Page 160 of Porcelain Lies

“No. They wouldn’t.” Her voice cracks.

Fuck.

Motherfuck!

I can feel it as the color drains from my face. The air seems to thicken until breathing starts to feel like dragging concrete through my lungs. This woman… The one who is carrying my child. The one who is inching her way into my world in a way that I can’t comprehend…

I had her father killed.

I’m the reason that her mother took her own life.

I’m the cause behind her pain.

I dip my head and brush my lips over the top of her head. “I am so very sorry, Stella,” I murmur.

“It’s okay,” she whispers back. “It’s not your fault.”

Except it is. It is my fault as surely as if I pulled the trigger myself. I’m responsible. Just like her father is responsible for what happened to my son.

A decision settles in my chest, hard as concrete and twice as cold.

She must never, ever find out.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Aleksei

I stride into Diana’s study without knocking.

The door swings open, revealing her as she seats gracefully at her desk, sifting through a stack of papers. She glances up, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before it settles into a calm mask.

“Lyosha,” she acknowledges, her tone measured. “I didn’t know you were home,brat.”

“We need to talk,” I state tersely.

She sets the papers aside and turns to me. “Is something wrong?”

“You introduced Bobik to Stella.” I say sharply, cutting straight to the point. “Do you have any idea what you’ve risked?”

Diana meets my gaze steadily. “I’m well aware of the implications.”

“Then why?” I snap, frustration boiling beneath the surface. “Every additional person who knows about Bobik increases the chance of exposure. You should know that better than anyone.”

“I do,” she responds calmly. “But Stella isn’t just anadditional person. She’s carrying your child. She’s becoming a part of this family whether you like it or not.”

I scoff, pacing across the rich mahogany floor. “That doesn’t grant her unrestricted access.”

“Unrestricted access?” she counters. “What about your son? Bobik has been isolated his whole live. Even more so since Olga died. He needs companionship, someone he can relate to besides us. The boy is lonely, brother.”

I halt, fists clenched at my sides. “And you thought Stella was the solution?”

“Yes, I did,” Diana says firmly. “And they connected instantly. She brings out a light in him I haven’t seen in years.” Her lips curl into a smile. “You should have seen him, Aleksei. He was alive. Excited. He looked the way a child should look. Stella… she bonded with him.”

I narrow my eyes. “You trust her that much?”

She nods. “And so should you. She has a good heart.”

Blyad!

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