Page 73 of Deception

He’s been quiet so far, listening to what’s going on as usual.

“All the more reason to end this shit with the Sarapovs once and for all.” Taking the jug of sweet tea in the middle of the table, I pour a glass and hand it to Niko so that he can pass it across to Lucy. When I’ve poured myself a glass of the Barolo red, I sit back into my seat, glancing at my father. “Or are we supposed to turn the other cheek, still?”

Niko stiffens beside me as Father stands abruptly from the table. His anger is simmering nicely beneath the surface. It’ll boil over soon enough and expose the fact that he is the weaker of the two of us. It’s why he’s thinking about making deals with the competition we should wipe out.

“It appears congratulations are due to you both,” he says, lifting his drink to toast the news. If Red didn’t make Mama so happy, I’m certain that he wouldn’t be celebrating the pregnancy. “To health, wealth, and family.”

“An enormous family,” Mama corrects as she raises her drink.

The constant tightness in my chest eases at the burst of life from her. Colour flushes her face, and light sparkles in her eyes. It’s a happiness I haven’t seen in a very long time. I’m so wrapped up in her sudden brightness that I almost miss the exchange between Lucy and Vanya.

“Excuse me?” Lucy’s affronted tone causes me to bristle.

“You can’t be…” Vanya mutters, staring down at her water. “It’s impossible…”

“Why?” Lucy scoffs at the same time as I tell Vanya, “Sit the fuck down, and shut the fuck up.”

“Tomasz,” Niko warns, even though we both know that it’s pointless.

“Why pray so hard for me when you clearly hate me so much?” Red is getting irate now, and my only instinct is to go to her. Before I can think better of it, I’m standing behind her. My hand flattens to the small of her back as she continues facing my sister, waiting for the answer to her question.

“He hurt you.”

“Vanya, come now…sit,” Mama orders, but clearly her princess has another thing she’s passionate about.

“Why would you want this?Him?”

“Because I love him,” Lucy replies, silencing my remark before it makes it past my lips.

Vanya laughs dryly, shaking her head at the ground as she mutters something about sins and whatever other shit goes through her head. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it causes Lucy to stiffen. Stepping forward, she grasps my sister’s jaw, lifting her face so that we can both see it.

“It was you,” she states.

The statement rings in the quiet that befalls the room. It’s rare that I feel lost in a conversation, if ever, but right now I have no fucking clue what’s going on between them. I only know that it has my wife on edge, and I don’t like it. No one gets to make her feel this way.

“The maid had no reason to give me that pill.”

For the first time in longer than I can recall, I intervene on Vanya’s behalf. “She betrayed yo?—”

“Shut up!” Red snaps back at me, pulling away as she tugs Vanya closer to her. She’ll pay for it later. Pregnant or not, I’ll punish her for her insolence and disrespect. “It doesn’t matter what she did. Elif had no reason to fix anything… I’ve thought about this over and over and… She had no reason to give me that pi?—”

“I was trying to help you!” Vanya explodes, pushing Lucy into the table.

Narrowly, I catch her in the crook of my arm when I lunge for her. The momentum of her body makes me stumble as I pull her into me, holding her to my chest tightly until she’s steady on her feet and I can make sure that she’s not hurt.

If I could lock her up, I would. Today has been a shitshow of worry over her and the baby. There’s a great chance that by the time our child is born, I’ll have gone insane. An even more significant chance that many people will have lost their lives because when it comes to her and our child, my control is non-existent.

“I’m sorry,” Red breathes up at me, her arms tightening around my waist while her hands slip into the top of my slacks.

“Too late for sorry, pet.” My inaudible reply has her shrinking into me, something she does when she’s seeking my reassurance. At this moment, it’s something I can’t give her. I’m mad, barely hanging on to my wits. The only thing I can do is hold her tighter. I’m not a merciful man, but she has a way of softening my rage.

“You’re all celebrating, but that baby is a sin.” The words barely litter the air before I silence her poison with my hand. Covering her mouth, I squeeze her cheeks together until she’s screaming. The muffled noise echoes around us, muted but shrill.

“Hey!” Niko jumps to her rescue too soon.

“Sit the fuck down, Nikolai, or I will snap her neck right here, right now.” He’s dithering on what to do, nervously glancing between my father and me. “You too,” I hold Father’s stare until he pulls back.

All the composure I’ve been holding on to is gone. White-hot rage pounds in my veins, percussion to the panicked heat of Vanya’s breath in my hand.

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