Page 63 of Unbreakable Vow

“So, you’re still fucking anyone who catches your eye then?” Andrei questions. “When’s the last time you went home with one of the girls from the club on the nights you come to check in?”

My grip tightens on my cards until they bend. “I’m married. Why the fuck would I keep fucking other women?”

“Because you don’t love her, so you must not care about being faithful, right?” Viktor picks up the line of questioning from Andrei as he tosses in his bet.

“The girls at Kraze have noticed you’re not as available as you used to be for them. I think they’re a little disappointed.” Andrei fans out his cards. A full house, ace high.

“Just because I don’t love Cora doesn’t mean I have to go around fucking anything that breathes.” I toss my cards down; I’ve lost the hand.

“Sergei.” Viktor whispers my name.

“Just because the two of you have lost your minds for your women doesn’t mean I will. I fell for that mistake once, no need to repeat it.”

“Fuck,” Andrei whispers as he looks over my shoulder.

A chill washes over me.

“We just came to check on the game. Our movie ended,” Marlena says, her voice hard.

Slowly, I turn to look at the door. Cora stands between Marlena and Izzy. Her cheeks redden when my gaze hits hers, and I have no doubt she’s heard everything I just said.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Cora’s voice is quiet and firm.

“Cora.” I shove out of my chair and turn toward her, but she gives a little shake of her head.

“Let’s leave them to their poker.” Izzy tugs on Marlena’s shirt. “I can go for some nachos.”

“That sounds good.” Cora nods, turns on her heel, and heads out of the room ahead of both girls.

“Seriously, Sergei,” Izzy admonishes. “After what she’s been seeing in the tabloids, that was the last thing she needed to hear.”

“What are you talking about?” I demand. “What has she been reading?”

“Look for yourself,” Marlena shoots at me then links arms with Izzy and they both leave, slamming the door behind them.

“You really have a knack for pissing off the females in this family,” Viktor says from behind me.

I swipe my phone to life and dive into the media I purposely ignore every day. Journalists have nothing but trash to say when it comes to my family. This inheritance from my grandmother only gives them more garbage to spew. Nothing good comes from looking.

But I barely have Cora’s name typed into the browser before a dozen articles pop up about my inheritance and my new wife.

“Shit, Sergei,” Viktor says. “These bastards.” He’s scrolling through his phone too; Andrei looks over his shoulder.

Of course, our wedding was announced. My grandmother made sure the board and the media knew of the terms of my inheritance. Even from the grave the woman tries to manipulate me.

What I hadn’t counted on was these assholes coming out of the woodwork thinking they had any fucking right to comment on Cora.

She hasn’t said anything about photographers taking her picture, but there are several candid photos of her leaving the coffee shop and the nursing home. They must have been taken right before we were married.

“They’re saying you married beneath yourself to get back at your grandmother. How the fuck do they know about your grandmother turning her back on your mother?” Viktor’s voice hardens, but it’s nowhere near filled with the rage I have building beneath my skin.

“She’s seen these?” I turn to my cousins and point to my screen. “She’s seen these insults?”

“Sergei.” Andrei’s placating voice comes out. “Before you do something that will only make matters worse, think about it.”

“If they said a single negative thing about Izzy?” I demand from him and immediately, he pauses and gives me a nod. He’d go after them as fiercely as I have the right to.

“I want their heads.” I shove my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. “No. I want their eyes. And their tongues.”

---