Page 45

FORTY-FOUR

MAXIM

I tear the paper even further as I grip it in my hand. What the actual fuck? This is so much. So many revelations, all in one breath, and I feel like I’m suffocating under the weight of it. My head is spinning, the tension building behind my eyes, and my chest feels like it’s being crushed.

I can’t look at Sophia right now. I didn’t want her to know like this. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was ever going to tell her. Deep down, I’ve always felt pathetic, pining after a woman I’ve never spoken to. And now? Now, after everything we’ve been through, it feels like a fucking joke. I’ve been keeping this from her for so long, and part of me wonders if I was even going to tell her at all.

When I first met her, the attraction hit me like a freight train. It was instant, and I was lost, confused. But as the days, weeks, and months passed, I realized the love I felt for her had always been there—since the moment I laid eyes on her. But I was already too deep, caught in a web of lies and secrets. And now? Now, what’s the point? It’s too late. She has enough on her plate. I won’t burden her with something that has been buried for so long.

“Open the other letter,” Sophia orders, her voice cutting through my thoughts.

I try to speak, but the words get stuck in my throat. I want to apologize, to say we’ll talk more about this later, but she doesn’t give me the chance. She cuts me off, her voice rising in frustration.

“Maxim, open the letter, please.” It’s louder now, and I can hear the urgency in her tone.

I start to lift the tab, but before I can finish, she yanks the letter from my hands.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she mutters under her breath, pacing the room, her words now a stream of Spanish expletives. She’s livid, and I get it. She has every right to be.

I bite back a chuckle, but I hold my breath, determined not to anger her further. She’s not in the mood for my jokes, and I don’t want to add fuel to the fire.

As she paces, I can’t help but feel the irony of the situation. I’m married to the woman of my dreams, to the love of my life, and I’m still trying to process the fact that Jennifer is my half-sister. What kind of fucked-up world is this?

Sophia slams the paper onto my desk, and her hand comes down hard, palm flat. “Maxim Volkov, you and I have a lot of talking to do.”

I lean forward, my pulse quickening. “There’s no point in hiding this anymore.”

I open the drawer, pull out the velvet box, and slide it across the desk toward her. “Wife.” The word comes out almost playfully, like I’m trying to get her to crack a smile. This whole situation is a mess, but I still plan on having a real wedding. This paper? It’s just a formality.

Her glare is immediate and sharp, and her jaw tightens as her shoulders square. “This isn’t valid, Maxim. You’re not going to go along with my dad’s craziness.”

I sit back, pointing to the signatures on the document. “My beautiful wife, this document is very valid. Look at our signatures.”

She scoffs, blowing out a breath, exasperated. “If that man wasn’t actually dead, I would kill him.”

“Sophia, relax. You can’t keep getting angry. Think of our baby.”

“Baby?” Jennifer’s voice rings out, causing both of us to turn sharply. Shit. I forgot she was even here.

Sophia glances at me, then back at Jennifer. “You’re pregnant?” she asks, her tone flat.

Sophia’s face hardens, and she looks away, taking a seat, crossing one leg over her knee. “I’d rather not talk about that right now.”

“Jennifer?” I ask, my voice cutting through the silence. “Is there anything else you want to tell us?”

Jennifer hesitates for a moment before shaking her head. “I have nothing else to tell you.”

That doesn’t sit right with me. There’s something in her tone—something off. I tilt my head. “Then who does?”

The question stops her in her tracks. She had already moved toward the door, but now, she pauses, glancing back at me.

“That question will be answered soon enough,” she says, her voice cool and distant. “I’ll be waiting outside. You guys look like you need a minute. Let me know when you’re ready to plan your next move.”

With that, she leaves, the door closing softly behind her.

I collapse back into my chair, my head resting on the backrest as I close my eyes. There’s too much to process. Jennifer is my half-sister. She isn’t the enemy, just a pawn in some game I don’t understand. Sophia is pregnant and we’re already legally married.

The silence between us is deafening.

Sophia breaks it first, her voice low and steady. “Were you ever going to tell me you were the reason I got into the residency program in New York?”

