44. Chapter 44

Jade

"Dad, no, it isn't," I clip right away, nipping his threat in the bud.

"It's okay, Krasotka," Dmitri reassures me, patting my shoulders reassuringly.

"No, it isn't," I insist. "If anyone tries to hurt Dmitri, I'm going to tell Martha, and if that doesn't scare you enough, I'll leave with him."

I don't want to threaten it, but I have to. I could never hurt my family, and leaving would just about break me. And I'd still do it, for my husband and for my babies.

"Jade," Dad questions, devastated.

"I don't want to," I say firmly. "I could live here for my whole life and never want to leave. But I will leave if you force my hand."

My chest aches just saying it, but I won't take it back.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," a playful voice rings out. "What's all of this about leaving? I just got here."

The mood lifts instantly as Matteo swaggers into the room, Remo following close behind. A splitting smile breaks on my lips, and I squeal. "You're here! How are you here!" My grinning brother meets me in the middle as I rush over to him, scooping me off of my feet and spinning me around in a hug.

"I missed my favorite sibling," he answers, hardly explaining how he's home before the semester has ended. He sets me down and shoots Apollo a nod. "Thanks for the Jet, fuckface, could have used a lift from the airport too."

"You knew?" Dad and I ask in unison.

Apollo shrugs nonchalantly. "He asked for a flight out."

"What about graduating?" Dad asks Matteo, looking concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm a master negotiator now. We're good to go for next semester, all of us, if we want."

I'm definitely not going back, not with two babies who need me.

"How'd you swing that?" Armani asks, surprised as everyone else.

"Easy." Matteo shrugs. "I got shot."

Mayhem ensues.

"You got shot?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Dude, what?"

"What the hell happened?"

"Not all at once, damn." Matteo chuckles, holding his heart. "I'm really feeling the love, though, that was nice."

"Start talking," Apollo barks.

"Yeesh, I see you haven't pulled that stick out of your ass yet." Matteo flips him off but continues. "Misfire mishap on the range hit me in the shoulder. It's just a flesh wound, really, and our doctor there already stitched me up. The poor kid who was holding the gun was scared shitless like I was gonna set him on fire or something, but it wasn't his fault, the gun was old and wonky. Used the injury and the stuff that went down with Jade to get us out early. Nico, Remo, and I can go next semester if we want without penalty. Armani can still work there if he wants to, and Jade is free to come back, but he doesn't expect it."

"You're okay, right?" I ask worriedly, eyeing his shirt-covered shoulder. I don't give a fuck about returning to Empire, my brother was shot!

"Of course," he replies easily. "I'm fucking invincible."

"Doc is still going to take a look at you," our father commands without leaving room for argument.

"Kay, that's fine." Matteo waves him off. "Is Martha cooking? It's dinner time, and I'm fucking starving." Looking down at me, he smirks. "I bet my little sister is, too, since she's got babies baking in that oven."

Guiltily, I wince. "Sorry, I hid it from you. You aren't too mad, are you?"

"At my baby sister?" he scoffs. "Never, I made her a promise to always have her back even when she pisses me off."

We hug again, and somehow Matteo is able to wrangle everyone to the dinner table, Ivan and Anatoly included. Dad is still watching Dmitri with a careful eye, but he doesn't say anything bad to him.

Either Matteo somehow coordinated with Martha to have dinner ready for us, or he could smell it from the other room, I'm not sure. But there are piles of filet mignon, potatoes, vegetables, and more ready for us to dig into.

"My new favorite food is filet," I tell Dmitri, giddy about digging into the juicy red meat in front of me. "I was more of a pasta girl before, but Martha thinks the babies are stealing all my iron and making me crave steak to replace it."

"Stealing all your iron?" he asks, concerned.

"Nothing to worry about," I assure him. "It's pretty normal, and I don't get lightheaded or anything so it's balancing out with food."

He lightens up at that. "Is your nausea still better?"

