“What, you think I can’t be normal?”
“Are you still going to stab people for looking at me the wrong way?”
“Yes.”
She laughs. “Then no, you’re notnormal people. But I can’t say no to honeymooning with you. I guess I’ll just have to keep you in line.”
I smile, caressing her back, my heart full.
“I guess so.”
We lie together in silence for a bit, neither one of us ready to get up. I still have to settle some things, but fuck, I need this. We both do.
“I know my father is still not dealt with,” she says, as if she’s reading my mind. “You sent Anya and my mother away but… you never said anything about him.”
I pause but decide to tell her the truth. Maybe it’s better for her to know, even if it’s ugly.
“That asshole that shot at you in the fields… he was working with your father. They were trying to take us all out.” She gets up from my chest to look at me. “I’m sorry, love. I have him trapped somewhere, still haven’t decided what I should do with him.”
“It was… him?”
I nod.
“And the attack that almost got you killed?”
“That… was the Irish. They retaliated after…” I sigh. “It’s a long story.”
She looks away, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind.
“What will you do with my father? You say you haven’t decided, and I know it’s only because of me.”
It is. The only reason I haven’t killed the asshole is because I didn’t want her to suffer.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Honestly?” She shakes her head. “Whatever you see fit. I was willing to forgive him for tearing our family apart… but I can’t forgive him for what he attempted to do to us. To you… After everything, he’s still only trying to save himself. And I’m done, Wolfgang. I’m just… done.”
I hold her stare, seeing the decision etched there firmly.
Good. Then I know exactly what I need to do.
***
A few days later, Father organizes a party in the city with everyone in our inner circle.
He tells them he’s stepping down, that I’m his next successor, and that Mikhail will be given a different role. No one has anything to say to that.
Not even Ekaterina, who stands in a corner, drink in her hand, watching her son with what looks like resentment… or fuck knows what. He went against what she wanted, after all. I wonder if she knows what he did for Victoria and I.
Across the room, my wife smiles at me, wearing a crimson-colored dress and the ruby necklace I got her for her birthday. She’s fucking beautiful, a sight to behold. No wonder all these fuckers can’t take their eyes off her. Her brows rise, as if to ask me “what?” so I mouth the answer to her.
“You.”
Her pretty face lights up instantly. She’s so sweet, this girl. I don’t know how the fuck she puts up with me. I’m fixated on her face, on her figure, and it’s beckoning me closer. We don’t have to sit through all this shit—the announcement is done, and I can do whatever the fuck I want. Right now, that means taking my wife out of here and spending the day with her.
“Before you go,” my brother says, appearing in my peripheral vision. “I need to tell you something.” I can see Father watching us from his chair, probably wondering if we’ll cause a scene and shit. But I don’t intend to, and by the look on Mikhail’s face, neither does he.
“What is it?” I ask, turning my attention to him.
