Page 133 of Cruel Juliet

But Petyr seems to read it right on my face. “Sima,” he exhales. “Speak your mind. I promise, I’m not going to flip my shit at you.”

That tugs a smile out of me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. We’re in this together now.” His free hand brushes over my knuckles. “We’re family. That means you get a say in what goes on here.”

Family.That word gives me the courage I need.

“I think Kira needs help, Petyr. More than she wants to admit. I don’t know if you’ve talked nurses yet, but?—”

“Yes.” He brushes a stray lock out of my face. “We did. I assured her we’d get her all the help she needs, but maybe I didn’t reassure her enough.”

I exhale with relief. So they’ve talked already. I feel a little silly for worrying so much, but also glad Petyr listened to me.

I brace myself for another hard question. One I haven’t been able to bring myself to ask yet. “Is it that bad?” I whisper. “With Dimitri?”

“No. That’s the thing.” He frowns. “I saw him a few weeks ago. He was better, Sima. Still recovering, but stronger. Lucid for most of the time.”

“That’s amazing.” Lightness fills me all of a sudden. I can’t keep my smile off my face. “He’s really doing that much better?”

“He is,” he confirms. “Spotty memory here and there, some physical therapy to go, but… he’s not in a bad way, Sima. Not like he was before.”

“I see.” I purse my lips. If that’s the case, it’s odd that Kira's so worried. Then again, I’ve never been in her shoes, so I really shouldn’t judge. Just count myself lucky for my blessings. “Maybe Kira’s burning out, then. From all the care she’s already given him.”

Petyr leans back, deep in thought. His jaw flexes. “Kira doesn’t ask for help. She never has. But if she’s saying something to you…”

“Then she’s probably closer to breaking than she wants to admit.”

He nods. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Maybe we will bring in a live-in nurse. She won’t like it?—”

“You bet,” I mutter. Just the memory of how nasty she was to me when I first arrived is enough to send a chill through me.

“—but she’ll deal.” Petyr smirks, as if he’s reading my mind. I never shared her unkindness with him, so he doesn’t know that part, but he’s known Kira for years. He can guess how she’ll react to live-in help. “And she’ll be better for it.”

“That sounds good.” I peck him on the lips and rest my head against his chest again. A huge weight feels lifted off my shoulders. “She deserves a break. Dimitri, too.”

He hums in agreement. “Yeah. They both do.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” I confess. “I’ve heard so much, but I’ve never…”

A twinge of unease prickles at me, but Petyr snuffs it out. “He’ll love you,” he says, like I’m an open book to him. And maybe I am. I realize I don’t mind that one bit. “It’s impossible not to.”

Warmth seeps into me. I kiss him again, slower this time. Deeper.

Petyr doesn’t return to his books for another hour after that.

52

SIMA

Lilia’s eyelids are drooping by the time I finish feeding her. Cuteness overload.

I button up my blouse again and pick her up. “Have a good snack?” I coo in my cringiest baby voice.

I always hated it when people did that. It felt dumb. But guess who’s the biggest hypocrite in the whole wide world now?

“It’s Mommy,” I answer with the stupidest face I can muster. “Mommy’s the biggest hypocrite in the whole wide world. You don’t know what that word means yet, but that’s okay.” I pat her gently on the back.

Lilia burps, which feels like appropriate social commentary from a one-month old baby. Her tiny fingers curl around the edge of the blanket while I rock her gently in my arms.