Page 146 of Hidden Empire

And as hard as it is to cope being without him, I know he’s doing the right thing.

“What the fuck does she need a guard here for either way?” Elio questions, ignoring my words about Dmitri.

“Wouldn’t be the first time a family turned on their daughter for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, now would it?” Ivan challenges.

Everyone is stunned to silence, and the anger on my dad’s face shifts to hurt.

“Are you really concerned about that, Jade?”

“No,” I answer immediately. “I know you would never hurt me. It’s not… it’s not about that. But I want Ivan here anyway.”

My best friend nods firmly. “If Dmitri can’t be here, I will be.”

“And before you ask, apparently, she’s not with both brothers. She simply keeps this one like a pet, snuggling him without any nefarious motives, if you can believe it.”

I want to reprimand him for calling Ivan a pet, but it feels like things are actually beginning to calm down, and I don’t want to ruin it.

“Dad?” I ask, moving around Ivan slowly so that he lets me. “Can I have a hug now?”

His clenched jaw loosens, and he holds out his arms, stretching them wide to each side. “Of course, baby girl.”

I rush over, leaping into his arms and embracing him tightly. “I missed you so much, Daddy.”

“Oh, she pulled out the ‘Daddy’ card,” Uncle Cesar chuckles. “You’re done for, Dante.”

We suspend in time, hugging for as long as we want until he slowly sets me down. His eyes zero in on my small bump, and his eyes sparkle.

“The baby is healthy?” he asks, his concern melting my heart.

“They’re both great,” I answer, smiling big. Just thinking about them growing all big and strong in there makes me feel like the most powerful person in the world.

“Both?” he chokes. “Apollo didn’t say it was twins, I?—”

“Wanted to give my sister one thing to tell you at least,” Apollo reveals, joining our group. “She wanted to do this herself, but you know, circumstances and all.”

“Circumstances,” Dad agrees, a new danger glinting behind his eye. “Those will be handled soon.”

“Does your uncle get a hello?” Cesar asks, changing the topic and reaching for my hand.

I let him tug me in for a hug and smile into his chest. “Hello, Uncle.”

“Doing alright, nipote?” he asks. “Was the flight good?”

“I sort of blacked out for most of it,” I admit. “Sad and all.”

Our embrace loosens, and he brushes my hair back from my eyes to get a good look at me. “You miss your husband, hm?”

I nod, biting my lip to keep it from shaking.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” He tuts, nudging my chin to raise it. “We’ll get you settled. I’m sure Martha will fuss over you enough for all of us.”

I smile at that. “Did you just bring the two cars? How are we all going to fit?”

“We’ll be fine,” Apollo answers for him. “You can sit on your not-boyfriend’s lap.”

“Not happening,” Dad growls.

Apollo shrugs. “Should have seen them on the plane.”

---