Page 52 of Twisted Pact

Mila

I’ve been awake for three hours, and my stomach still won’t settle.

The nausea started yesterday as just a wave of queasiness that passed quickly enough for me to ignore it. It’s worse this morning, like my body is rejecting breakfast before I’ve even eaten.

I push myself out of bed and head to the bathroom to look at my reflection in the mirror. I look pale. Tired. Like I haven’t slept through the night in days.

Which I haven’t.

My phone sits on the nightstand where I left it last night. There are no new messages from Alexei since he told me he needed to stay away, just a silence that should feel like relief but doesn’t.

The house is too quiet. Even the guards outside my door move like ghosts. I hear them occasionally change positions and talk into their radios, but mostly, there’s just an oppressive silence that makes me want to scream.

A knock on my bedroom door interrupts my thoughts.

“Mila? Are you awake?”

Papa. What’s he doing here?

I grab a robe and pull it on before opening the door. Leonid stands in the hallway wearing an expensive suit. His face is drawn, making him somehow look older than the last time I saw him.

“Papa, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“May I come in?”

I step aside and let him enter. He walks to the window but doesn’t look out. Just stands there with his hands clasped behind his back like he’s gathering courage for whatever he came to say.

I’ve never been good at waiting for my father to speak. He uses silence as a weapon. A way to make people uncomfortable enough to fill the void with confessions or apologies.

Not today.

I cross my arms and lean against the desk, waiting for him to say whatever brought him out here.

“Irina is safe,” he finally tells me. “Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to Alexei. He mounted the rescue operation.”

“Yes, but you’re the reason he agreed to help.” Papa turns to face me. “What did you promise him?”

A lump lodges itself in my throat at the prospect of telling him what I did. “That’s between me and Alexei.”

“Your relationship with him is the only thing keeping this family from destruction, so I tend to think it is.”

“That’s dramatic, even for you.”

“It’s the truth,” he snaps. “The Novikov family has been building a coalition, ready to strike. Without Alexei’s protection, we’re vulnerable to attacks from multiple directions. And before you ask, yes, I think your involvement with him is the reason he’s willing to put his family at risk to defend ours.”

I consider this while another wave of nausea rolls through my gut. Six families.

“You think my sleeping with him will help keep our family safe?” I ask.

“I think his willingness to risk his men and his reputation to save your sister suggests he’s more invested in this family than a simple business arrangement would require.” Papa studies my face. “You’ve gotten under his skin. Made him care. That’s valuable.”

“I’m not just an asset you can leverage for business deals.”

“Every woman in our world understands that personal relationships have strategic value. Your mother certainly did. Well, she used to.”

The mention of Mama makes my stomach twist. “Don’t compare me to her.”