Slowly, I nodded.
If what Violet was saying was true, then Amy was everything I despised. My marriage would be over because I could never forgive her for purposely hurting my baby.
“I believe you.” For a second, I closed my eyes. “I have to go and talk to my grandfather.”
Violet lifted her face to me. A wide smile on it. “Why Alexei?”
“I need to talk to him about Amy. You’re right, I can’t stay married to her.” I thrust my hand into my pocket and something cold and round brushed against my fingers.
My grandmother’s ring. I had resized it to fit Amy finally and had meant to give it to her after the party, but then Violet had wanted to talk, and I’d forgotten totally.
I pulled it out, and Violet’s eyes widened. “Is that for me?”
I wanted to tell her no, that it was meant for Amy, but instead, I nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.” I handed it over to her.
The ring that was always meant to be my wife’s, and it didn’t fit her finger. I would have to get it resized again.
“Does this mean?” Violet’s voice was hopeful. “Does this mean we can finally be together, Alexei? That will be your wife?”
“Yeah,” I said with a very twist of my lips. “I just need to speak to my grandfather.”
I didn’t get to finish, yanking on my hand, she pulled me down on top of her and kissed me. My lips remained firmly shut. My back was rigid.
Why did kissing her suddenly feel so wrong?
Violet was right. I had always imagined Violet as my wife. So why was I thinking about Amy instead?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Amy
“So,” the doctor said, but I barely heard him. My eyes were glued to the closed blue curtain where an hour ago Alexei had again rushed off to be with his Violet. I couldn’t help but look in that direction every time there was a noise outside.
I hadn’t wanted to see him, I still didn’t, but—but—
Mrs. Cole’s hand squeezed mine, and I shook myself, giving my attention back to the doctor standing next to the bed. “Sorry, doctor,” I apologized quickly.
His smile was a little lopsided. “It’s perfectly understandable that you’re a little out of it, Mrs. Petrovov.”
I winced back at that anew. “Please call me Amy,” I whispered. “Is my baby—” I gulped down a sob. I couldn’t even bring myself to say the word baby because if I did, I would break down completely.
“Has a strong heartbeat.”
I did a double-take. “What?”
“Oh, sweetheart, that is the best news.” Mrs. Cole’s grip on my hand became almost painful. When I looked at her, there were tears in her eyes. “I told you that everything would be fine. Do you want me to get Alexei?”
I shook my head. “No, I think,” pausing, I tried to gather my thoughts and make sense of them. Every part of me wanted him to come back, but he had gone to her. He could have stayed at my side or outside like Micah had done. He could have waited to make sure our child was alright. He had chosen to go back to her.
She nodded her head and sank back into her seat. “I don’t want you to be alone, Amy, so I’m going to stay by your side. But I’m going to send Micah back to get us all a change of clothes.”
“Thank you. But I don’t expect you to stay with me. You have a house to run.”
“Not anymore. I gave my notice. I can’t work for Alexei any longer. Not after the way he has treated you. He will lose most of his staff because of this.”
I stared at her in shock. “I can’t ask you to do that. It’s your job.”
“You didn’t ask me to do anything. Violet brings out a side of Aexei no one likes.” Her lips twisted. “She’s a poison he can’t get rid of. But—”
