Page 57 of Poisoned Roses

She is stunned by my home. Many people are and as we walk inside, her soft gasp alerts me to that fact.

She stares around her with sparkling eyes and whispers, “Your home is beautiful.”

I squeeze her hand. “Our home, Tia. This is all ours now.”

I am used to our wealth. Tia is not. The Romanov home is nothing like my apartment or any of the homes we own around the world. This is full of riches, color, and priceless art. Its state of art technology ensures we are safe, and the vibe is vibrant, magnificent and a vulgar display of wealth that is ours to enjoy. We have few visitors and even when the entire family is in residence, the rooms echo around us, never filled to capacity.

We all enjoy our own wings of the main house, but there are several others on the grounds for guests, staff, and security. Our estate is sprawling, almost a village, and to walk around the grounds would take several days. We are not millionaires or even billionaires. The Romanovs are trillionaires and not many people realize that.

We owe it all to one man. Andrei Romanov. Who came from poverty to become Russia’s richest man, if not the world. His wealth was built on lies, secrets, and corruption, that took one idea and ruined many lives in the process. Love destroyed that dream and revenge will write an ending that I doubt anyone ever expected. Like most murder mysteries, the ending will be a plot twist that nobody saw coming and the pages of his book are about to reach the end.

That is why we are standing here now. That is why we are about to meet my family. That is why I cannot think about love until one series ends and another begins, where I write my own story based on what I have learned from the last one. Tia may think she loves me. That may change when she learns exactly what I am capable of and as we place one foot in front of the other and head to the living area where my family is gathered, I leave love behind because business is all that matters now.

The business of revenge.

My family is waiting.My four brothers and their partners, along with my sister and her boyfriend James. Mama sits between them like the queen of our hearts that she is and they all stare at us with expectant anticipation as they prepare to meet my bride for the very first time.

Mama stands and heads toward us, a welcome smile on her face.

“Titus and Tatiana.” She kisses us both on our cheeks three times and then steps back and stares at Tia with an appreciative smile.

“I am so happy to meet you at last. You are an extremely welcome addition to our family.”

“I’m very pleased to meet you.” Tia is practiced in the art of greeting strangers and is used to praise and adulation. It has helped prepare her for my family and as every one of them approaches and greets us, any normal woman would be overwhelmed. Not my woman. She handles it like the pro she is and I am immensely proud to watch her at work as she chats easily with my family and answers their endless questions with a soft smile and delight on her face.

My brothers find me and Mikhail grins with wicked delight. “The final soldier falls.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I shrug off his comment as if it has no meaning and right now, in the frame of mind I’m in, it doesn’t.

Valentin adds, “She is beautiful, Titus. You have chosen well.”

“You make it sound as if I had a choice.” I remind them because we are all painfully aware this is an arranged marriage of the most deadly kind.

Arman gazes at her with a thoughtful expression. “Does she know?”

“That this is an arranged marriage? Of course. She was given no choice.”

Alexei laughs softly. “And she is still smiling.”

“Or she could be a good actress as well as an amazing dancer,” Valentin says with an admiring glance in her direction.

Ana heads over, catching his comment on the tail end of our conversation, and she rolls her eyes. “She would have to be a good actress. I mean, poor woman. Fancy being chained to Titus for eternity. She must be shriveling up inside.”

Her gentle teasing washes over me because only I know the full extent of our relationship and I have no plans to enlighten my siblings on the subject. Let them think what they want. None of it matters. All that does is business.

I note James hovering on the edge of the group and call him over.

“James.”

He nods and heads our way and I take a look at Tia chatting with the women and nod toward my den.

“Come, we have business to discuss.”

I make no move to reassure Tia. She will be more than okay with the women of this household and as we head toward the usual place I conduct my meetings, I’m aware that for the firsttime in our history, I am letting a non member of the family be present.

When I called James over, I noted the gratitude on Ana’s face and yet it was the right thing to do. James Warner is in this with the rest of us. Has been affected like the rest of us and will play his part in bringing it to an end.

Now is the time to run through the plan. Make certain that everyone knows their role in my wedding because by the time I take my bride to bed on our wedding night, our future will be begin without the chains of the past dragging it down.

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