"Yep," I answer. "Thank god, no more morning sickness for me."

"You had morning sickness?" Dad asks. Now he's the concerned one.

"In the beginning," Dmitri answers for me. "Shortly after the first six weeks, she was throwing up almost every morning."

"It was so annoying," I groan. "More of a nuisance than an actual pain, at least. Dmitri had Dr. Petrov on stand-by though. I felt like Armani was in my ear every day, making me rehydrate."

Dad doesn't look like he's digesting the fact he wasn't there for my sickness well. He doesn't look like he's handling any of this well.

"She could have been hurt," he seethes, hand tightening around his steak knife. "At what point would you have contacted her family to get her help, huh?"

"Dad," I admonish, frowning at him. "Please, can we just enjoy dinner?"

Dmitri did everything for me and more, and I won't stand for him being insulted.

"Fine, I can be hospitable," my father relents, swinging his gaze back to my husband. "How did you and my daughter meet?"

Oh, what a terrible way to get to know Dmitri. The fairytale factor isn't exactly substantial when it comes to our story.

"The food challenge, right?" Matteo guesses, stealing a bite of my cheesy potatoes.

"No," Dmitri answers, shaking his head. "We met on the boat."

Apparently, we're going with the truth. Great!

My brother gasps, pausing midway into stealing another bite from my plate. "You sneaky little thing," he accuses. "That's where you went while you were lost?"

"Okay, I was lost," I defend, sheepishly smiling. "I just wasn't trying very hard to become unlost after running into Dmitri."

"So that's why you picked him for the food challenge? You already had an idea that he might like you." Matteo boops my nose. "Smart thinking, little sister."

"Because of the party," Dmitri points out, answering my brother's question. I hide my face in my hands. I was half-hoping that he wouldn't mention the party.

Looks like that cat is out of its bag.

"Party?" Armani asks, jaw ticking.

"Oops?" I cringe, looking around nervously.

"They don't know?" my husband asks, amused. "Look at you, still keeping secrets, Krasotka."

"There was a party?" Dad questions, already on edge again.

"First night," Dmitri answers, nodding.

"Did you sneak out to the first night party to flirt with this guy?" Matteo gapes like he can't believe it. "Your good girl reputation is taking a hit tonight, sis."

"I didn't exactly track him down to flirt with him. We ran into each other?—"

"And she asked me to take my shirt off so she could write on me with her lipstick?—"

"What!?"

The outburst comes from Matteo, of course.

"Claimed me in big, bold, red letters. Mine, right across my chest," my husband says proudly. "Only party at Empire that has ever been worth attending."

"I would like some context to be provided before your father bursts a blood vessel, and I have to clean it up," Uncle Cesar announces.

"It was just a game," I defend. "Dmitri was and has been a gentleman the whole time I've been with him."

"Gentlemen don't get unmarried women pregnant," my father disagrees.

"Well," I huff, not liking his tone. "If you must know, he tried to wait many times. I'm the one who initiated?—"

"Oh, ewww," Matteo interrupts, covering his ears. "I did not sign up to hear about my sister being horny?—"

There's a collective sound of protest at his word choice.

"Don't say horny at the table," Apollo cuts in, scowling.

"This is going horribly," I groan, dragging a hand down my face. "Can we stop treating me like a child sitting at the big kids' table? If Emilio said something about Melani wanting to have sex with him, none of you would freak out."

"Yeah, because Melani is hot, and you're our sister," Matteo points out. "Totally different."

I sigh because it is, and it isn't.

"How about we just skip past this part," I suggest.

"There is actually something I would like to bring up," Dmitri cuts in, reaching for my hand. "The marriage contract, while a stroke of genius, has an error."

"Oh?" Apollo asks, lips quirking up on one side. "Can't afford it?"

"Afford it?" I ask, scrunching my nose. "What's there to afford?"

Apollo looks insulted. "You didn't think I would give you to him for free?"

