And you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine. There is no reason for you to worry that I’ll come back with a baby in my arms and claim half your fortune. I don’t want any of it. Now that my sister is dead, we have no reason to be together, making each other unhappy. I give you your freedom, my dearest Alexei, and I would like you to do the same for me.
Hell. If you are even reading this then you didn’t turn up to Alessia’s funeral, and I’ll be gone straight afterward.
Be happy, my love, and be safe.
Sincerely,
A
I stared at the words without really seeing them, each word blurring together.
“Where—” I swallowed hard. “Alessia’s funeral was today? Why didn’t she tell me?”
If she had told me, I would have gone. I would have shown my support. I didn’t even know how she had paid for the funeral. Amy didn’t have any money of her own.
“She left you a message on your phone. The funeral was held thisafternoon. Alessia had insurance in place to pay for it, so there was no reason to wait.”
“Was it—”
His eyebrows slid upwards. “It was a beautiful send-off. You should have been there.”
I didn’t even care that he was talking to me like we were equals. I couldn’t concentrate on that right now. My every thought was with Amy, standing out there alone and suffering from two unimaginable losses.
“My phone is nowhere to be found. I’ve been looking all day. If I had known, I would have been there for her. You believe that, right?”
He stared at me for the space of ten whole seconds. “I believe that you believe that.” He said, finally.
“Alexei?” Violet slipped into the room. And right there in her hand was my lost phone. “Look what I found.” She held it up triumphantly. “It was in our bedroom, you silly. Hey, is everything OK?” She paused. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Reaching out my hand, I snatched the phone from her. “Get out.”
Violet paled. And it was like I was seeing her for the first time. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she had miraculously found my phone when I had searched everywhere. It made me wonder what else she had done. Had she picked up that phone and not relayed Amy’s message to me before now?
“What?” She mumbled in shock, making her voice quieter. “You don’t mean that, Alexei.”
“Yes, I do. Get out and go to your room, Violet. I have too much to sort out to deal with your childish tantrums and needs right now.”
“But, Alexei.”
In a rage, I jumped to my feet, pointing to the door. “Get the fuck out, Violet.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alexei
I’d wrecked my office, and Micah had just stood back and watched me, almost like he was enjoying my pain. And maybe I deserved everything I was feeling because I’d let her down in the worst possible way. When she had needed me the most, I hadn’t been there.
And she had gone through all of that loss by herself. I knew how close Amy was to her sister and how much they adored each other, especially after the death of their parents. They had counted on each other, just like Amy should have been able to count on me.
That, coupled with the loss of our child? It would have been unbearable. Our baby was gone, and I couldn’t even hug my wife and tell her that it would be alright because she was gone as well.
“Where do you think she has gone?” I asked finally when there was nothing else to smash or break.
“I don’t know, sir, honestly,” he shrugged.
“She never mentioned friends or asked you to take her anywhere?”
He shook his head. “No, Mr. Petrovov. She visited her sister and your grandfather, and then her life seemed to revolve around making you happy.”
