongue touched her lips, and she widened her mouth to accept him. It was a kiss she had been dreaming of since their wedding night. This was what she had been fighting for.
The cell phone in his pocket vibrated, and though she expected him to yank away from her, having come to his senses, he didn’t.His fingers slipped further into her hair, twisting her head at an angle to dig his tongue in deeper.
It was the need to breathe that caused them to slowly pull away. They panted, kissed, lingering, before Kira lowered from her tippy toes and dropped her head, keeping her hands on his chest if only to keep her balance. The phone continued to ring, but Maxim was in no rush, his forehead resting against hers as he caught her eye. Maxim wondered if she could see everything he felt. He had pushed against it for a while now, but when he realized all his assumptions were wrong, the dam broke, and he struggled to deal with it.
“Wow,” she whispered, dropping her head to hide her own passions. “Your whores are very lucky.”
His brows knit, and when she went to pull away, he yanked her back.
Kira explained, “That’s what you said on our wedding night.”
“I don’t entertain whores, Kira.”
“But you said–”
“Regrettable things.”
Her brows knit as she met his gaze.
The phone continued to ring.
She didn’t know what game he was playing, but she wouldn’t fall for it so easily. Kira patted his chest. “You should answer that.”
“You are more important.”
“Am I? Or did my father have something to do with your change of heart?”
“Yes and no.”
Kira nodded, more disappointed than she wanted to be. Of course, her father had something to do with it. Maxim wouldn’t admit that Yakov was a frightening force. He was too prideful. She could only imagine how her father threatened him.
Kira dug into Maxim’s pocket and answered the call for him.
