Eighteen

Damian

I stand in the elevator, waiting for it to hit the penthouse, reeling from that sit-down with Sofia. I don't know if I should be pissed or turned on by how badass she was. Now, don't get me wrong. I love her fiercely and have always found her sexy, but today was.... I can't even describe it—it was hot. She's grown into a fierce woman, making my cock bulge against my jeans.

Some of the things she said pissed me off, though, too. After that slut started mouthing off, and I basically threatened her, which Sofia enjoyed way too much if you ask me, and the woman ran away with her tail between her legs. That Sofia was alluring in her wicked enjoyment of the woman’s discomfort. But when Sofia put that document down, my body tensed instantly, thinking it was divorce papers. Well, I was half right.

After she teased me by moaning over the fucking cookie Mama made for her, then mentioned the first document, I admit I lost it. I said shit that I didn't mean, but she's saying I can only see my daughter once a month? What the fuck? I've already missed so much, and I know I'm partially to blame, but come on. I slump back against the elevator wall. Sofia doesn't want her own mother to know she has a granddaughter. I know Victoria can be a bitch, but that's her mother! What would Sofia say if she knew her mother was falling apart with her gone? What had Victoria done that was so bad that Sofia would decide that? My suspicions about the bruises Sofia used to have returned full force, and I shake my head.

I look down at the paperwork, wanting to burn the folder she slid across to me.

Divorce papers—fuck, I should have seen it coming. Is she seeing someone we didn't notice? She wouldn't want a divorce otherwise, right? If she had, she would have sent them two years ago. I shake my head again. Nope, I'm not going down that road.

The elevator pings, and the doors open. I walk just two steps before my mother is on me.

"Dimitri, he's back," she shouts.

Geez, I really don't want to do this right now, but she doesn't give me a chance to even open my mouth to state that I need space before I'm dragged into the kitchen area where my father, Stefano, and my brother stand waiting. I sigh, then drop the photos of Mila onto the counter. Did I notice there was none of Sofia? Yes. Was I surprised? No. Did it hurt like fuck she is keeping the pregnancy and any pictures of them together away from me? Fuck yes.

They all crowd around the pictures, and my mother gasps. My brother has a small smile and love in his eyes. The lucky fucker has already met my daughter; my jealousy rises again. Fuck, I can't be thinking of slitting his throat right now! As if he can hear my thoughts, he looks up at me and frowns, and I give him a subtle shake of my head indicating I don't want to talk about it, knowing I'll end up shooting him if we do. He nods, then continues to look at the pictures. I look at my father, and his eyes are shining, while Stefano seems heartbroken.

Yep, you and me both! I drop the first document down, and my father picks it up, and then reads it aloud.

"This document states that I, Damian Volkov, agree in this legally binding contract that I will not force or coerce Mila Maria into any arrangements for my or my family's benefit. Once signed, Mila Maria will, therefore, be known as Mila Marie Volkov.

If I break this agreement, then not only will I surrender all parental and visitation rights, but I will also transfer two hundred million US dollars into a trust for Mila. Mila Maria will, therefore, be known as Mila Maria Russo."

My mother looks horrified, Stefano pales, and my brother and father look at me, noticing the look on my face.

I speak for the first time since arriving, clutching the divorce papers in my left hand.

“I didn't handle reading the whole of that document very well. What my father just read out loud is just the tip of the iceberg. It was enough for me to see red. I know what I did to her, and I know what our families did to her, but I lost it on her in a fit of rage and ended up calling her a jealous bitch, saying that she should know that mafia and bratva men have mistresses.

I also told her she was just like her mother and to grow up and be grateful our fathers kept her in the dark." I heave a sigh. "Not my finest moment, especially when she reamed my ass in public for it. I swear I had to hide my gun."

Their faces go from rage, which is understandable, to amusement.

I look at my mother and say, "She loved the cookies, though. She took them home for Mila."

My mother smiles, tears glistening in her eyes.

"So, when can we see our daughter and meet our granddaughter?"

I sigh again. She's not going to like this, but it's not about her right now; it's about gaining Sofia's trust back. She and Mila need to come first.

I look at each of them in the eye. My father tenses, seeing the look on my face, knowing I'm about to hurt his wife unintentionally.

