Page 35 of Forgotten Vows
Iheaded straight to the wing of the mansion where I normally stayed. Going home wasn’t in the cards, not with Raisa and my son here. I had to be near them, now that they’d entered—or returned to—my life.
Luka had ample room for us here. Emil, Alexsei, and I all had our own homes and we all owned various properties, but we never hesitated to stop and stay here. In my room, I paced and warred with this need to compartmentalize all that had been churning up my stomach and messing with my head since Raisa started talking.
She’d been alone all that time.
She’d tried to sever ties to me and our world.
I couldn’t blame her for her reaction to how I’d ended things, but it was way too fucking soon to attempt to explain my reasoning for my lies, why it had been so critical to break it off with her.
“Fucking Konstantin.” I rubbed the back of my head as I scowled at the carpet. Back and forth, I treaded the same linear path.
Raisa’s father was the source of all this hell. He was the reason I’d left her. He was the problem that instigated her to go to such extremes of hiding and living under the radar for years.
The door opened and closed behind me. I didn’t need to turn around and look to see who it was. Only one individual in this building could go into any room with free rein.
Besides, it was just a matter of time for him to seek me out. Luka wanted answers, and I was loath to share them.
Konstantin wasn’t theonlyone who caused trouble when Raisa and I were together. My uncle never interfered in our relationship. He couldn’t have, since I was careful not to mention that I’d happened to meet a Petrov and had fallen for her. While he was aware after the fact that I’d gotten my heart broken by a woman that summer, he never pressed for more details.
Until now.
I turned and faced him, sighing heavily.
“Ivan?” That was it. One word and that arched brow. He expected me to report to him about why anyone from the Petrov family would be here, and I had to reply.
I cleared my throat, curious and desperate to know how he’d perceive this predicament.
Just how deep does your hatred for Konstantin go?
“You care to explain to me why Konstantin Petrov’s daughter showed up here with a chip on her shoulder, a tendency to strike out at you, and an attempt to hide a son who resembles you?”
“I didn’t know.” I shook my head, hating how hopeless and out of control admitting that to this man, my boss, my uncle, made me feel. Control was something I rarely gave up. In any circumstances, I held on to power, but like this, I was spiraling.
“You didn’t know who she was?” He helped himself to an armchair, sitting calmly while gesturing for me to sit with him.
I couldn’t. Resuming this pacing energy, I moved back and forth and tried to explain. “I didn’t know who she was when we met.”
“She’s the woman from that summer so many years ago.” He could’ve asked it as a question, but he stated it instead.
“Yes. We met in a bar. She was supposed to be a fling. One night of fun among many others, but…” I shrugged. “We clicked. Something about her—something about us—and we couldn’t walk away.”
“She didn’t tell you who she was?” he asked.
“No. I didn’t either. When we realized we couldn’t walk away from each other, we realized that we were from the same world. She admitted to being a Petrov and I explained that I was a Dubinin.”
“And that was the end of it?” he asked with a harsher tone of expectation.
“No.” I glanced at him, almost weirdly amused that my decisions from eight years ago were coming to matter now. “We knew, but we still couldn’t walk away. She was there studying, and I was out partying before furthering my training for the family.”
“Then what happened?” He furrowed his brow. “You came to your senses and met someone else?”
“No.” I stopped, rubbing my temples. “No, I didn’t. I worried that Konstantin would find out about us and hurt her.” That was putting it lightly. “I worried thatyouwould find out after the fact and order me to stay away from her.”
“I would have,” he growled. “Had I fucking known you were knocking up a Petrov.” He narrowed his eyes. “You are well aware of my opinions about that man.”
I nodded. “I am. I was. And it was why I never wanted to reveal who she was and how much she affected me. Because itwas a lost cause. I knew that then, but I want to hope it’s not true now.”
He grunted something like a laugh. “You want my blessing to be with her? And her son?”
