Page 144 of Porcelain Lies

“Business?”Boyana scoffs.“Hah! Probably drugs or weapons or something shady.”

I don’t want to think about it, so I stare at Diana’s hand.

She pats the lounger again. “Come.”

My feet hesitate. I’m still wary around the woman who now manages my meals like some sort of scientific experiment. Yet something in her relaxed posture, so different from her usual rigid control, draws me forward.

“I won’t bite.” A lazy smile plays across her lips. “And what my brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

I climb the steps cautiously. She watches me, amused, smoke curling from what definitely isn’t a cigarette.

Is that… weed?

The sweet, distinctive scent confirms my suspicion.

“Holy shit! The chick’s a stoner!”Boyana is laughing.

I settle onto the lounger next to Diana, watching her take another long drag. The smoke drifts up into the night air, carrying that unmistakable fragrance. Her usual perfect posture has melted into something softer, more human.

“Here.” She passes me the joint, her movements languid. “You look like you’re about to snap from tension.”

I stare at her for a moment before shaking my head. “Um… no. Pregnant, remember?”

Diana laughs — actually laughs — the sound so unexpected it startles me. “Da.Of course. How could I forget? Pity, though. This is good stuff.”

Her accent has thickened, losing that careful precision she usually maintains. Her hair, typically arranged in an elegant chignon, falls loose around her shoulders. Even her silk robe seems less formal somehow, draped carelessly rather than perfectly arranged.

“I’ve never seen you like this,” I admit, watching as she lifts the joint to her lips.

“What? Human?” She takes another hit, holding the smoke before releasing it in a perfect ring. “We all have our ways of coping with this life,dorogaya. Some are just more… socially acceptable than others.”

I shrug, not sure how to respond. But Diana’s presence beside me feels less threatening, more companionable.

“It must be exhausting,” she muses, “being trapped here with all our secrets and rules. At least I chose this life.” She waves her hand vaguely at the manor. “You just got… caught up in it.”

The casual admission of my captivity, so different from her usual stern deflections, catches me off guard. I turn to study her profile in the moonlight, seeing past the perfect facade to something more vulnerable.

Diana takes another long drag, her usual perfect posture melting further into the lounger. “I suppose I owe you an explanation about Sofia’s… intensity earlier.”

My ears perk up at the mention of the woman who’d taken an instant dislike to me.

“Did something happen between her and Aleksei?” I venture carefully.

Diana’s laugh holds no humor. “You could say that. My dear brother left her at the altar.”

I nearly choke on air. “He what??”

“Mmhmm.” Diana’s fingers play with the joint. “Right in front of the entire Bratva leadership. When the priest asked if he would take her as his wife, Aleksei just said ‘No.’ Simple as that.”

The image of Aleksei — cold, controlled Aleksei — causing such public drama seems impossible to reconcile.

“But… why?”

Diana’s gaze slides to me, surprisingly sharp despite her relaxed state. “Why do you think, Stella?” Her eyes drop to my belly. “The timing is interesting, isn’t it? Right after he learned about your… condition.”

My hand instinctively moves to my stomach. “Are you saying…?”

“I’m saying my brother has never done anything this impulsive in his life. The Novikov alliance was years in the making. To throw it away…” She shakes her head. “Sofia was naturally… displeased.”

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