He chuckles, arching his hips into me and I fight a groan when his cock rubs against my stomach. “Never again.” Then he shoves me backward and makes his way to the door. Before he can leave, he turns over his shoulder. “I expect an invite to the wedding. Oh, and Ruby? You take my kid anywhere near him and I’ll kill you.” He storms out and I let out a long-held breath. My throat swells and I lean over the table, squeezing my eyes closed. He’ll never forgive me for this, I know that, but somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I think I wanted him to fight harder. Harder for me? I don’t know.

My steps are slow when I finally exit the room. “He’ll forgive you, baby.” Papa usually calms the fire that’s in my veins. “You and he are inevitable. Everyone knows that.”

Shaking my head, I swipe the tears that fell down my cheek before I could catch them. “No, Papa. He won’t. Why?” I narrow my eyes on him. “Why didn’t you tell me it was Mikhail Volkov’s father who ordered that kill?”

“Would it have mattered, Bubba? You and I both know that there’s no way out of that.”

Sighing, I start making my way outside.

“Where are you going?”

I turn around and study him. I’ve trusted him all of my life, but I can’t get rid of the itch in the back of my head that knows he’s hiding something from me. “You’re back now. I can go back to being my age.”

“Ruby,” he says gently, but I ignore him and the stares coming from everyone else.

Val is standing on the other side of my Aston Martin, wiggling his brows. “You can’t get rid of me now.”

I slide into the driver’s seat. “I don’t even care at this point.” I had thought about the day that Wicked would come home multiple times over the years. They all played out differently in my head. But not even I could think up what just happened.

I start up the car, looking out the window to catch him with Sloane on his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist and their mouths on each other.

I wince.

“I’m sorry, principessa,” Val murmurs softly as I put the car into drive and floor it forward.

“Don’t be. I’ve got my life back now that Papa is back.”

“Partly…” Val interferes. “Since you are engaged to be married in a month.”

I swallow the bile rising in my throat. “Yeah. I guess.”

Chapter Eighteen

Sloane rubs her ass into my crotch and I pull back, staring up at her. “Go with Jade and Poppy.”

“But am I staying with you tonight?” she whines, running her finger down my neck and over the tattoo on the side.