Chapter 21

twenty-one

Sergi

I'm sitting in my office waiting for Damian, Alexandr, Phoebe, Dmitri, and Maria. Al and Phoebe aren't going away until tomorrow, and Phoebe insisted we confront the parents this evening; the kids will be with my receptionist a few doors down. I'm fucking glad that I she replaced the last one.

My office door opens, and everyone walks in, making themselves comfortable.

Phoebe speaks first. "How you doing, Serg?"

I just shrug and look at the man I consider a father, Dimitri, and he slowly closes his eyes on a sigh. I look at Maria and she has tears in hers, and that's when I know they said something to Avery when I asked them to keep her company all those months ago. Before I can open my mouth, my office door opens again, and Basil, Peter, and Juan walk in. I furrow my brows.

Basil is the one to speak, while Juan decides to make himself comfortable, making me narrow my eyes at him, but he just smirks.

Great I inherited his smirk, too.

"Sorry to interrupt." Juan just chuckles and Basil rolls his eyes and supplies, "He's not with us; we met in the hallway." He looks toward Phoebe, handing her two envelopes. "Alexandr's receptionist said you were here. These are for you, well the bottom one is for both of you, a wedding gift, the top one arrived this morning. It's for you only." She furrows her brows and goes to take them both. She kisses her father's cheek, and passes the bottom one to Al. She opens the top envelope, then goes still, looking around the room.

She clears her throat. "It's an invitation to the New York University Medical School graduation on July 5 th . It's one ticket, with my name on it."

I see Peter go still but my rage at not being invited too takes control and I ignore the reaction. Juan watches me closely, brows furrowed, eyes full of concern, but I ignore him, too. He has no knowledge of Avery, I made sure of it. Both Maria and Dimitri also still as well. Phoebe clears her throat again and pulls out a piece of paper. She looks at me, and I raise a brow; she knows we don't have secrets, especially after she kept her life as an assassin a secret from me.

"She's asking me not to bring anyone from our family, and she only gave me the invitation because she considers me a close friend. She hasn't said it, but I think I'll be the only person there for her."

I sit down and lean against my chair, my heart fucking hurting.

Basil gives me a sad smile. "I won't keep you all any longer, I've got to go. I have a dinner tonight with someone." He gives Phoebe and Maria a kiss on the cheek, and he and a sore looking Peter leave.

I look at Juan, who just shrugs. "You owe me a meeting, and I'm here to collect, but I'll wait until after you're done with your other family."

Both Damian and Al narrow their eyes at him. He raises his hands, shrugging again.

" Tio Juan, not cool, this family has been there for Sergi since he was ten years old, so pack it in or you'll end up ruining everything before you have a chance with him." Phoebe has always been my champion. She looks at my parents. "Now, what did you two do?" Her badass bitch has come out to play, making Al, Damian, and me smirk. Got to admit, we do love the Angel of Death, and her no nonsense.

Maria stiffens and Dimitri sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"It was more me; your mother just sat back and let me run my mouth." He looks at me with grief. "I basically threatened her; I knew she was hiding something." Phoebe stiffens, and I furrow my brow. Phoebe knows more about Avery's past than she lets on, and by the look of guilt on Maria's face, so does she. "I told her, she could either tell me what she's hiding or leave, I wouldn't allow someone to hurt our son." I hear Juan grumble something about my being his son not Dimitri's, but I ignore him; he didn't raise me, this man right here did, and I'm fucking pissed.

I stand up and throw the paper weight at the door as I shout, "You have no right!"

Both Al and Damian look pissed, while Phoebe hangs her head in disappointment.

Maria cries out, "We had every right, we love you, you may not have our blood, but you are our son, we only wanted to protect you." She starts to cry, and I feel guilty; I never want to make her cry. She has been every bit of a mother since I lost my own. Dimitri must see the war in my eyes, wanting to be mad but also wanting to comfort a woman who took in an angry teenager all those years ago after his mother died. Dimitri tilts his head, knowing he raised me right, and I sigh and walk over to her. I take her in my arms, and she cries in my chest and sobs, "I'm s-sorry, I just want you happy. I'm sorry." I squeeze her tightly to me.