My stomach twists, but I don’t look at her. “Technically, I didn’t know you,” I say, trying to keep it light. “I only met you recently.”

She sucks her teeth, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing. “This situation has no technicalities, Maxim. When were you going to tell me?”

I feel a spike of irritation, but I swallow it. I’m not going to snap at her, not now. “I wasn’t sure when I was going to tell you. Maybe I wasn’t ever going to. To me, it didn’t really fit with who we are now. But when I met you, I didn’t realize it back then, but what I felt for you wasn’t just attraction. It was love. Real love.”

“Why did you help me get in?” she presses, her voice quiet now.

I exhale, running a hand through my hair. “During the charity function, I overheard you talking to one of the doctors. You were so broken, so hurt when he told you how hard it was to get into the program. You needed top grades, accomplishments, connections. I couldn’t stand seeing that look on your face. I had the pull, so I used it.”

Sophia’s expression hardens again. “You’ve been lying to me for over a year. You acted like you didn’t know me.”

“It wasn’t an act,” I say softly. “I didn’t know you, not really.”

She shakes her head, frustration clear in her eyes. “Maxim, that’s bullshit. The way my dad made it sound in that letter was that you knew everything about me.”

And there it is. The truth she has been holding onto. The same truth I’ve been running from.

I shake my head slowly, meeting her gaze. “No, Sophia. Back then, all I knew about you was surface-level stuff, things I overheard or got from your dad. It wasn’t like now. Now, I know you—truly. I know the deepest parts of you.”

Her lips press together, and she doesn’t answer immediately. Finally, she asks, “Why didn’t you talk to me at least?” Her tone is soft, but there’s something underneath it—a faint edge of resentment. It feels like she’s mourning a relationship that could’ve started years ago, one that might have rewritten our lives.

I stand and move to sit on the edge of my desk, leaning forward until we’re at eye level. “I’m not sure. It was a long time ago, but I like to believe that back then, I wasn’t as selfish as the man I am now. I didn’t want to taint your soul with my darkness. If you’d given me one of those beautiful smiles of yours, just for me alone…I wouldn’t have had the strength to let you go.”

She looks up at me through her lashes, her expression softening. There’s a flicker of understanding in her eyes, like she knows I’m right. “My life would’ve been so different if we’d started dating years ago.”

“Very different.” We both chuckle, but there’s truth in her words. If we’d been together back then, nothing would be the same. She wouldn’t have become a doctor—I know that much. I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight with all the enemies my father had, the ones I inherited. She wouldn’t have been safe.

Instead, she’d have been living in a gilded cage, and we’d probably already have a couple of kids running around. A frown tugs at my lips at the thought. She wouldn’t have been happy, not the way she is now.

Her voice snaps me back. “I’m six weeks pregnant.”

My breath catches, and the frown vanishes, replaced by a smile I can’t hold back. “When did you find out?”

“A couple of days ago. I’d been feeling nauseous, and when my period didn’t come, I took a test. Two lines showed up.” She hesitates, her voice lowering. “I haven’t gone to the doctor yet. I’ve just been…trying to wrap my mind around the idea of being a mom, and I was afraid of telling you.”

“Why?”

She sighs, looking down at her hands. “We’ve got so much going on. I didn’t want to take away from what’s important.”

I stand, crossing the space between us, and gently cup her face in my hands. “Sophia, you are the most important person in my life. Everything else—everything—falls to the side. You’re my priority. My number one choice.”

Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, but she shakes her head. “Your mind has been preoccupied with Elena, with everything else happening. I just wanted things to settle down before I told you.”

I nod slowly, understanding her logic. She probably had this whole moment planned out in her mind, how she’d tell me. Knowing Sophia, she wanted it to be perfect. She’s right—my mind has been all over the place.

“It’s funny,” she says suddenly, her lips quirking into a faint smile.

“What is?”

“I know there’s a one percent chance of birth control not to working, but I never thought I’d be part of that one percent.”

