My lips spread wide. “Trust me, I know.”
“Don’t look too happy,” he warns. “You may have just gotten my permission, but she still needs to accept. And besides, you just helped me decide what your role in this family will be.”
My smile waivers.
“Lev needs an heir, you know.”
Oh fuuuuuuck, he doesn’t mean?—
“He’s not having a son, and Mikhail’s sons already have their futures planned out. Dmitri will need an enforcer he can trust when he takes over for me and Lev steps down.”
Oh, God, he’s saying it.
“Congratulations, Matteo Morozov, you just became Lev’s prodigy.”
Anya
Confiding in my aunt about being intimate with Matteo feels nice. I thought I would feel awkward or uncomfortable opening up to her about what we did last night, but the words flow easily and she’s receptive while being an active listener.
We cut yoga short to sit on the small couch in the corner of my ballet studio because both of us end up far too enraptured with conversation to keep up our poses.
She’s so happy for me and her smile only wavers when I mention that I had to have the tough infertile talk with him.
“We’ll likely discuss it more thoroughly in the future, but I think he took it well. He said it wouldn’t change his mind about me.”
“It shouldn’t,” she agrees firmly. “He loves you very much. That doesn’t go away when circumstances change. You never promised him children, and he never asked for them.”
“I know,” I murmur sadly. “And I can’t picture having a baby any time soon. I’ve just gotten my body back as my own and sorted out my mental state. Even if I could get pregnant, I wouldn’t be considering it for quite some time.”
“But?” she asks, sensing there’s more.
“But the idea that there will never be a little baby Matteo and Anya is devastating.”
The thought makes my stomach hurt. I shouldn’t have to think about something so horrible depriving me of not only my past but parts of my future too.
Aunt Irina takes my hand and moves closer to me on the couch. “You can have a mini Matteo and Anya one day,solnyshka.If the two of you want to have a baby of your own within the next ten years, I’ll carry it for you.”
It’s like my chest caves in under the weight of her words, feeling heavier and almost painfully full.
“What?” I ask since I must have misheard her.
My aunt squeezes my fingers softly and her eyes search mine. “I’ll be a surrogate for you and Matteo if you want to have babies of your own while I’m still healthy and young enough to give them to you. Lev and I aren’t having any more, our Nadya is all we’ve ever wanted. But I had an easy pregnancy, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if it meant that I could give you this gift.”
“You would do that for us?” I croak, my voice cracking with emotion.
“My sweet girl, I’d give you the organs right out of me so you could experience the pregnancy yourself if it were possible. Your uncle knows I’m offering this to you, and he’s fully in support. I told him years ago that if you ever wanted to have babies, I would want to make you this offer.”
Two fat tears slip out of my eyes. “I don’t even know what to say.”
How do you respond to someone offering you the gift of a lifetime? How do you thank someone for offering you something so completely selfless and kind?
“You don’t have to say anything,” Aunt Irina insists. “You don’t even have to think about the offer until you’re ready. You have so much time, and Matteo doesn’t seem like he’s in any rush. You told me what he said, and I’m sure he meant it. I just wanted you to know that if it’s something you want down the line, I’ll be here waiting for your call, okay?”
“Thank you,tetya,” I cry softly, capturing her in a tight hug. “I love you so much. Thank you for always being here for mewhen I need you most. I hope I can return that for you some day.”
“My sweetsolnyshka,” she murmurs, hugging me in return. “I love you too, and you already give me everything I need. Watching you grow into such a beautiful young woman has been one of the greatest joys of my life.”
We cry together, hugging for several more minutes until the overwhelming emotions begin to subside. Matteo finds us while we’re cleaning mascara from under our eyes and becomes immediately alarmed.
