Page 156 of Bride By Coronation

She sighs. "Fiona, I'm sorry too."

"Am I really fired?" I ask with more tears forming.

A beat of silence follows and then she admits, "I don't know what's going to happen. We have to let the dust settle and then have a proper conversation."

I sniffle, trying to stop a fresh onslaught of tears, my face already a wet mess.

She continues, "I value and love you, but I don't know how to handle this right now."

I don't know how to respond.

She asks, "Are you still there?"

My voice shakes, when I reply, "Y-yes. I'm s-sorry."

"I wish we could talk right now, but Adrian's too upset. But after what they did to his sister, I can't go against him on this. Give me some time to see if I can get him to change his mind, okay?"

"Skylar, it's not fair," I say.

A moment of silence fills the line.

She lowers her voice, asking, "How could you marry a Petrov, Fiona? Knowing what they've done to our families and others..."

"Kirill isn't like that," I insist.

She sighs again. "Fiona, for your sake, I hope you're right, and we're all wrong."

"You are," I tell her.

"Again, I hope you're right. I'll call you when I can." She hangs up.

I stand there, unsure how I'll ever get the people I love to accept my husband for who he is and not for the blood that runs through his veins.

24

Kirill

Two Weeks Later

"The sweep produced nothing," Draco announces.

It should relax me, but for some reason, it doesn't. Every day, I have the security team search for recording devices, but they've found nothing since that first check. Even though everything has been clear, the gaping pit in my stomach never closes. Every morning, I wake up and make them check again.

Fiona teased me and said I was paranoid, but I'm not taking any chances.

I address Brax and Sean. "Has anything appeared in the chat rooms?"

Brax shakes his head. "No. But if the Omni finds out I'm hacking their messages, you better make sure you cover my ass."

Sean interjects, "We cover our tracks. No one will know."

I cross my arms, reassuring, "It's a direct order from me. You don't need to worry about it."

Brax grunts. "Spoken from the king who has it all."

I point at him, scolding, "Don't get smart with me."

He grinds his molars, and tension builds between us.

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