All Ruslan had to do was flash that little card and the stranger agreed to come with us. Something that’s still so odd to me, but I suppose if someone were to flash a cop badge or something similar, then I’d do the same.
Different rules for different worlds.
He has his security team drive her to a safe house, a tucked-away building disguised as a tailor shop where no one bats an eye when we enter. Not that I’d notice. I’m too caught up in my anger.
She fucks my dad, destroys my parents’ marriage, and then dares to visit my mother? Never in my life have I been so angry. It consumes me like a fog, hot and smothering, so I end up plucking at my shirt while pacing back and forth in the room Ruslan leaves me in.
It’s small with a coat rack, a few couches, and a coffee station pressed against one wall. It must be some kind of staff room for those who work here pretending that it’s an entirely normal business.
Ruslan returns two minutes later with the beautiful stranger, and the sight of her makes my stomach turn.
“Sit.” Ruslan speaks tightly, like every word is being pried from his lips.
The woman obeys.
“Who are you?” he asks, watching her settle onto the couch while he remains by the door, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. “What’s your name?”
“Florence.” She speaks softly, placing her elegant hands onto her knees and folding them. “My name is Florence.”
“How dare you?” I snap, unable to stop myself as her voice grates at my ears. “How dare you visit her after what you did!”
Florence’s eyes widen in alarm and she swivels to face me. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? What good is sorry! How twisted are you that you’d even show your face, huh? What kind of fucked up ploy is this?”
Florence’s eyes dart between Ruslan and me, then she leans forward. “Are you… are you with the Suit too? Did I do something wrong? I didn’t know the Suit had anything to do with this.”
A tremble shoots through my body, like my skeleton is trying to free itself from my body, and my heart lurches up into my throat. “You… you don’t know who I am?”
Florence frowns slightly, shaking her head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”
I can’t speak. Anger claws at my throat and my heart beats so hard that it doesn’t let any words past my lips. Clenching myteeth, hot tears sting behind my eyes and I turn away from her while gathering my thoughts. Did dad never talk about me? Did he never tell her that he wasn’t just breaking my mother’s heart, but ruining a family?
After a few seconds of measured breathing, I turn back and face Florence. She watches me with the same confused look on her face and then her lips part.
“If I’ve done something wrong,” she murmurs. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. I didn’t know I’d broken any rules.”
The fury inside me stalls suddenly.
Florence isscaredof me.
She hides it well but her fingernails dig into her knees and she worries her teeth along the inside of her cheek, causing her face to hollow slightly while she tries to maintain a calm facade.
My stomach churns violently. I’ve never had someone be scared of me before.
Slowly, I sit on the couch opposite her and sigh deeply. “You were sleeping with my dad.”
Florence’s brow twitches slightly, then a surprising warmth melts across her face. “You’re… Ivy?”
“So he did talk about me?”
Her posture relaxes slightly. “All the time.”
“But you didn’t know what I looked like?” I can’t keep the accusation out of my voice.
Florence shakes her head, moving her hands to her small leather bag. “He showed me a picture in his wallet, but you were just a child in that.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know he carried a picture of me, and the softness of the gesture hits my chest like a punch. I end up looking to Ruslan for comfort and his eyes are locked onto me, his face dark but his eyes warm.
