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Luke’s gaze flicks between me and Anya, but he keeps his voice steady. “Hi, Anya. Nice to meet you.”
Andrei glances at his watch. “Excuse me for a moment. I need to quickly clean up and then we can have dinner.” He sets Anya down gently on her feet. She immediately takes off running toward her toys in the corner, leaving Luke and me standing alone in the middle of the living room.
The second Andrei disappears upstairs, Luke turns to me, his voice low and strained.
“Is this a joke or something?” he hisses. “You’re married to my uncle?”
I lift my left arm and pull up the sleeve just enough to show him the black ink: Popov family crest and Andrei’s name scripted boldly across my skin.
“Does this look like a joke to you?”
Luke’s face twists with anger the moment he sees the tattoo. “Is this your way of getting back at me for marrying your stepsister?”
I let out a short, bitter laugh. “You really think the world revolves around you, don’t you? No, Luke. My marrying Andrei has nothing to do with you. Believe it or not, when I met Andrei, I had no idea he was related to you.”
Luke’s eyes dart between me and the hallway where Andrei disappeared. He pushes both hands through his hair, looking completely rattled.
“And the little girl?” His voice cracks slightly. “You just got married and you already have a daughter?” he pauses. “Except… of course she’s my child.”
He gasps, eyes widening. “I had a daughter this whole time and you never told me?”
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss, stepping closer. “Anya is Andrei’s. Anyone with eyes can see the resemblance. She isn’t yours.”
Luke lets out a humorless, bitter laugh. “I can’t believe this. I’m getting a divorce from Sharon, because of you, so we could finally be together… and you’re married to my uncle?”
“No,” I say sharply. “You didn’t get a divorce for me. I’m not the reason for your divorce, Luke. Don’t put that on me.”
He glances nervously in the direction Andrei went, then back at me, lowering his voice even more.
“Andrei doesn’t know about us, does he?”
I don’t answer.
Luke smirks. “What do you think he’ll do when he finds out? You know him. He doesn’t forgive. He’s ruthless. He will kill you, Rosie.”
My stomach twists.
“But I can protect you,” he continues quickly, stepping closer. “Leave him. Come to me. I’ll protect you from my uncle. I’ll keep you safe.”
I stare at him in disbelief.
“Or what?” I whisper.
He shrugs. “Or I go tell him your little secret right now. And trust me… you really don’t want to find out what Andrei does to people who piss him off.”
Before I can respond, I hear Andrei’s footsteps coming down the stairs again. Luke immediately steps back, plastering a fake smile on his face as if we were just having a pleasant conversation.
I turn toward the sound of my husband approaching, my pulse roaring in my ears.
Chapter Twenty-One
Andrei
I sit at the head of the table, watching my wife.
Rosie is trying her best to appear calm and composed beside me, but I’ve spent the weeks learning every little detail about her.
I know she avoids eye contact when she’s lying or uncomfortable. I also know she pushes her hair behind her ear when she’s nervous, exactly like she’s doing right now, her fingers repeatedly tucking the same strand back even though it’s already in place.