"Until I sign these and give them to her lawyer, no one can see Mila except Alexandr. He's already met her, and Sofia won't take that from her.

Once they are signed, if I sign them, I only get to see her once a month, meeting her and Mila in Kentucky." I pause, hearing my mother gasp and drop my head. "Only Alexandr or Sergi can be present, no one else." I hear my mother try to hold in a sob. I look at my dad, and I have no words; he looks stricken.

He rasps, "Can't we take her to court or just make the lawyer disappear? Who is he?"

I sigh again. "Mr. Townsend. He's the uncle to an MC brother in the next town over. If we kill him, we will not only be starting a war with them, but we'll also lose our gun and drug runners. I tried threatening her, stating I'd take her to court, but she legit laughed in my face. She has leverage on all the people on our payroll as well as written and photographic proof of our dealings. She turned into a mama bear right there in front of my eyes. She didn't care if she was blackmailing us or threatening the Bratva or Mafia; she doesn't care about the consequences. Mila is her priority."

They all look at me in shock. Yeah, that's how I felt when she said it. My sweet angel is no longer recognizable. We did that to her.

I then lift the final folder in my left hand with a stricken look on my face, and my father pales, clearly knowing what it is; it can't be anything else.

I place it on the side, and Stefano picks it up to read, "Divorce papers?"

He looks at me in shock. "She doesn't even want anything, just for you to sign these."

Stefano starts swearing up a storm, my brother drops his head while my mother sobs, and I've finally reached my limit for the day. My heart is torn to shreds, and it's my own doing.

I turn about to walk out before I turn back toward Stefano. "She doesn't want Victoria to know about Mila."

He looks at me in shock. "What? Not at all?"

I shake my head. "She made it perfectly clear; if Victoria finds out about Mila’s existence, then I have to travel here to see Mila instead of her meeting me in Kentucky." With that, I turn and walk down the stairs to the gym, hearing the men swear up a storm while my mother sobs. I need to hit something badly.

It's been about three hours since dropping the bomb on my family, and I haven't stopped hitting the bag except for a drink here and there. I'm fucking pissed, I'm sweating, and I'm panting, but I don't stop until I hear a throat being cleared. I turn and see my brother sitting on the weight bench.

"What?" I ask in a growl, placing my hands on my hips and heaving.

"Talk to me, brother; how are you doing?" He's trying to keep his voice low, knowing I'm a ticking time bomb.

"How am I doing? Well, let's see, I finally found my wife after three years of searching, only to find out I have a daughter—a daughter I can't even meet yet, but my brother has. My wife wants to divorce me and wants one quick, so quick I believe we may have missed a man in her life. A woman in the restaurant, who clearly hates my wife, acts just like Luna, but looks like Candice, decided to try and stir up shit as soon as I sat down, so the meeting started off fucking terrible. I've been told I can only see my daughter once a month if I sign paperwork, which, if I break, I lose my rights altogether. I don't give a fuck about the trust; I've already contacted our lawyer to set one up, so that's not an issue. She won't let our parents see their granddaughter, I said shit in the heat of the moment and fucked things up even more. She has a lawyer that's already knee-deep in our world, so I can't kill him without losing our alliances and starting a fucking war—and what else? Oh yeah, three years ago, just after she left, we found out Mindy gave both me and you chlamydia. You said, 'Sofia won't have it'. Yeah, you fucking dick, she had it and is lucky she didn't lose our daughter because of it," I heave, having had enough of this shitty fucking day.

Alexandr pales on the last one.

"Shit," he states. Yeah, shit, indeed. Seven days before the wedding, we decided to tag team Mindy and Candice together. At one point, Candice was sitting on Mindy's face after they stripped for us, while Alexandr was face-fucking her, and I was fucking Mindy with no rubber on. Yes, but in my mind, she was on birth control. We made sure she was on the shot, and my brother refused to fuck her without it, so he took her to our doctor. Candice was on the shot, too, even though she tried to say she didn't have it done or tried to say it had failed and she was pregnant. But I also wrapped up with her because I knew she fucked Stefano a couple of times too, and I didn't fancy sharing with my future father-in-law. But then, during our little foursome, I and my brother decided to swap places so I can come down Candice's throat, ensuring she actually swallowed it, and he came in Mindy's cunt. Two days later, I fucked Sofia in a restaurant bathroom from behind without a rubber because I knew we weren't going to see each other until the wedding. We were out to celebrate her birthday early because the mothers stated I couldn't see her until the actual day. Was that shitty of me? Yes, it was. Do I regret going bare with a mistress and then bare with my woman two days later? Celebrating a birthday, no less? Every fucking day! A week after the wedding, Mindy came to us in tears and said she had chlamydia, and she had also told Stefano. I freaked out thinking of Sofia, but my brother convinced me she would be fine—clearly not.

