40

Rai A few days later, Sergei holds a gathering to celebrate the good news. No joke. I don’t know why I’ve allowed it to go this far or how I let Kyle’s manipulations lead me to this point of no return, but that single moment of speechlessness during the meeting was enough to have everyone ganging up on me with well wishes and congratulations. Then Ana came downstairs, and she kept herself as busy as a bee in the kitchen, preparing me nutritious food and making me sit down. Sergei won’t stop smiling whenever he sees me. He may never meet his own grandchildren in this lifetime, so he’s apparently living that dream through me. No matter how much I wanted to put my foot down and scream that it wasn’t true, I couldn’t just wipe the doting expression off Sergei’s face. He seems so happy lately, serene, almost like he’s finally fulfilling the last role in his life. He doesn’t even have bad coughs anymore. I’m not cruel enough to hurt him, no matter how much I’ve been plotting to murder Kyle.