Page 187 of Hidden Empire

“Do you guys get along?”

She sort of sighs. “Depends on the day, really. Sometimes I don’t know whether Cole is trying to be my brother or my husband.”

“Yikes, that must be confusing.” I take a sip of my drink again. “Although, there’s probably a way we could test it.”

Ana tilts her head at me, lifting a brow. “That looks like an idea face. You look like Matteo when you’re considering something mischievous.”

“Mischievous?” I gasp playfully. “I was just going to suggest we go for a swim.”

Her white teeth peek out from behind her glossy lips, mouth widening into a grin. “Just an innocent swim, hm? I didn’t bring a swimming costume.”

“Oh, I’m sure I have one you can borrow,” I reply, shrugging lightly. “And if Cole happens to see you, I’ll make sure to tell Armani he has great taste. He’s picked out all of my clothes, after all.”

A girlish giggle leaves Ana, and she covers her mouth. “Oh, you’re trouble, Jade. We’ll be great friends, I can feel it.”

I can feel it too.

Good things happen to me now.

After all the fear, trauma, and pain, I get to be happy.

So worth it.

Dmitri

Despite it being well past his typical nap time, my son is wide awake and all giggles. He was dozing off for a while, and I almost believed he was out cold when he sprung back up, chipper than ever. How his twin sister is sleeping soundly on my chest while he continues to drool and babble right next to her is beyond me.

Isobella is a little princess through and through, so I suppose it makes sense that she’d be able to sleep through the storm that is Cesar. My baby boy, on the other hand, is full of energy. Cesar is always ready to socialize and hang out. It’s as exhausting as it is beautiful.

Like now, if I attempt to lay Isobella down, Cesar will reach for her and likely cry, which would rouse her. Isobella is extremely sweet and hardly experiences outbursts, but she does cry when startled, and I fucking break every time her eyes swell with tears.

Being a father is as miraculous as it is heartbreaking. I want to bundle them up and shield them from the big, bad world around us. Sometimes I want to protect them so badly that it hurts, and they couldn’t be more safe. It’s like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop because being this happy never seemed like a possibility in the past.

Jade did that for me, opening up my eyes to a whole new level of happiness. I love my wife so fucking much.

“Is he still not asleep?”

At the sound of the familiar voice, Cesar wobbles his head to the side to find one of his many uncles at the door.

“Wide awake,” I confirm, chuckling softly. “Do you mind distracting him so I can put Isobella down?”

Nico eyes my son, tilting his head at him. He hasn’t quite adjusted to having babies around the house, but he’s doing well enough. Cesar loves him, so clearly, he’s doing something right.

“Sure,” he agrees, approaching us and holding out his hands. Cesar reaches for him greedily, squealing as Nico brings him to his chest.

Thankfully, Isobella continues to snooze peacefully.

“Come on, little man,” Nico says, cuddling him close. “We’ll go for a walk, and I’ll pawn you off to Matteo. You seem wound up. He’ll fix that.”

“Thank you,” I mouth, and he nods. Carefully standing up, I sway my daughter in my arms before dropping a kiss on her head and moving her into her crib.

Her nose scrunches up as I set her down, and her eyes tighten. But she eventually softens up again, remaining in her sleepy state.

Grabbing the receiver end of the baby monitor, I glance down at her one last time before leaving the nursery room. Anatoly is at his post, sitting right outside of the door while holding a book he isn’t truly engaged in.

While we’re all home, he doesn’t need to be so strict with his guarding style, but that doesn’t stop him. I’ve told him several times he’s allowed to be on his phone or laptop when this many of us are around, but he won’t hear it. He is constantly on edge, ready to dive into action at any given time. Even though I feel a bit bad that he can never seem to relax, I couldn’t ask for a better mindset. It’s the reason why he’s been appointed my children’s guard, after all.

There are men who have worked for my family for decades, and I wouldn’t trust a single one of them like I trust Anatoly. He’d die for my babies.

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