Page 108 of Scarlet Promise

I get it. I get everything he’s saying. Demyan’s more than just my brother. He was the one I went to, the one who reprimanded, who held me when I was sad or hurt, who went to battle for me. Dad gave me whatever I wanted, told me I was a princess, beautiful, a treasure. But Demyan saw me.

Demyan loved me and gave me everything that my father couldn’t. I know he might not have been so miserable and wouldn’t have tried to impress Dad if I weren’t there. But he wanted to prove himself to help protect me. To make it so he was always the one who’d be in charge of me.

So he gave up relationships, friendships, softer paths to victory to show our father he was capable.

And our father didn’t care. No, our father was jealous that Demyan was better than him. But he also believed if he died, then Demyan would carry out his wishes and use me as a bargaining tool.

No one ever noticed that I saw all that. No one, that is, apart from Ilya.

I drag in a breath and try to answer Demyan. “It’s complicated?—”

“Oh, bullshit, it’s complicated.” His light-blue eyes burn with anger. “Family comes first. You know that. You and me, we’re family.”

“And Erin?”

“You know she’s family. She’s my wife.”

“And Ilya?—”

“I’ve always,always, put you first, Angel. Always,” he snaps. “So tell me, how is it complicated?”

“It’s complicated because I’m pregnant.”

Silence crashes down at my revelation. I clench my hands as we both rise. Demyan sets down his drink.

“You’re what?” he asks.

“I’m pregnant,” I say, raising my head. “And not only that, but I love him.”

He sneers, but I shake my head.

“I love him. You have to understand how huge that is for me after losing Max.”

Demyan looks trapped.

But then he sighs and starts to pace. “Jesus, Alina.”

“I don’t think he had anything to do with it.”

That earns me a side-eye.

“Why Ilya?” he asks, spinning to face me mid-pace. “Why? Of all people? Why him?”

I let him continue pacing, and then I speak. “For the same reasons Ilya’s been your best friend, a brother to you, for years. He’s loyal, funny, smart… He’s an amazing person, Demyan. He even stands up for you now. Can you even believe that? Erin and I can’t. But he has the ability to see things through emotions, and that’s one reason why he’s amazing, and you know it.”

“So he’s good at business.”

I snort. “He’s good at people. He’s a good person. The best. He’s the kind of person you should be happy I have in my life.”

“So he’s a replacement for Max?” he asks.

My breath hooks something that causes a brief shaft of pain in me. I stare at him.

“People aren’t replaceable,” I say. “But I’ll tell you this—Max liked him a lot, and Max would approve. In fact, everyone approves but you.”

Demyan opens his mouth, then he shuts it with a snap.

He shakes his head. “I can’t do this right now. I need space.”