Page 89 of Porcelain Lies

“Aleksei…”

My head snaps up as I realize Diana is watching me. “Mne zhal’.Sorry,” I mutter.

“You know you’re going to have to do something about this,” she says.

“I’m already doing everything I can,” I snap.

“Are you finding him another mother?”

I narrow my eyes on her. “What the fuck are you talking about, Diana?”

“You can’t look after him alone. The boy needs a woman in his life.”

“You’ll be that woman,” I say bluntly. “Your suites are below his. He loves you.”

“I can’t take on that responsibility alone,brat. My business keeps me occupied. He needs someone who can be around for him.”

“He’ll be fine.”

“He won’t and you know that,” she says firmly, then adds, “You need a wife.”

“Blyad!Don’t start that now, Dee, I’m not in the mood.”

“But Sofia—”

“Sofia?” I bark out a harsh laugh. “Are you fucking kidding? The woman has the maternal instincts of a piranha.”

“You haven’t given her a chance,” she insists. “And all this talk of a break-up—”

“It’s not just talk, woman. I will meet with her father and tell him the engagement is off. If it hadn’t been for everything that’s happened with Bobik and Olga, I would have done it already.”

“But you don’t need to,” she says. “She’s still ready to go ahead. The holiday you gave her has smoothed her feathers and—”

“I didn’t give her a holiday. I sent her to the Bahamas to get her out of my life so I could figure things out without her fucking bullshit.”

“The Bahamas sends a very different kind of message,brat,” she disagrees.

“What did you want me to do? Lock her up? It was the easiest solution at the time. I wasn’t going to waste energy trying to convince her to stay away. I needed to take care of my son.”

“Well, she’s back now.” She purses her lips.

“I don’t care. I’m done with her.”

“Don’t do it,” she presses. “Please, Aleksei. We need this. You need this.”

“I don’t fucking need anything.”

“The Bratva needs it.” She sets her jaw.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Diana’s perfectly manicured nails tap against my desk as she outlines her betrayal. “The invitations went out last week. Three hundred guests, including every major Bratva family on the West Coast.”

My fingers curl into fists. “Chto?What the fuck did you do?”

“I did what was necessary.” She straightens her spine, meeting my glare. “The other families are getting restless. They question your commitment without a proper marriage alliance.”

“You had no right—”

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