Deceitful Vows (Marital Privileges #2)

68. Andrik

68

ANDRIK

A noushka implements a disappointed stance when I ask, “Were you there when he said that?”

“No.” Before I can dismiss her from my office with an arrogance that would have seen my bottom paddled when I was a child, she adds, “But I asked Zakhar about it after she left, and he confirmed what she said. Zoya’s mother and Zakhar’s mom know each other. From what I can tell, they’ve interacted numerous times.”

My silence agitates her to no end.

“Andrik—”

“I will look into it,” I interrupt, willing to say anything for a moment of peace.

My head won’t shut down.

My heart won’t shut down.

I’m tired and angry. That is a lethal combination. It is not the time to mess with me.

“But for now, I need to do this.” I fan my hand over the files I had couriered to our new location this morning. “I need to find a wife who can birth the next generation of the Dokovic reign.” A federation-approved heir.

I fucking hate myself. I hated myself last night when I tried to push Zoya into admitting that she lied about being pregnant by suggesting an abortion. And I hate myself now for acting like her fertility issues are the only reason we can’t be together.

There are far more pressing issues as to why I shouldn’t think about her the way I do, though none I am willing to share.

“There are ways Zoya can get pregnant.”

“No!”

Anoushka pushes like Mikhail does because she knows she will never face the wrath of my gun. “She donated eggs years?—”

“No!”

“There could still be some available to thaw. Or you could use a donor.”

“No. No. No! ” I shout, losing my cool. “I don’t want to have a baby with Zoya. I don’t want to father her offspring. I want to pretend she doesn’t exist. That’s all I fuckin’ want.”

Because that is the only way I will be able to keep my promise to Zakhar.

I told him he wouldn’t lose me like he will his mother in two short weeks. Acting like Zoya can be a part of our life will only end one way—with my death. That’s how much it torments me. That’s how much it hurts knowing how badly I crave her but can’t have her.

“An annulment is being filed as we speak. She will be out of our hair by the end of the week.”

My self-loathing slips into the abyss when a croaky voice outside my office door says, “Then I guess I better go pack. I don’t want to outstay my welcome.”

Zoya pegs a USB drive at my head, her aim perfect. It smacks me in the brow hard enough to sting before landing on my lap.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I got proof.” She walks away before something forces her to turn back around. “And by the way, it is still classed as cheating when you’re fooling around on your mistress.” She glares at me like she hates me. “Especially when you told her that you hadn’t been with anyone since her.”

This time, she leaves without a backward glance. It is a struggle to stay in my seat. I want to react like I did last night. I want to bend her over my knee and spank her sass right out of her. But that will make me as unhinged as the depraved thoughts that fill my head when I load Zoya’s USB drive into my laptop and fire up the first bit of footage.

It is from a hidden surveillance device Konstantine placed in Zakhar’s room at my request when I realized I was only being shown what the federation wanted me to see.

This footage shows Dina standing across from Zakhar, intimidating him with a stern stare.

“What was our agreement, Zakhar?”

His little lip quivers as he replies to her snapped question. “That I’m not to tell anyone about my mommy.”

“Because?”

Tears gloss his eyes. “Because then she will have to go to heaven.”

Dina moves closer, hovering over him with her tall height. “Is that what you want, Zakhar? Do you want your mother to die?”

“No,” he answers with a sob.

Dina’s composure doesn’t alter in the slightest. She remains as stern as a head nun at an all-girl’s school campus. “Then do as we practiced. Who is your mother, Zakhar?”

“I don’t know,” he answers, clearly ashamed he has to hide her identity.

“Where did you live before you came here?”

“I don’t know,” he murmurs again.

“Who brought you here?”

His eyes flick up for two heart-thrashing seconds, peering into the eyes of his abuser, before he shrugs. “I don’t know.”

I can’t see Dina’s face, though I can picture her smile. Victory is rife even through a hidden surveillance device.

After patting Zakhar’s head like he is an obedient dog, she shifts to her right before saying, “He won’t break cover. I trained him well.”

As the footage ends, I shoot my eyes to Konstantine. “Find out who she was speaking to.”

He nods as I click into the second file of footage attached to the drive.

Anoushka’s disappointed sigh is louder than the strokes of Konstantine’s fingers on his keyboard when “Kneel. Now! ” sounds through the speakers of my laptop.

Arabella… Aleena? Whatever the fuck her name is immediately follows my command. She falls to her knees as swiftly as I spin to close my bedroom door, blocking the visual of my supposed wife-to-be naked and ready to please.

Zoya thinks I cheated on her with her sister.

I wonder if she would be as upset when all the truths of that week are exposed?

I’m close to telling her. I can’t live with the torment for much longer. But first, I need to visit my old hometown.

My son was interrogated without a parent present.

That warrants punishment, and I’m the judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to punishing the insolent fools who hurt the people I love.

And perhaps their caretaker. “Make sure she eats today.” Zoya skipped both dinner last night and breakfast this morning.

After waiting for Anoushka to agree to my request, I add another task onto Konstantine’s never-ending list. “And find out who doctored the footage.”

Although Zakhar can’t be monitored twenty-four-seven by Konstantine, there’s meant to be someone watching his feed day and night. I have a hunch of who might have coerced the security personnel from their post for a minute or two, but I’m not as trusting of my intuition as I once was, so I’d rather Konstantine check. He is one of only a few people I trust right now.

“Who do you want me to forward my findings to?”

Konstantine’s question stumps me until I turn to face him. He knows I wouldn’t have anyone to take my anger out on if it hadn’t been for Zoya, so he believes she should get some credit for her finding.

Since I don’t disagree with him, I nod, wordlessly approving his suggestion.