Fire licks at my veins, threatening to burst out through my fists. My nostrils flare, pulling in the air forcefully, leaving just the same. Father and I have had our disagreements over the years, but what he’s suggesting now…
“You’re out of fucking line,” I tell him. “What I did or did not do with my wife is none of your business. And it changes nothing about the plan.”
He sighs. “I could’ve shot every single one of the Romanovs in the head the moment I found out about their betrayal. But it wasyouwho convinced me not to do it. You said…”
“That this was going to put us in a much better position. Yes, I remember what I fucking said.”
“Then you also remember what’s at stake.”
My throne.
I keep my gaze trained on his.
“You know that if you fail this, Mikhail will jump at the opportunity to get ahead. And Katy will support him. And as much as I want to let you have it, I won’t break this family apart. What would be the point of that?”
What would be the point? What would be thepoint?
This fucking family is already doomed. It has been ever since my mother died, and he knows it. He should’ve divorced Ekaterina the moment he saw her true colors, but instead, he chose to turn a blind eye.
He chose to let her do whatever she wanted, even if that meant breaking me every chance she got. He fucking owes me, and he knows it. But even so, what he’s really saying is he won’t butt heads with his wife and other son for me.
“Look. I know how hard it’s been for you growing up without your mother…”
“Donotbring her into this,” I say through clenched teeth.
“I fucking loved her too!” he shouts, his voice bouncing between the walls.
Silence.
Then after a while, he clears his throat.
“What I mean to say is that I know you had to fight a lot of battles. With Mikhail. With Katy. It wasn’t easy, and I am sorry for that. But… if you want your throne, if you want them to see you as part of this family, you’re going to have to come to your senses. And do what needs to be done.”
I nod and get up. Not to agree with him, but with the thought that he’s being an asshole.
“For your information, the Irish territory has been secured. And my plan worked so well I barely had to lift a finger to get it done. So the next time you accuse me of messing things up, I suggest you have a look at the facts instead of consulting your vivid imagination. Because the truth is… I’ve been steering this ship for far longer than you’d like to admit.Me. Not you. And if I don’t get what I want, I promise you, you’ll be sinking faster than the fucking Titanic.”
Father gets up and faces me, downing the rest of his whiskey.
Placing his glass next to mine, his eyes rise. “Good. Then we want the same thing. So get. It. Done.”
VICTORIA
The bed is cold and empty beside me, the absence pressingagainst my skin before I even open my eyes. Still lying down, I glance around the room, letting the morning light brush the sleep from my eyes. I’m really alone.
But when I get up on my elbows and push the sheets aside, a gust of Wolfgang’s scent wafts over to me.
And the memory of every touch from last night comes back, sending butterflies to my sore pussy.
“Oh my God,” I mumble, sitting upright, rubbing my face with my palms.
After he made me come again in the shower, he carried me back to bed and did it again with his fingers.
I almost asked him to stop because I didn’t think I could take another orgasm. But I guess the adrenaline kept me going until, eventually, I fell asleep in his bed. The bed I bled on, now that I look at it.
I stand up and pull the ruined sheets off until they’re all crumbled in my arms.
What if someone sees? What if the housekeeper finds it first?
