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I narrow my eyes at the gall of this man as he implies that my being happy in the arms of a man who cares for me and protects me, and just so happens to be his enemy, was an act of rebellion. Sure, it started that way, but that is not at all what it is now. Not by a long shot.
I lower my voice. “You mean the disgrace I brought upon you when your business partners realized you couldn’t even control your own daughter?”
My father’s lip pulls up on one side. “I haven’t lost control of anything. I let you have your fun, and now it’s over. You can still come home; my offer still stands. Let’s put this whole thing behind us.”
“I can’t do that.” I shake my head, leaning forward to pin my father with a glare. “Scratch that. I will not do that.”
My father tsks. “Do you really think he cares for you? That he would think twice if he had to choose between saving himself and saving you? What makes him so damn special?”
The truth is, yes, I do believe Theo would save me and his child over himself. So, I say the one thing I know will push my father over the edge if he does not already know it, that is. But given how diplomatic he is pretending to be today, I doubt this knowledge has been shared with him.
“The life growing inside me that we both created.”
I watch as my father’s face twists into a menacing scowl. His eyes go wide, and he bares his teeth as his breathing rapidly increases.
“Have you lost your damn mind!” he snarls as he pushes himself up to stand. He slams his hands down on the table. “How could you be so damn stupid!”
I smirk. “What happened to missing me and wanting me to come home? I thought you only wanted me to be happy. When did that change?”
My father leans forward, getting into my personal space. “It changed the day you spread your legs for that half-breed mongrel! I was trying to give you a chance to get out of your nitwit decision to change sides. But now—” His eyes drop to my belly. “You’re just as tainted as the rest of them!”
A hand on my shoulder grounds me. Gavriil glares at my father before looking down at me, his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you alright?”
No sooner has he asked than one of the bouncers stops at our table. He looks at my father, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re disturbing the peace. I think it’s time you leave.”
“I’m doing no such thing,” he sputters. “I was—”
The bouncer does not give him any time to talk. “I was not asking, Igor. You have ten seconds, or I’m throwing you out myself.”
My father glares at the bouncer, then at Gavriil, then turns his glare my way while pointing a finger at me. “This is not over.”
Once the bouncer has made sure my father is off the property, he comes back to the table. “Are you okay, Mrs. Dubrov?”
It is the first time someone has called me that. It catches me off guard.
I give the bouncer a smile. “I am, thank you.”
He smiles back and nods once before heading back to his post.
“Mrs. Dubrov?” I say to Gavriil.
He nods, guiding me to the SUV. “Word travels fast when a few key players obtain all the details.”
My visit to my father does not go over well with Theo, but Gavriil is able to talk him down, explaining that they were with me the whole time and I was never truly in any danger. I also do an awkwardly sexy striptease—my body does not move the way it did before the pregnancy—that ends with me under Theo on the couch as an apology. Theo happily accepts, for obvious reasons.
We decide to hold a small reception, seeing as how the first one was only a handful of his people. In all honesty, I do not have many people I can invite, other than my cousin, Natalya, from out of town. I reach out to her, and she is elated at the news, vowing to head down immediately to help me plan.
She now comes as a package deal, but I do not mind the small body that accompanies her. I plan on peppering her with questions about raising a little terrorist and making many notes so I can make my transition into motherhood as smooth as possible.
Natalya arrives a day later, just in time for the seamstress Theo arranged. She helps me pick out the empire cut for my dress, and we make sure the bodice ends just under my bust. This cut will help hide my belly, which has recently started to show. Not that I mind it showing, but it is not something I want to advertise. I choose a cream-colored material, not wanting to go fully traditional with the white, and arrange to have some pearl detail added in a unique design down one side.
Natalya and I head into town—with a handful of Theo’s men, of course—to visit the florist. We pick out some peach and white colored roses because I decided I want a neutral theme, and top it off with some eucalyptus leaves, just because I feel like it. After that, we go shopping for some questionable lingerie and shoes that will match both said lingerie and my dress.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, I do not have time to be worried about anything other than relaxing and being spoiled. Natalya handles anything that pops up—which in all honesty is not a lot because Theo has a too-large team working on everything to make it perfect—and I am simply ushered from one pamper session to another.
On the day of the ceremony, Natalya has to shoo Theo away multiple times when he tries to sneak into my prepping room for some sexy time. She refuses to let him see me—much to his dismay—and the last time she tells him she will castrate him if he comes back again, which would be a serious detriment to my future sex life. He is not happy about it, cursing under his breath as he leaves.
Natalya walks me down the aisle to the harmonies of a small orchestra as her husband watches from the front row with their baby boy, standing in for my father as she is the only family of mine I have at the wedding. My train drags on the ground behind me and my neck is bare, my hair piled on top of my hair in a feminine and intricately designed top knot. Natalya hands me off to Theo with tears streaming down her face and a warning to never hurt me, something I did not expect given we were never really that close.
