Page 89 of Ruby Mercy

For five years, a human with my eyes and Rayne’s hair and a whole personality has been wandering around the world.

And I didn’t have a fucking clue.

“I’ve been busy. Unscheduled social hours aren't helping with that fact."

“I’m the one who has been wronged here, Kirill,” Leonid says. His voice is surprisingly genial even as his thin lips flatten nearly to disappearing. “With all due respect, I am the one who has been inconvenienced. I’m the one whose plans have been interrupted.”

I fix him with a heavy stare before I wave him to the leather chair across from my desk. “By all means, sit and lodge your complaint.”

He scowls and lowers himself slowly into the chair. Leonid wears his age well, but he’s slowing down. With only a daughter as his successor, I can’t exactly blame him for showing up on her behalf today. His legacy is on the line.

“Viktoria came and spoke with me the other day. She was a mess, crying and blubbering incoherently. You know how women can be.” He sighs. “When I finally got the explanation out of her, she told me she was suddenly without a fiancé.”

Given the fact the marriage was originally arranged between my father and Leonid, I probably should have gone to him first when I decided to end it. I figured Viktoria would deliver the news just as well as I could.

“We broke off our engagement, yes.”

Leonid eyes me for a few seconds. Maybe he’s waiting for me to say more on the subject, but there isn’t much more to say.

“Viktoria seems to think it had something to do with one of your maids.”

“There’s another woman,” I tell him. “You’ve met her, actually.”

At that, his brows raise. “The same woman I met at the party the night—"

The night Ilya died.

“The same woman," I confirm. “I didn’t think it was fair to your daughter to marry her when my heart belonged elsewhere.”

Leonid laughs. “Kirill. Let’s be men about this. We don't need to talk about your heart."

“Last I checked, men have hearts, Leonid. Arnov’s killed him, remember?”

“Hearts are irrelevant. As is the pleasure of a woman’s company. Men such as us can get sex anywhere. I certainly do.”

“That’s well-documented.”

He shrugs, unfazed. “My reputation precedes me, but if you are looking for shame, keep looking. There is nothing wrong with being insatiable.”

I sigh and tap a pen against my knuckles. “Is there a point to this? I have work to do.”

“The point is,” he says, leaning forward, “there is no reason you can’t marry my Viktoria and be with this other woman.”

“You’ve explained this before. In detail. The night you met Rayne.”

“I figured it’s worth mentioning again. It didn’t seem to take the first time.”

“It took just fine,” I growl. “But if you keep up with this bullshit, the only thing you’ll take will be a knife to the throat, Leonid.”

He holds up his hands in a silent mea culpa. “If it is because you don’t think Viktoria will accept the arrangement, let me talk to her. Better yet, I’ll have her talk to her mother. My wife has been understanding of her place in my life for years. We have an… arrangement.”

“My father told me all about yourarrangementwith your wife,” I snarl at him. “She came into your house with a nice fortune when you desperately needed it. It fed your empire when you were incapable of doing so yourself. Now, she sits home with the nice things her money bought while you fuck whores on every coast.”

His mouth tightens. “I turned her good fortune into a great one. Now, she reaps the benefits of that. It was mutually beneficial.”

“I’m sure she’s fucking thrilled.”

His eyes are flat and lifeless. “We've had discussions about her being unsatisfied from time to time, but then I remind her how quickly she can be replaced. I guess the thought of another woman wearing her pretty dresses and dripping in her jewels keeps her in my bed.”

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