Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
My intuition has been impaired the past few weeks, so I’m not as trusting of it as I once was.
With the trio not eager to offer an introduction, I tighten my jaw before gesturing for them to enter my family’s country manor as if they’re wanted guests. They’re not, but since I must move in silence until I can announce checkmate, I pretend they are.
When Arabella and her mother shadow their steps, I beat them to the door before spinning to face them, blocking their entrance. “Did they get everything needed?”
“Yes,” Arabella answers softly, her head faintly bobbing.
Dina remains quiet. She doesn’t need to speak for me to hear her accusatory tone. Her brow is as spiked now as it was when she demanded they travel back to this part of Russia with me so Arabella could attend an appointment with a dress fitter favorable with the stars.
I initially told them no, that any appointments they need to attend to can be done in-house—it will make any possible media leaks about her identity less likely. Then I remembered Arabella isn’t as schooled at hiding her expressions as her mother is. She’s far easier for me to read, so I wanted to witness her first interaction with my grandfather in person, desperate to know if they’d met previously.
She gushed as most people do, and almost stumbled while reaching out to accept the hand he was holding out for her, but she seemed more concerned about impressing him than impressing the bigwigs strategizing his every move. That’s all the proof I need that she’s not yet wholly under the federation’s thumb as the man I killed last month made out.
“Would you like to see the designs on the shortlist?” Arabella asks, drawing me back to the reason I’m barricading the entryway. “They’re all beautiful and will pair well with any tuxedo coloring you choose, but I’d like you to have the final say on the dress I’ll wear on our big day.”
She stops rummaging through her oversized purse when I shake my head. I don’t need to approve the designs she picked because I have no intention of seeing her in any of them. The devastation that flared through Zoya’s eyes when she thought Vanka was my wife assures me of this, not to mention the recent news that Arabella’s first attempt at conception was unsuccessful.
The test results emailed to me this morning were fresh in my mind when I suspended all the scheduled insemination dates slated in our contract. It was mere minutes before I detected Zoya’s presence.
I still plan to implode the federation. I just need to change tactics to make sure their downfall occurs without unnecessary casualties.
A handful of matters need to be finalized before I can publicly announce my “separation,” starting with the meeting being delayed by a woman with no authority questioning mine.
With time not in my favor, and my mood souring, I get to the point rather snappily. “Since there is no reason for you to be here anymore, I will request Anoushka to organize you transportation home.”
Arabella has more gall than I give her credit for. “I’d rather stay.” When her interruption raises both my hackles and my brow, she pushes out quickly, “I was hoping we could confirm some wedding plans while we’re here. A beautiful chapel twenty miles from Chelabini is usually booked out years in advance, but they said they could adjust their schedule for—”
She is cut off by the last person I expect. “Not now, dear. It is clear Kazimir has important business matters to take care of.” While adjusting the collar of Arabella’s dress, Dina tsks her as if she is still a child. “You should not encroach on his time more than necessary, especially for things of little importance.”
“I wasn’t meaning to be a pain. I was just…” Arabella looks as confused as she sounds. “I’m sorry,” she eventually settles on. “I will do better.”
Her apology doesn’t appear to be for me, but since I don’t have time to remind a grown woman that she doesn’t need to obey her parents’ every demand, I dip my chin before telling her I will be in contact shortly.
Arabella replies. I miss what she says since Dina commences a brutal dressing-down a mere second after I enter an estate that’s been in my family for centuries with them on the outer, as I hope they’ll soon be permanently.
26
ZOYA
“Thank you so much.”
For the first time in the history of hitchhiking, my savior dips his chin in gratitude for my praise before he signals to veer back into the heavy flow of traffic on I-25.
I can’t recall the last time I wasn’t expected to hand over a sexual favor for a two-minute trip, so to say I’m shocked he drove me over twenty miles without a single innuendo exchanged would be a major understatement.