Juan jumps up, looking pissed, "You're not his parents. I'm his father."

My face goes red. "How fucking dare you? These people raised me."

He looks at me then shouts, "But you shouldn't have been!"

I place Maria in Damian's arms, and I shout back, pointing at him, "Then where the fuck were you all my life? Where the fuck were you when I found my mother dead on the couch?"

Phoebe sighs. "Fuck's sake, Juan."

Juan sighs, knowing he let his jealousy get the better of him, and just as I'm about to lay into the man who didn't fucking want me, there's a loud knock on my door.

I growl, then shout, "What!"

The door opens slowly and my heart stops. I blink a couple of times to make sure I'm not seeing things. Wearing a baggy blue sweater and jeans, with her hair up in a messy top knot is my girl. Her face is pale and concern wretches over me.

She looks around the room, eyes full of terror, and she swallows hard.

I rasp, "Avery?"

She quickly turns her head at the sound of my voice, and everyone in the room has stilled.

She whispers, "Your receptionist wasn't there, so I thought I'd just knock. I have an appointment to see you."

Phoebe is the first to snap out of it and walks over to her, she hugs her tight, then places her arm through Avery's. She's trying to give her the strength she needs to be here.

"What do you need, sweetie?" Phoebe asks gently, and Avery clears her throat. She's looking everywhere at once.

She says, just above a whisper, "I need a moment alone with Sergi."

Juan twists toward her, in full Don mode. "Sorry, darling, no can do, I understand you're somewhat friends with my niece there but we're family, which means Sergi will come before you for any one of us, and if you want to talk to him, then you can do it in front of his family or you can turn around and leave. And don't bother looking at Phoebe for help, because she won't. You're probably just using her because of my son anyway. I don't know who you are, but I know women who want power, and its written all over you."

I grind my teeth. I want to win this girl back not fucking push her away. I glare at Juan, then look at Dimitri, and I see him nod his head in agreement.

What the fuck?

Maria glares at her husband but he shrugs unapologetically, and she moves away from him, making him frown. I look back at Avery and she she's staring at Juan, not breaking eye contact. She slowly moves away from Phoebe, who frowns, pain lacing her eyes, knowing she's just lost a friend—no thanks to that fucker.

Avery nods, and I'm about to rip him a new asshole, when Avery grabs my attention. I whip my head around so fast, I'm pretty sure I have whiplash.

"Okay, well then. Here in my hand is a formal letter for Sergi. He can agree to the terms, or I'll see him in court. I might as well pass this to you; seems as though you've finally decided to act like a father while he can't even be bothered to speak for himself."

Everyone's mouths drop open in shock at her words while Juan's face goes red. He snatches the letter from her, but before he can open it, Phoebe grabs it and hands it to me.

Juan glares at her, then turns that glare to Avery. "And what is it you have on him to make him sign anything? You know we can just make you magically disappear; I hear you have no one that'll notice you're gone."

I glare at Phoebe, she's the only one who could have told him anything about my girl, but she shakes her head, adamant she hasn't said anything. I turn back to Avery as she chuckles darkly, and I just stand here like a fucking idiot and let a man who didn't want me tear into her.

I haven't seen this side of her before. She looks at Juan, and her words cause my whole body to shut down.

"Wow, threatening the mother of your unborn grandchildren, classy. Turns out, ‘Grandpa,' your biological son knocked me up twelve weeks ago when he decided I was his whore rather than the woman he loved. Knocked me up with twins, no less." Everyone looks at her in shock.

Twins? Fucking twins ?

I look at her closely. Her baggy sweater is more rounded on her stomach, and if I think back to yesterday's wedding, she did look fuller then too.

Shit, fuck! Twins!

