He looks up and smiles, happy to see me. That’s the worst part. He’s always so excited to be with me.
“What can I do for the most beautiful woman in my life?” he asks, holding out his hand. “A massage? A date night? A holiday somewhere exotic?”
I take his hand, and he pulls me onto his lap. He kisses me deeply, tangling his fingers in my hair. I don’t hold back. I kiss him hungrily before I start to giggle into his mouth. “You’re insatiable.”
“For you, every day,” he growls, kissing my neck softly and giving me shivers.
“I came looking for something to do,” I sigh, closing my eyes until he’s done trailing kisses on my skin. Then I look into his eyes. “I feel absolutely useless now that I have nothing to keep me preoccupied. I wasn’t made to play housewife.”
“While there’s nothing wrong with being a housewife, I know you need a challenge. So tell me, what is it you want most in life?” he asks.
I go quiet and think about it for a moment before saying, “Well, I want to practice law. I didn’t work this hard at my studies to be top of my class, not to practice law.”
“What kind of law do you want to practice?” he asks curiously, stroking my back gently. I love when he does that.
“I want to focus on corporate law, maybe some criminal law if the family needs it, but mostly, I want to be an active part of the family business, yours or mine. Even more than that, I want to build a successful business.”
I sigh and pout at him, and he chuckles before he runs his thumb over my bottom lip that’s jutting out.
“Why don’t we start by getting you some offices for your new firm? You better think of a name so we can set it all up.”
I balk at the idea and shake my head. “No, no, that’s too much, Ivan. You can’t just give me a law firm.”
“You’re brilliant, Tori, you’re absolutely amazing, and I have no doubt that it would be a raging success under your guidance,” he says, inclining his head to the side. “It would be an investment, really.”
I sigh and shake my head. “You’re too kind and too generous. I don’t want to take advantage of that.”
Especially because I’m betraying you, I think but do not say out loud.
He kisses my nose. “You will have everything your heart desires, and you can’t stop me from giving it to you. However, I need to finish this work, so can we discuss this later?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll visit Kira to distract myself,” I say, kissing him softly.
Aleks drives me to Kira, and from there, he hangs out with other guards outside the villa while we talk inside the library.
“Tori, this isn’t good. You need prenatal care and scans, and you need to make sure the baby is healthy. You can’t just ignore the situation,” she says in a hushed, worried tone.
“I know, Kira. I’m not stupid. I’m just figuring it out,” I say. “You don’t understand how complicated the situation is!”
“Oh, don’t I?” she says with a raised eyebrow. “As though I didn’t sleep with Uncle Romero’s rival's son and have his son, now with a second on the way.”
“Miguel didn’t try to kill Uncle Romero and Papa,” I point out. “I just don’t know what to do at this point.”
“Are you planning on keeping it?” she asks suddenly. “Because you have to decide soon. After you reach a certain number of weeks, they won’t do it anymore.”
“I’m catholic. I would never have an abortion,” I hiss at her, shocked and hurt. “You can’t suggest things like that, surely? Papa didn’t make you have one.”
Kira reaches for my hand. “I didn’t mean you should. I’m just presenting you with your options, judgment-free.”
I squeeze her hand and sigh. “I know I have to deal with this soon, but I don’t know what to do.”
“You should tell Alessandro to get you out of there first of all,” Kira suggests. “And tell him you’re pregnant. He will protect you from Ivan. I swear Alessandro has more power at this point. Ivan wouldn’t dare hurt you.”
“Ivan wouldn’t hurt me at all,” I say confidently. “You don’t know him. You don’t understand him.”
“Are you defending him?” Kira asks, raising an eyebrow
I shake my head quickly. “Not at all. I know what I have to do for my family.” I stand up. “I shouldn’t stay too long. Ivan likes to have dinner with Anastasia and me at six sharp.”