I wipe my face with a towel just as Stefano and my father come into the gym; they both look furious, and they're dragging a guard with them. What the fuck? Me and Alexandr look at each other with raised brows.

Alexandr is the first to say, "What the fuck is going on?"

Stefano is the one to answer. "It seems my wife is on her way here with her bodyguard. When she couldn't get a hold of me, she decided to contact one of her lovers. Francesco here decided to tell her exactly what was happening and that she has a granddaughter."

I growl loudly as I walk up to him and slam my fist into his jaw. He cries out, the pussy.

"What the fuck were you thinking, you piece of shit?" I state as he looks at us.

"I wanted to get the boss's wife to fuck me. According to some of the men, she hasn't fucked anyone in years, and I wanted to break that cycle. I don't know where the boss man got the idea that I was one of her lovers; I wish I was." He's either brave or a fucking idiot; I'm going to go with the latter because Stefano grabs his knife out of his boot. He looks pained and furious; obviously, he didn't realize Victoria stopped fucking around while he’d continued on.

He slices the guy's throat while heaving in rage. Yep, the dude was definitely an idiot.

I look at my brother. "I'm going to give Sofia a call. Fuck, she's going to be pissed."

I look back at Stefano. "When is she arriving?"

He looks at his watch, and then back at me. "In about thirty minutes. She'll be here at about 5:00. I think I need to have a talk with my wife."

I nod, then head upstairs to my suite. I quickly grab a shower, get dressed in sweats and a tight black V-t shirt, and grab my phone. I press her number and wait. She answers on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, printsessa." I hear a hitch in her breath. It's good to know I still affect her like she affects me.

The line goes quiet, and I thought she had hung up until I hear, "Mama, can I color, please?" Now it's my breath that hitches. Fuck, that's my daughter. Tears sting my eyes. She sounds so sweet, and she calls her “mama” in Russian.

"Of course, malyshka, mamma is just on the phone. When I finish, I'll join you, okay? Aunt April will be here in a minute for homemade pizza night." Then I hear my daughter squeal in delight—the best sound in the world. Fuck, she called her baby girl in Russian; it hit me right in the chest. Sofia was always going to let Mila know her family, fuck. A lone tear runs down my face, and I don't even bother to wipe it, hanging my head.

I hear her clear her throat. "What can I do for you, Damian? Did you sign the paperwork?" she asks coldly, and I hold back a growl.

Like I'm actually going to sign them! I want my wife and my family back. I'm not signing shit. If anything, I'm going to make sure to get her pregnant again!

I clear my throat. "This isn't about the paperwork," I say, expecting her to get pissed. "Your mother has been told about your whereabouts and about Mila. One of the guards informed her, and she's on her way here." It goes quiet again, and I have to look at the phone to see if she hung up.

She speaks, "Let me guess, he wanted to see if she'll fuck him for the information because she hasn't been sleeping with the men for a while, and my father most likely slit his throat?"

What the fuck? How does she know that?

"Yes," I state, shocked.

"Hmm, I'm guessing Mattia will be with her," she remarks coldly, and I clear my throat, unsure how this conversation is going. I thought she'd scream, shout, or threaten me, not act coldly.

"Yes, her guard will be with her," I say.

"What time will she be arriving?" Her voice is void of any emotion.

"She'll be here at 5:00."

"And where are you staying?"

Okay, this is definitely different from how I thought this would go.

"Maryland Hotel, in the penthouse," I say carefully.

"Okay, thank you for letting me know."

Then she hangs up! She fucking hangs up! I go into the kitchen to find my family and Stefano, and see them all around the counter, still looking at the pictures of Mila.

I state, "That was most probably the weirdest fucking conversation I've ever had with my wife."

They all raise their eyebrows.