"That letter states he can have joint custody, but he won't have the babies overnight until they are weaned. I was willing to put the fact he's a monster and a lying cheating asshole aside so he can be a parent to his children, but after your display, I'm beginning to rethink the shared custody; I don't want my children around a man like you, who thinks you can talk for the coward, when you couldn't be bothered to be a father in the first place. But hey, at least you know your DNA flows through him, especially since he also speaks out in anger without realizing the consequences since he threatened to reunite me with my dead adoptive parents."

Juan's gone white, realizing he's just fucked up. Maria has tears running down her face. Dimitri's trying to console her, but she pushes him away, and Phoebe places her head on Al's chest, and he holds her tight. His eyes are focused on me, while Damian has a strong hand clamped on my shoulder. If he didn't, I'd probably fall to the floor at her next words.

She turns to me, making eye contact, and she sneers, "Ever wonder why I came to see you that night in the club? Imagine my surprise when I take a pregnancy test the night before and it becomes positive despite taking the morning after pill after you fucked me like a whore in the Brew Box bathroom. But the pregnancy wasn't the biggest surprise, was it Sergi?"

Damian and Al suck in a breath, and I struggle to breathe at all. She came to tell me she was pregnant…and I was fucking Mindy.

No, fuck, no.

I look at Damian. His eyes are filled with anguish; history is repeating itself. Sofia did the exact same thing and found Damian with another woman. But she ran. I look back at Avery and see just how strong she actually is; she didn't run, she was willing to give me a chance to know my children, despite how they were conceived.

I rasp again, only the second time I've spoken since she came through the door, "Avery, please…."

I don't get to finish, because she walks over to me and snatches the envelope out of my hand, then rips it open. She grabs my pen, scribbles something on the letter, then slams the letter into my chest.

"Have your lawyer look over it. I'll be sure mine is aware of the changes I just made." She looks around the room as she says, "I believe you're all aware of Mr. Foster of Foster Family Law. he serves under the protection of the Irish Mafia, who your all allies with." Then she looks at me with disgust, shaking her head, but I also see the pain. It fucking kills me.

She turns to walk out.

Phoebe speaks out, "Avery, wait!"

She turns slightly and states coldly, "Sorry Phoebe, your family made it perfectly clear, my needs don't matter. Don't think I didn't see Dimitri nod along with what the other man said to me, despite knowing part of my past and inserting himself where he wasn't wanted with my biological father. Don't worry about July; I'll make sure the office knows to remove your seat. Please don't contact me again."

What the fuck does she mean, biological father ?

I look at Dimitri and see guilt in his eyes. What the fuck did he do? I look back at Avery only to see her walk out as Phoebe lets out a sob. Al holds her tight, glaring at Juan.

"What?" Juan asks, like he didn't fuck up big time. Al continues to glare at him.

I snap, "You've just ruined a good friendship, because what? You wanted to assert authority as my father when you denied paternity for twenty-nine years? I had to watch my fucking mother wither away with cancer, living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, while you fucking lived it up. And you think you have the right to come in here and talk to Avery that way? I'm the one who fucked up, not her . I didn't tell her I was Bratva, I didn't tell her who I really was, I was the one who fucked another woman and cheated on her, so why the fuck do you think you can come here and act like you know everything when you don't know a goddamn thing!"

Juan sighs. "Seriously, Sergi? If you loved her so much, why would you cheat? I understand the Bratva stuff, your mother never wanted you to be involved with this life, its why she never fought against me when I said I couldn't be involved, but cheating?"

I shake my head, not willing to talk to him about this, he can't start to act like a father now, it's too late. I look down at the letter to see what she wrote, and I sigh. "Fuck."

Damian looks over and reads out loud.

