Page 120 of Volatile

He lowers his voice so it doesn’t carry through the house as he does his part, “And Natalya loves…”

She can’t see me, but she jumps up and down, screaming, “Mama!”

He cups the back of her head as he stares into her eyes, repeating himself with less enthusiasm.

“And Natalya also loves…”

She looks around, not realizing he wants to hear her say him and gets even louder.

“Cookies!”

He grumbles to himself and curses under his breath but there’s nothing other than love in his eyes.

“Your mother’s daughter through and through.”

Idiot. She may be my double physically with her lighter hair and her darker eyes, but her personality is 100% Vitali – down to the fact she reaches for his burger and they take alternating bites. She hums to herself with every bite, and he leans against the counter as he holds it out to her. When she’s waiting for her dad to finish his bite, she creates a new song as she rubs her belly.

“Talya love burger.” She hugs Tali’s hand as he holds it at her mouth and tries to unhinge her jaw to get a bigger bite but she barely makes a dent. The song doesn’t stop once she’s chewed and she rubs her dad’s belly as she sings, “Papa love lots and lots of burgers.”

He playfully grabs her face with his palm under her chin and squeezes her cheeks as he plants a noisy kiss on her forehead.

“Papa loves you, my little cookie monster.”

“And Mama?” she mumbles with her cheeks pushed in.

He acts scandalized and rears back. “Obviously, your mama is perfect and you are just like her.”

She preens under his praise and her body melts as he holds her face up. If Tali is a puppy, Natalya is like a teacup version as she whispers, “Perf-it like Mama.”

He stands her up with his arm around her so she’s leaning against his chest as they begin eating again. On their next rotation, he holds the burger out of her reach and tries to force our sweet girl to join his evil side.

“If your mama asks, did you have a burger?”

Her shouting “yes” forces out my laugh and I don’t want to be caught yet so smother it with my hand. She can’t lie to me for shit: as soon as I put her down for her nap, she’ll spill every secret, even if they’re not hers. Any fear I had of being my own mother was unfounded, my daughter is perfect, and I’d never be able to put her down or fill her head with toxic bullshit.

She’s never going to be afraid of me or my reaction, she has her own life, her own choices to make, and if I’m lucky I’ll do my part right so hers are easier.I’ll never control what she eats but the burgers are filled with grease and he feeds her one every single day which isn’t healthy since she’s so young.

The house fills with noise as the other kids get home from school and I stop lurking before they can out me as Vasy and Dom run through the house, and they nearly drown out the shithead.

“What’s the right answer, baby girl?”

Asshole, he knows she isn’t going to lie to me.

Natalya straightens her shoulders, wearing a dopey grin full of pride in herself as she says, “Talya had burger.”

I pick her up from her father’s corrupting influence and steal his burger for good measure.I’ve only taken one bite when his jaw drops, eyes going wide and he pulls us into his arms. His lips press against my cheek then my shoulder as he flattens his hand on my stomach and whispers, “You’re pregnant?”

It was the same with Natalya, I needed to eat. All the time. His genes crave food, the unhealthier the better, but I don’t answer and drop his burger on the counter before I walk away to put baby girl down for her nap. Vasy slams a stop in front of us and looks up at his cousin, tickling the bottom of her foot as he asks me, “Is it her nap time?”

I nod and soften my voice as I move his hair out of his eyes. “Yeah, you can play later, okay?”

Tali’s panic is audible as Dom enters the kitchen and he snaps, “Fuck, no. Stay away from me, child of Satan.”

I look down at Vasy and narrow my eyes as he smiles and bats his lashes like he’s innocent.

“Vasy, don’t do it,” I say.

They both attack Tali whenever they can and he’s as manipulative as his dad for distracting me. Every time I think one of my nieces or nephews is being cute, their ulterior motives are shown, reminding me that they’re all Vartanovs.

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