Chapter8: The Compromise

Chapter 8: The Compromise  Celeste suddenly stepped forward, her hand gentle on my arm, gaining my attention as I turned to look at her.  "Maybe Dmitri could pick her up," she suggested softly. "Take her to a hotel. Make sure she's settled comfortably." I looked at my wife – my wife, not my business partner, not the mother of my children for convenience, but my wife – and felt something warm up in my chest at her kindness.  Even when this woman was clearly being hostile toward her, Celeste was thinking of her. "Good idea," I said, covering her hand with mine as I nodded my head before speaking to Sophia.  "Dmitri will pick you up, Sophia. He'll take you to the Grandview Hotel. It's a nice place. You can stay there." "The hotel?" Sophia's voice was rising, sounding hysterical as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.  "I'm not staying at a hotel! I'm coming to the mansion. I'm coming to see you properly. We had plans, Xenois. Important plans." "Plans change," I said simply, not both