33. April

33

APRIL

The last time I woke up in a good mood, it didn't last.

Still, I can't bring myself to sour it on my own this morning. Call me a sucker, but I believe in second chances. And right now, I'm giving my luxury tea break a second chance.

"Yesterday, we had vanilla," I say out loud. "Whatcha feeling like today?"

Nugget doesn't reply with words, but it gives a little kick instead.

"What was that?" I call, leaning in with my hand around my ear. "Extra dark chocolate chip from Ecuador?"

Another, gentler kick.

"Alright then!" I clap my hands together. "It's forever on my hips after all, not yours. Better enjoy it while it lasts, yeah?"

On second thought, I grab some Greek yogurt from the fridge, too. Just to have something healthy with it, I tell myself.

Then, on third thought, I grab the Nutella jar.

"Brunch," I murmur to myself. "Let's call this brunch."

But Mom , I picture the tiny creature in my belly objecting, we've already had breakfast.

"I won't tell if you don't," I whisper, holding up a pinky to my belly.

God. This is getting pathetic, isn't it? I'm so lonely I've started talking to the walls. Worse, to an imaginary projection of my future child.

It's clearly out of character, too. Nugget wouldn't chide me for having breakfast twice; instead, it'd kick me around noon for the third. I swear, it's like I'm growing a hobbit up in here.

"Sir, you can't go?—"

I'm distracted from my daydreaming by a deep voice by the door. I don't recognize it, but it takes me a couple of seconds to realize it must be one of the bodyguards that stay here when Grisha's busy elsewhere.

That poor man. When does he even sleep?

"She knows me! Please, just let me?—"

Another voice—and this …

This, I recognize.

I walk to the door as if in a trance. Because there's no way, right?

"Sir, step away from the door."

"I'm telling you, she's my?—"

"Charlie."

Big eyes blink up at me. Hazel eyes, just like mine.

"… sister," he finishes.

And then those eyes zero in on my belly.

It takes longer than I'd like to bring the boys to heel.

"Miss," Gorilla #1 insists, "you can't have unannounced visitors."

"Not without permission," Gorilla #2 doubles down.

I cross my arms. "‘Permission'," I echo.

"That's right, Miss."

"No one goes in or out without the boss knowing, Miss."

By my side, Charlie blinks at me like I've gone insane. But before he can say anything, I give him a look . The let-your-big-sister-handle-this look.

Then I turn to my guardian angels in Gucci. "Permission from the boss. That's what we need, right?"

"Thank you for understanding, Miss?—"

"Luckily, I've got his heir right here." I make a show of leaning down, hand cupped around the shell of my ear. "What was that, young master Nugget?" I ask my belly in front of three pairs of dumbfounded eyes. "Uncle Charlie can come in, you say? That's great. Thank you so much." I look up with a big smile. "Looks like there's no problems on our end."

The bodyguards exchange a look. "Miss, the boss?—"

"The boss said it's fine," I interrupt. "If you've got an issue, you can take it up with management."

"M-Management?"

I point to my belly with both thumbs. "Right here."

A few nervous glances fly between the gorillas. I can practically hear the conversation: I'm not crouching down there. The boss will kill me. You do it. You speak to the fetus.

"No one?" I ask innocently. "Then we'll be on our way."

"Miss—!"

Then I usher Charlie inside and shut the door. "Phew," I exhale once we're out of earshot. "Sorry about that. They can be a bit…" Sexist. "Overprotective."

But Charlie isn't looking at the door anymore. Going by his face, he's not thinking about the bodyguards at all.

Instead, he's staring at my belly.

"Charlie…?"

"So it's true," my brother breathes. "You're really…"

He stretches out a hand, but quickly pulls it back again, as if afraid I'll bite. I can read Tom's influence all over the gesture: Don't touch the chips, kid. If they get mixed up, you'll pay.

"Here," I say, reaching out to take his hand. "You can touch if you want."

Then I place it gently on my belly.

Charlie's face lights up. He looks mesmerized, like that time I snuck him out to the aquarium on his tenth birthday. I remember watching him stroke the manta rays' fins in the open tank, reverent and awed. Now, he's wearing the same expression.

Then Nugget gives a kick, and he startles.

"Don't worry," I reassure him. "Nugget's a bit rowdy today. Hasn't had second breakfast yet."

For the first time since he came here, Charlie gives a small smile. "Just like a hobbit."

"Probably takes after you," I tease.

It's so strange, seeing him here. My brother. Half- brother, his parents would both chide, but I never cared to tell the difference. We were born from the same womb: what would we be, if not family?

Internally, I roll my eyes. All of Matvey's blood talk must be getting to me after all.

Charlie . He's grown so big since I last saw him: fifteen now, and way taller than me. Not that it's hard, but still.

With my sisters on my father's side, I don't have any relationship to speak of. Nothing that I like to remember, at least. But with Charlie, it's different. It was always different. Even if Eleanor followed the same exact playbook as her ex-husband, trying to pit her new kid against her old one—the purebred heir versus the unfortunate mutt born from a youthful indiscretion—Charlie never bit. He was always too kind, too sweet. A gentle soul, one even Eleanor couldn't ruin.

Neither could Tom, though he tried.

"I overheard the call," Charlie speaks up eventually, still transfixed by the child growing inside me. His niece or nephew , he must be realizing. "I asked Mom about it. She kept saying you made it up, that there was no way…" His lips press into a tight, angry line. "I got mad. We had this huge fight."

"I'm sorry." I mean it—I feel horrible. This is exactly why I left: aside from not wanting to be there, I also couldn't afford to be. With Charlie always jumping up to defend me against Eleanor's words—and against Tom's hands—it wasn't safe for me to stay. It wasn't safe for him. "I never meant to make trouble for you guys."

Charlie quickly shakes his head. "You didn't," he promises. "Mom shouldn't have said those things. She shouldn't—" A pause. "She shouldn't treat you like that," he mutters at last.

I smile. My little knight in shining armor. "Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. And pregnant. Unless this is a very good prop."

"It'd be a very lively prop," Charlie snorts, feeling Nugget squirm against his palm.

"Swiped it from the Alien set." We both laugh before that semi-awkward silence creeps back in. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I went to the shop," Charlie confesses. "You weren't there, but Elias was. So I asked, and…"

"Of course. Makes sense. You're too smart for your own good sometimes, kiddo."

When he took me under his wing, Elias didn't mind the little rooster that came along for the ride. Whenever things got bad at home, Charlie would take a ridiculous combination of ferries and buses and trains just to hang around the shop for the day. Afterwards, we'd get ice cream and he'd crash on my couch. June always liked having him over—said he was the perfect test subject for her skincare masks.

"I hope it's not a problem," Charlie blurts out, taking my silence the wrong way. "I didn't mean?—"

"No!" I answer immediately. "Not at all. It's…" I pause, looking for the right words. "It's nice to see you again," I tell him, from the bottom of my heart. "And to see a familiar face in general. Don't tell anyone, but I've been going crazy."

"I bet," Charlie laughs, looking around for the first time. "Nice digs, by the way. How'd you end up here?" He glances towards the door again. "With hired guns?"

Just then, my stomach growls. "How about I catch you up over tea?" I suggest. "Otherwise, your nibling just might eat me."

He gives me a warm smile. "Tea it is."

I feel the same smile pulling at my lips. "Okay. Right this way, sir."