Page 30 of Slightly Married (Irresistible #2)

I stormed into the Upper East Side mansion, my heart pounding so hard I could feel my pulse in my fingertips. The scent of lemon furniture polish hit me the moment I crossed the threshold.

“Where is he?” I demanded of Raquel, our longtime housekeeper, who merely pointed toward Daddy’s study with worried eyes.

I burst through the double doors, bracing myself for beeping machines, doctors hovering and Simone in tears. Instead, Daddy sat in his favorite burgundy chair looking thinner but surprisingly alert, with Simone perched on the armrest beside him.

“Butterfly!” Daddy exclaimed, setting the papers aside and rising with more vigor than I expected from someone supposedly at death’s door.

We collided in a hug, but the arms around me felt like twigs compared to the bear hugs I remembered. When had my larger-than-life father shrunk so much?

I pulled back, eyes sweeping over his face. “What happened? Simone said you collapsed. Why aren’t you in the hospital?”

“Just a fainting spell,” Daddy dismissed with a wave, though the tremor in his hand betrayed him. “Your sister worries too much. I need rest, not to be poked and prodded in some hospital bed.”

Simone’s expression tightened. “I’ve been trying to convince him all morning to go back to the hospital.”

“There’s a grandchild who needs to meet you,” I said softly. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

His eyes sparkled with an unsettling excitement. “You have a brother,” he announced with theatrical flair. “And I have a son... finally.”

The satisfaction in his voice when he said finally made something twist inside me. Like having two daughters had been the universe’s practical joke at his expense all these years.

“You’re kidding me right now,” I said, hands finding their way to my hips.

“You’re actually happy about this? The man orchestrated a hostile takeover of your company, lied to your face for months and put you in the hospital!

But hey, congrats on the boy you always wanted?

” I couldn’t help adding with a sardonic smile, “Should I order balloons for the ‘Congratulations, It’s A Corporate Raider’ party, or would you prefer we go straight to the ‘My Son Stole My Company But At Least He Has A Y Chromosome’ celebration? ”

“Kay—” Simone started, but I cut her off with a look.

“No, I want to hear this,” I insisted. “How can you possibly refer to Matthaios as your son after everything he’s done?”

Daddy collapsed back into his chair with a dramatic sigh. “Yes, yes, he lied to me. And yes, I no longer have a business.” His lips curled into a pleased grin. “But from a business perspective, Butterfly, he executed it brilliantly. Clearly, my blood runs in his veins.”

I stared at him, mouth literally hanging open. Pride. Actual pride for the man who’d pulled off the corporate equivalent of a back-alley mugging against him.

“You can’t be serious?” I threw my hands up. “He straight-up lied to you every single day, and you’re just going to forgive it? He’ll run the company into the ground just to spite you!”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Simone’s face fall. My sister had overworked herself for decades trying to be the son our father never had, earned multiple degrees and sacrificed her personal life to prove herself worthy of taking over the family business.

Daddy shrugged, adjusting the gold cufflinks that peeked from beneath his sweater sleeves. “If I’d known he was my son, the company would already be his. This way, he earned it.”

Simone stood abruptly, the leather portfolio she’d been holding slipping to the floor with a heavy thud. Without a word, she strode out of the room, her usual grace replaced by rigidity.

“Are you even hearing yourself?” I asked. “Your daughter just walked out, and you’re sitting here praising the man who might actually destroy your legacy.”

Daddy looked at me with those calm, calculating eyes. “You’ll understand when you’re a parent, Butterfly.”

That hit differently now, with my hand instinctively moving to my stomach where my own child grew. I gave him one last disappointed look.

“Unbelievable.” Without another word, I turned on my heel and went in search of my sister.

I found Simone in her bedroom, burrowed under a mound of blankets. The thick velvet curtains were drawn tight against the afternoon sun. Only a sliver of light from the hallway illuminated her silhouette.

Kicking off my shoes, I climbed right in beside her, staying on top of the covers but pressing my body against her and wrapping my arms around the sister-shaped lump beneath the duvet.

The silk pillowcase beneath my cheek still held the faint lavender scent of the detergent our housekeeper had used since we were kids.

“You know what? Screw men. All of them,” I whispered, though my own heart felt like it had been put through a paper shredder. Right now, Simone’s pain took precedence over mine.

“I’m so stupid,” she murmured, her voice muffled by layers of expensive bedding. “Such a goddamn fool. Trusting him... Matt, Matthaios, whatever the hell his name actually is.” She shifted. “No, that’s not right. I allowed him to make a complete fool of me.”

She turned, emerging from her fabric fortress enough that I could see her face. Her dark eyes glittered with unshed tears in the dim light, her mascara leaving delicate black tributaries down her cheeks.

“He used me, Kay,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I was just another weapon in his arsenal. A convenient way to hurt Daddy.”

I stroked her hair, feeling the softness of her curls between my fingers. “Girl, stop. You aren’t stupid,” I insisted. “Don’t you dare put this on yourself. What Matt did was straight-up evil. You’re not at fault for believing someone who worked overtime to earn your trust.”

Simone groaned, burying her face in the pillow.

