Page 80 of Sinful Lies

Perhaps because when I look at the photos now, I see nothing but lies. On the outside, we looked perfect, but it was all a façade.

I glance down at the photo in my hand, and my gut twists.

My father has his arm wrapped around my mother, and she’s gazing up at him with nothing but love in her eyes as he smiles at the camera.

“Traitorous bastard.” I launch the frame at the wall.

It falls to the floor, the glass shattering all over the carpet, but I don’t care.

Part of me wants to tear down every picture in this room and throw them in the fire.

It was all a lie. My father played his part so well that none of us had any idea, and that’s the part that hurts the most.

All my life, I’ve been told how much I’m like my father, a fact I used to pride myself on. Not anymore.

His infidelity not only has me questioning him, but also questioning myself and whether I have what it takes to be a good husband.

From the way I just yelled at Zara, it seems I have my answer.

I curse under my breath, balling my hands into fists as I think of the look on Zara’s face as I lost my shit.

It was the same look she had when I found Giovanni pinning her against the wall. Fucking terrified.

“You piece of shit, Dimitri.” I run my hands over my face.

My phone ringing snaps me out of my guilt spiral.

I quickly swipe my thumb across the screen when I see who’s calling.

“Rurik? What have you got for me?” I rub my hand over the stubble starting to coat my jaw.

“I’ve done some digging into Igor’s wife, Katya.”

“And?”

Rurik takes a breath, and I clench my jaw as I wait for the bomb to drop.

“She gave birth to a baby not long after the affair with your father ended.”

Acid burns my throat as I realize that not only did my father have an affair with the wife of one of the most powerful men in Russia, but he also got her fuckingpregnant.

“Fuck, this isn’t good.” I run a hand over my face.

I clear my throat, my mind racing as I try to think about how this knowledge might come back to bite my family in the ass.

“It’s not as bad as you think, Dimitri.”

“I would love to know how it’s not that bad.”

“The baby was stillborn. A boy.”

“Shit.”

“Those properties that your father gave to Igor? They coincide with the stillbirth,” Rurik continues. “It’s likely your father offered them to Igor as a sort of…apology.”

“So, you think Igor would have known that the baby wasn’t his?”

“It’s a possibility, something that I’m looking into more.”