"'No parties involved in the Bratva and Mafia lifestyle are to be anywhere near the children. If these are violated, then Sergi Popov will lose all parental rights.' Fucking shit, nice one, Juan. And you, Father, seriously? I know you know more about her past than you let on, but you're fucking out of line. Every day, you looked at Sergi with guilt, but then go and fucking agree with the idiot there, making the situation worse. And what the fuck did she mean, her biological father? Who is he, and what the fuck did you do?"

Juan pales, while Dimitri runs a hand through his hair and looks at his wife, who hasn't stop glaring at him.

"You just cost us our grandchildren, you pridurok ," Maria snarls, tears running down her face. Al puts an arm around her shoulders and presses a kiss to her forehead.

Juan states, "She can't do that, we'll fucking fight her and take the children away from her; she's a nobody."

I chuckle darkly; he's still not getting it. I don't want to fight her for our children, I want to fight her for our relationship…and now our family.

I shake my head as Dimitri grumbles, "She's well within her rights to do so. She can tell any court how she's concerned for the safety of the children while Sergi has them, especially because of how he treated her a few weeks ago, then how he cheated, then he threatened to kill her. Avery's not just some college student, she's a person who has been dealt a shitty hand at life and knows how to survive. The court will see how much she has achieved. Also, her deceased adoptive father was a well-respected policeman in Seattle. Not to mention, she's nearly done with college, debt-free, thanks to her adoptive parents. She has a full-time job, and a residency waiting for her. I looked into it after the hospital incident, that same hospital has an open position for her, meaning if she decides to take a year off before starting, then her place will still be there next year…and the year after that. She is one of the most sought-after students, because of how much she has excelled. She is finishing school two years early, then there's the fact she has the Irish lawyer at her back. He would have gotten Noah's approval, and you know Noah is all about helping young mothers." He then looks at me. "I'm sorry, son, I really am for my part in this. I just didn't trust her, and when she broke down and told me some of her past, I did feel guilty. But then you pushed her away, treated her like a whore, and I thought she was lying to me to get back to you. No one can access her records; I've tried but they are airtight, so my trust in her dipped more. Son, you've lost so much. And her father, like I said…I thought she was telling me a sad story to get me to feel guilty for her, I thought she was using you."

I just shake my head and murmur, "She's lost more now, and didn't deserve this treatment. Now, thanks to the two of you, I'll probably never get her back—and Phoebe just lost a good friend. I hope you're both fucking happy with yourselves."

I walk out of my office as everyone shouts my name, but I can't. I quickly get to the elevator and descend to the lobby, praying she's still signing out.

As soon as I hit the ground floor and run out of the elevator, I see her turning away from the front desk. Sydney, the receptionist, sees me and smirks, pulling her top down, but I ignore her and run after my girl. I get right behind her and wrap my arm around her, gently pulling her to stop. I splay my large hand on her small bump, and my heart rate quickens. My kids are safely tucked away in there. I slide my other hand under her sweater, and splay my hand on the top of her bump, rubbing my thumb gently over it. I lean down. Her breathing has quickened; I know she knows it's me, our bodies know when they're home, instantly recognizing the other because we're bound for each other.

I rasp in her ear, "Please, dragotsennyy , let's go talk, just you and me. I know I messed up, but please, I want my girl back. I miss you; I love you. Please." I feel wetness on my right arm, and my heart hurts. I tighten myself around her, breathing in her vanilla scent.

She shakes her head, and sobs. "I can't; you broke me." I squeeze my eyes tight as her hand squeezes my arm, showing she's struggling to let me go too, but she can't forgive me. She slowly pulls herself from my arms, walking out of the building without looking back, keeping her head down as her body shakes with silent sobs.

I have to watch her leave.

Dmitri and Juan come to stand on either side of me a few minutes later.

Dimitri rasps, "I'm so sorry, son."

I tremble as they each grab an arm as Sydney watches with shock written all over her face. They guide me to the basement where our torture chamber is.

An unfortunate thief is awaiting his sentencing, and all my pain and guilt bleeds out through each slice of skin.

I won't give up. I'll get my family back, if it's the last thing I do.