“You know what’s even worse than knowing how he used me?

” she asked, clutching a pillow to her chest. “Knowing I was used because he wanted to punish our mother and avenge his. I wasn’t even the primary target.

Just collateral damage in his vendetta against Mama and Daddy. ”

“I’m sorry, sis.” My throat was tight with anger.

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling where glow-in-the-dark stars we’d stuck up as teenagers still faintly shimmered. “Did they all know? His family? Was this their plan all along? Get me to fall for him while he stole everything Daddy built?”

A sobering thought struck me. This wasn’t just about us anymore. My hand drifted to my stomach.

This baby would be born into a family fractured by decades of secrets and fresh wounds. Would my child grow up navigating awkward holiday gatherings where half the relatives weren’t speaking to the other half? Would they feel torn between loyalty to their mother’s side and their father’s?

The very thought of my baby someday having to pick sides brought tears to my eyes. Children shouldn’t bear the weight of adult grievances, yet here I was, already worried about how these tangled family dynamics would shape my child’s sense of belonging.

I’d spent my life feeling caught between two worlds, and now my baby might face the same fate.

I exhaled slowly. “I’m not sure exactly how involved they all were in the scheme,” I admitted.

“But I wouldn’t put it past them. They’re tighter than the seal on my favorite jar of face cream.

Not once in all those months did a single one of them drop even a hint about who Matthaios really was to me. ”

“I’ll never forgive him,” Simone whispered fiercely. “Not just for his lies, but for what he cost me. My belief in myself, my dignity, my willingness to trust.”

I wouldn’t forgive either—not Matt, not Konstantin, not any of them—but I said nothing. Instead, I rubbed small circles on her back the way our mother used to when we were sick.

When Simone’s quiet sobs eventually calmed, I squeezed her shoulder.

“Listen to me, Simone. You aren’t stupid.

You’re just human. A human with a heart.

But you’re also a survivor.” I rested my chin on her shoulder.

“Overcoming a betrayal of this magnitude will make you wiser. Stronger. Maybe it’ll take some time for that strength to become apparent, but it’s there, I promise. And you’ll see it soon enough.”

For a while, it seemed like she was listening, absorbing my words, but soon her breathing deepened and slowed. I continued holding her long after, watching over her the way she’d always watched over me.

Eventually, I eased myself out of Simone’s bed, careful not to wake her. I moved to the window seat and curled my legs beneath me.

My exhausted reflection stared back at me. I needed sleep, but my mind refused to quiet.

What kind of future awaited me and Konstantin now? The bond we’d built had shattered.

Irida had her reasons for keeping Matthaios’s parentage secret, and the family had honored that choice for decades, and perhaps this wasn’t simply Konstantin’s secret to share. Still, he’d sat back with the knowledge of his cousin’s plan to hurt my sister without offering even a hint of warning.

Could I ever look at him without wondering what else he might be hiding? Without questioning whether his choices were truly for us, or for his family?

With a deep sigh, I pushed myself up from the window seat. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new decisions. All I could do for now was rest and gather strength for whatever came next.

My stomach growled as I padded downstairs the next morning, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since the flight the previous afternoon. The hardwood floors felt cool against my bare feet as I made my way through the hallway in my nightgown.

The kitchen beckoned with promises of chamomile tea and maybe some of those shortbread cookies Raquel always kept in the blue ceramic jar. I rounded the corner and found Konstantin sitting at our kitchen island with my father.

They looked comfortable. Like they belonged in the same space.

No tension, no awkwardness—just two men having breakfast like this was the most natural thing in the world. A manila folder sat between them, partially open with documents peeking out.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I blurted.

Konstantin stood immediately, setting down his fork. “You didn’t answer any of my texts,” he said. “I came to see if you were okay.”

“Why do you care?” I snarled, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling suddenly vulnerable in my nightgown.

“You’re carrying my child.” His expression remained frustratingly neutral, with not a flicker of emotion crossing his features. “And you’re my wife.”

“On paper,” I reminded him, tossing my braids over my shoulder, “and not for much longer.”

Daddy’s eyes ping-ponged between us as he took in the exchange. Part of me wished he would disappear, but another part was glad for the buffer his presence provided.

“Kayla,” Konstantin began, but I cut him off.

“You came to check on me, and you have. I’m alive. You can see I haven’t thrown myself off the Brooklyn Bridge. You can leave now.”

My father cleared his throat. “Konstantin has an interesting proposition regarding Simone.”

“Of course he does,” I said, the pieces clicking together. “So that’s why you’re really here. Not for me at all.” The betrayal felt fresh all over again. “Still playing both sides, I see.”

Konstantin stepped around the island and approached me, close enough to smell his cologne. The folder remained on the counter behind him.

For a heartbreaking second, I felt that dangerous pull to step into his arms, to feel the security of his arms just one more time. I caught myself, forcing myself to remember his lies.

“May we speak in private for a minute?”

“Why? There’s literally nothing more I have to say to you. Or you to me. You’ve made your choices, and so have I.”

I spun on my heel and walked away. I would have one of the staff bring breakfast to my room. But as I retreated, I couldn’t help wondering what had been in those documents.