Page 257

“Without a doubt,” Sergei agreed affably, “if I had cared as passionately as you did about seeing justice served.” He paused. “But I don’t. I can only care for a few people in the world – and you’re one of them.”
“Yeah right.” But her voice shook horribly, and she squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.
“I missed you,pchelka.”
She pretended not to hear it, needed to act like the words didn’t exist so she wouldn’t end up crying. “You still haven’t explained how you found me.” Her voice came out thin but high-pitched, but at least she was still managing to hold her tears back. “Was it because of magic again?”
“Not quite.”
“I never did get to ask you. When you do magic, does it take the form of rubles or dollars?”
“Neither. I use checks.” He looked at her, noting how pale and thin she looked, and his remorse grew. “But in today’s case, I didn’t find you by magic.”
“You didn’t?”
“Alyx followed you and then she told me where to find you.” This time, he could no longer bear the distance between them, and the billionaire slowly reached for her, cupping her chin as he made her lift her face to his.
Her gray eyes were filled with terror, and his heart squeezed at the sight of it.
“I’m scared,” Fredericka whispered. It hurt to say the words because they made her feel like everything she had achieved until that moment was worth nothing.
Sergei released her face and when his hand slowly pressed against her stomach, her eyes stung.
“Is it because my child is inside of you?”
A tear spilled down her cheek as Fredericka choked out, “Yes.”
“Look at me, Fredericka.” He waited for her patiently, watched her square her shoulders before once again meeting his gaze. “I’m here for you. I will always be here for you, and I’ll be there for the baby, too.”
“You can’t promise me that,” she said brokenly. Because her father had promised her mother the moon and the stars, and yet in the end all his promises had turned out empty.
“I can and I am promising you that.”
“Life doesn’t work that way,” she cried out. “You’re you, and—-”
His jaw clenched. “If someone older – someone perhaps like Julian Alexeyev – was the one who has made you pregnant, are you saying that will be the only time you feel there is no need to worry? It is only because of my age that makes you think I am incapable of caring for you and our child?”
“No.” His words forced her to see the silliness in her thoughts, forced her to remember the kind of man she knew Sergei Grachyov to be. He wasn’t like her father and had never been like him.
“Trust me,pchelka.” He breathed hard. “Because I love you.”
Fredericka jerked.
“I have loved you for a very long time.”
“Don’t say that just because of the baby.” Her tone was strained. “It’s not necessary. If you’re worried about what people would say—-” She shut up when he looked at her like she had gone mad.
“My mother is an infamous gold-digging snob, and my youngest brother is dating our stepsister. Do you think I’d survive this far if I cared about what other people think?”
Right, right. But if that was so, then did that mean—-
Her eyes widened.
And just like he could read the question screaming in her mind, Sergei said flatly, “I wasn’t lying. You didn’t hear wrong.I love you.”
“You can’t,” Fredericka whispered.
“I do, and I know you heard me the first time I told you.”