Page 41 of Thorns of Lust
I shook my head. “No, we must not.”
“Tatiana–”
“No!” I glared at him. “First, he’d blame you for letting yourself be taken out. Then, he’d assign a whole army on me and possibly remove you. Let’s keep this between us.”
“Yan’s not going to like it.”
“Tell Yan, I pay you, not Vasili.” Yuri raised his brow as if to claim all my money was Vasili’s anyhow. Well, that wasn’t true. I had my own trust fund and I did well managing it. “That’s final. Now come in,” I demanded.
Yuri shook his head. “No, I’ll watch out here. I can’t see the threat from inside.” With that, he turned around and pulled the door shut. “Lock yourself in.”
I did as he asked, then leaned against the door again with a relieved breath. Yuri and Yan were okay. I was okay. Relatively speaking.
“Chip,” I muttered as I hung my coat on the rack beside the door and went to the kitchen, my steps heavy and slow. “What did he mean by it? Is that what—” The realization hit. It should have sunk in earlier but the alcohol in my veins probably wasn’t helping. “That must be what these men are after!” Now, I had a direction. A purpose. I’d find it and get my answers. “Where is that damn chip?”
It felt important. That man clearly thought I had it.
I made my way to the window and stared at the people below me, rushing to their final destination, while my thoughts wandered.
Was this the reason Adrian didn’t want to have kids? It is possible he knew he was in so deep that it would endanger our family. The memory of that last week together flickered through my mind.
I was stubborn, demanding to get my way and oblivious to what was going on apparently.
Adrian and I sat on the couch, each one of us on the opposite side of it. An old Grace Kelly movie played. Flash. Luxury. Cameras. Dresses. But I didn’t see any of it. The wheels in my brain spun furiously ever since he dropped the ‘I‘ bomb yesterday. INFERTILE.
Initially, it was a shock. I didn’t know what to think of it. Or feel.
But since then, I have had time to think it through. It wasn’t an obstacle. Days of research showed me there were many children that needed a family. I wasn’t willing to give up on our family just because he was infertile.
“We could adopt,” I whispered.
If only I could show Adrian that a child would be a blessing. They needed love and affection, a caring family. My brothers would love their niece or nephew, regardless if we adopted or gave birth.
The temperature in our penthouse dipped into the Siberian freeze-your-fucking-ass off winter.
“Drop it, Pipsqueak.” Adrian’s warning was vehement and harsh.
But I wasn’t the giving up type of girl. The stubbornness was part of my genetics. So I pressed.
“I’ve researched a few agencies,” I continued, while tension pulled tight in his shoulders. “There are some here in the U.S.; although, it might be faster if we adopt from an international one.” He didn’t look at me but the tension grew palpable. It was so thick, I could almost taste it. “Maybe we could adopt from a Russian agency?”
After all, he came from the streets of Moscow. He knew some kids that grew up in Russian orphanages. We could give them a better life.
“I don’t want a kid,” he spat out, not even deigning me with a glance.
Then he shot up and started to walk away from me. Blind rage was like an injection and I jumped up too.
“Give me a reason,” I shouted. “A good reason why. You refuse to even consider what I want or need.”
“Tatiana, you’ve been spoiled your whole life,” he said, not even turning his head. “You’d never understand.”
Dumbfounded, I stared after him. It took a minute for my lips to form a question. “Understand what, Adrian?” I asked in a hurt voice. Yes, my brothers gave me all they could, but I didn’t think I was spoiled. I never demanded unreasonable things, and I was always willing to work for what I wanted.
“Adrian, don’t walk away from me,” I called out. “Talk to me.”
The door slammed and my voice echoed throughout the empty penthouse.
He had left me. Again.