Her words sting, but I don’t let it show. She doesn’t know the truth. That one percent wasn’t chance—it was me. I switched out her birth control with sugar pills. The idea of Sophia pregnant with our child had consumed me. I fought it, but the thought of her belly rounded, our baby growing inside her… It drove me to cross a line I’ll never admit to. I know how insane it sounds, and if she ever finds out, it’ll be the first time she considers murder. But it’s worth it. She’s worth it.

“How do you feel about this?” she asks, her words rushing together. “We’ve only talked about kids briefly, and I know you want more than one, but how do you feel about having a baby now? The idea of having kids isn’t the same as actually having one.”

I stop her rambling with a soft kiss, brushing my lips against hers. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

I stand, lifting her with me as I do, and gently press my hand to her stomach. “This baby is going to be loved, so loved, so full of happiness.”

A tear slips down her cheek, and I wipe it away with my thumb. “I love you so much, Sophia.”

“I love you too,” she whispers. For the first time in weeks, I feel like I can breathe. Everything has felt like it has been crumbling around us lately, but hearing her say those three words—it’s like my world has been made whole again. I kiss her again. Again. Soft, tender kisses, one after another, until she pulls back gently, her hands on my chest.

“Not the right time,” she says, her voice laced with regret. “There’s something you need to know about Elena.”

I pause, my brow furrowing. “What is it?”

She sits back down, her expression growing serious. “Let me tell you everything that happened before I came to rescue you.”

I exhale a heavy breath once Sophia finishes speaking. “That’s why Jennifer mentioned using Elena when she hit a wall.” It hits me like a punch to the gut. I’d heard her say Elena’s name, but it didn’t really sink in before. Now, it makes sense.

“Have you ever encountered the organization she was talking about?” Sophia asks, her voice full of concern.

“No, I haven’t. I have no idea who they are.” I try to steady my voice, but there’s a part of me that knows this is the beginning of something far more dangerous than we ever anticipated. “Maybe Luca knows. Your dad mentioned his father worked for them.”

Sophia looks down, biting her lip. “Do you think Jennifer will be safe?”

I frown, the weight of her question sitting heavy on my chest. A tenseness in my stomach starts to form. “I’m not sure what kind of men we’re dealing with. Let’s proceed carefully from here on out and consider them very dangerous. I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe.”

“What do we do now?” Her voice is steady, but I can feel the fear in her words.

I run a hand through my hair, trying to think clearly. “Let’s call Jennifer, Luca, and Andrei. We’ll make a plan. We need to figure out what we’re up against.”

I can feel the uncertainty of the future squeezing around me, making it hard to breathe. What if I can’t protect Sophia and our baby? I have no idea who these people are, and something about Jennifer’s behavior nags at me. There’s a sense of doom that tightens in my chest. I close my eyes, hoping for a moment of clarity, but all I feel is constriction in my lungs.

Sophia’s soft touch against my face breaks through the tension. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re not alone. We’ll get through this together.”

Her words and her touch calm me in ways I didn’t think possible. I inhale deeply, her scent filling my lungs like a breath of fresh air. “I’m scared, Sophia,” I admit, my voice cracking as I pull her close. “I feel like I’m in way over my head. I thought finding the person behind this would solve all our problems. But now…now there’s an even bigger monster waiting for us. I never imagined this would be the reality.”

She hugs me tighter, her presence a grounding force. I take in her sweet vanilla scent as I bury my face in the crook of her neck. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to get us out of this mess.”

“We all have a role to play in this, Maxim,” she says softly, her voice unwavering. “You’re not alone. We will get out of this together.”

I can’t find the words to respond. The fear gnaws at me, relentless. I’m not sure if all of us combined will be enough to get through what’s coming, but I know one thing for certain. If it comes down to choosing between Sophia, our baby, and myself, I would give my life for theirs without hesitation.

I lower my head and kiss her belly, pressing my lips to the small bump holding our child. A feeling of protectiveness swells within me, and for the first time in weeks, the weight on my chest lightens. I don’t know how we’ll survive what’s to come, but I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to them. They are everything, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure they’re safe.