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I guess it was better than a horse’s pee hole, but all profanities were banned in front of the impressionable twins. It didn't matter which language we used around them. We were all careful.

“How?” I asked in a daze but stood up.

“Outside the cathedral, our photos were snapped. I didn't think much of it at the time,” Rurik said, but his eyes were locked on me as I began to pace. “You don't have to see them if you don't want to.”

I hesitated, watching as the twins squirmed to freedom and Orla appeared at the door to usher them out of the living room.

“They are here,” I said flatly, ignoring the nausea building up inside me.

“They are,” Rurik said as he closed the gap between us.

His hand stroked my stomach, and I relaxed.

“Fuck it. Why not? I want that particular door sealed shut and on my terms,” I said, thinking of how unhappy they had made me.

“That’s my girl,” Rurik murmured with a smile before he pulled out his mobile phone.

“Now?!” I squeaked out.

“No time like the present,” he said while he tapped away at the phone before slipping it back into his pocket. “Artyom will bring them in.”

“Keep the twins away from them,” I said coldly because I didn't want my parents to lay eyes on them.

“Orla is aware of the situation.”

I smiled wryly at him. “Ever the master planner.”

“It’s why we make such an amazing team,” he said, covering my belly with his palm.

I took a few deep breaths until the living room door opened, and Artyom led in Bethany and Alan Harlestone. Rurik’s arm slid around my waist as we watched them come in. Artyom closed the door but didn't leave. His face was as hard as stone, but he stared at the windows with his hands clasped in front of him. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I wasn't alone.

“Sit,” Rurik barked at them, and they immediately sat their arses down on the couch, looking at one another.

I almost smiled, but I did relax.

“Hello, Beth, Alan. What brings you to Russia?” I asked politely while they looked around the living room.

God, I could see the fucking pound signs in their greedy little eyes.

They almost frowned when I called them by their names.

“We were worried about you, darling,” my incubator said, her beady eyes looking me up and down, pausing on my stomach for a few seconds. Oh, congratulations. When are you due?”

Alan’s eyes narrowed on my belly before he forgot he was supposed to be a doting sperm donor.

“A grandchild. The next Harlestone generation,” he said with a tight smile.

“This is my third child, actually. We have twins, but thankfully, they are Abrosimovs, just like me,” I said with a smile as their faces fell.

Artyom covered his grin with his hand, and Rurik’s hand tightened before relaxing against me again.

“Oh,” Beth said before clearing her throat and pasting a fake smile on her lips.

I took a deep breath as I felt fate come around in a full circle.

“Let us drop the farce. You're only here for my husband’s money. Rurik, do you owe this incubator or sperm donor anything?” I asked as the cold, suppressed rage inside of me seemed to turn my blood into ice.