“He fooled us all, Kolya. He should’ve stayed dead. This time around, dying will hurt a hell of a lot more.”

I nod. Her words should be lighting my blood on fire. I should want to wring his throat myself, to banish him back to hell for everything he’s done to me, to my family. But…

“He’s still my brother.”

“Your father was your father when you killed him.”

I shake my head. “There might still be hope for Adrian.”

She looks at me incredulously. “Kolya, you realize that the woman you intend to marry one day is carrying his baby, right?”

“June doesn’t want him anymore.”

“Maybe not, but he sure seems to want her.”

Before I can respond to that, the door opens and June herself walks in. Rushes in, more like. Her cheeks are flushed and she looks nauseous.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, jumping to my feet and hustling towards her.

Her eyes are huge and round, liquid with fear, as she looks up at me and whispers, “My parents are here.”

16

KOLYA

I frown. “Your parents? How did they—”

“My freaking sister!” June gasps, voice choked with anger and surprise. “She must have called and told them that I was here with you. They’re being shown into one of the downstairs sitting rooms as we speak.”

“And this is a problem because…?”

She shifts her weight self-consciously. “Because I don’t want to see them… alone,” she says, tacking on the last word in a barely audible whisper.

“You want me to go in there with you?”

“They… they like you. Respect you.”

“Then let’s go,” I tell her. “I’m right behind you.”

She throws me a quick nod and heads out the door. Milana walks up to me and wags her eyebrows. “That’s a good sign.”

“What is?”

“The fact that she came here to ask for your help. She needs you.”

I don’t respond to that, but as I walk out of my office room to join June downstairs, I can’t help thinking how much I’d rather be wanted than needed.

I find June standing outside the garden sitting room when I come down the stairs. Something occurs to me.

“You should know,” I say, “I spoke to your parents the day of the wedding. After you went missing.”

June blinks. “You did? What did they say?”

“Obviously, they wanted to know what happened.”

“And you told them…?”

“That you got cold feet.”

She does a double-take. “What?”

“I had to tell them something. That seemed like the simplest option.”

“Couldn’t you have told them I was kidnapped or something?”

“That would have been preferable?”

“By miles!” she cries out. “At least with kidnapping, they can’t blame me.” Sighing deeply, she heads into the room where her parents are already settled on the sleek white sofa.

“June!” Bridget exclaims, getting to her feet and bustling over.

They exchange stiff hugs, then Bridget passes June off to her husband while she turns her attention on me. “Kolya,” she greets, opening up for another hug with all the warmth she neglected to give her daughter.