"Give me to him?" I question, affronted by the notion. "You sold me to Dmitri?"

"It is customary," my husband verifies, calming a bit of my concern. "I do not care about the money."

"Then the mistake is?" Cassio asks, seemingly bored as he picks at his plate. He has hardly looked up from his food this whole dinner.

"As much as I enjoyed seeing it, you got Jade's name wrong. She would like to hyphenate. It'll need to be corrected from Morozov to Moretti-Morozov."

Oh, Dmitri. My heart soars, and I clutch it with my free hand, holding it in place so it doesn't explode from my chest.

Most of the table is trading shocked expressions. And then there's my Matteo.

"Wow," he punctuates his exclamation with a whistle. "And you're cool with that?"

"Yes," Dmitri answers, not hesitating for even a moment. "Jade has lived nearly her whole life with the wrong name, and I won't take the right one from her just as she's found it."

"Big of you," Cassio states, tone still guarded.

"I don't need praise for giving my wife everything she wants," he replies crisply. "Our children will share her family name as well as mine. There's nothing difficult about that for me. If my wife wishes to honor her many brothers and her father with this, she'll have it just as she wants."

Two ‘my wifes' in one breath. Somebody fan me.

I see it in my father's eyes the moment they soften toward Dmitri. This is where he decides that the man I love is worthy of me. Or, at least, as worthy as Dante Moretti will ever admit.

Dmitri places a kiss on the back of my hand, and I swoon. Luckiest girl in the world since running into this man, I swear.

Dad stands up, and for a moment, I worry that he might be angry. But no, he comes to my side and drops his lips to the top of my hand, surrounding me with a hug. "My sweet daughter," he utters, squeezing tighter. "You make me so proud every day."

The words wrap around my heart and claw their way inside, cementing deep. My dad is proud of me. Eighteen and pregnant, married without his permission, bringing Russian made men—strangers—into his house, and he's still proud of me.

"I love you so much, Dad," I croak, holding back as tears threaten to fall.

He presses another kiss on my head. "I love you more than life, figlia."

It takes a minute for Dad and I to part, but when he sits back down, a thought pops into my head.

"Circling back for a minute," I begin, clearing my throat and looking at my oldest brother. "How much money are you extorting my husband for exactly?"

Apollo waves a flippant hand. "Nothing to concern yourself with, sister. The money is being put to good use."

"How am I supposed to know that?" I question, pursing my lips. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Well, half of it has already been put into two trusts for your firstborns," he answers. "The other half is kept separate."

Oh brother. "To be used for what?"

Meeting Dmitri's eye instead of mine, he says, "That's the money I'll use to kill your husband if he ever hurts you."

"Apollo!" I admonish.

Whatever protest I'm about to start is drowned out by my husband laughing so hard that his chest shakes. To my utter bewilderment, the rest of the table joins him. Even Apollo cracks up with the smallest chuckle.

"This is a terrible joke," I grunt, folding my arms over my chest.

The group of them only laugh harder.

"He's not joking," Matteo grunts as if to explain how that could possibly make the situation funnier in some way.

"That's even worse." I narrow my eyes at him and move the rest of my plate from his reach. "No more food for laughing about killing Dmitri."

Matteo pouts, lip jutting out immediately. "Awww, come on. It's funny, little sister. Even your husband thinks it"s funny."

"I have a sister," Dmitri states simply. "It's amusing that no matter how different we may be, we're the same when it comes to protecting our own." Looking back to Apollo, he continues. "And rest assured, if for some reason I ever hurt Jade, you won't need to kill me. I'll order Ivan to do it, and he will."

"This is horrible dinner conversation," I huff loudly. "Can we talk about cute little babies or rainbows or something?"

"Speaking of babies," Cassio interjects, finally looking up from his plate. "Where exactly are the two of you planning to raise these Moretti-Morozov twins of yours?"

"Oh shit, yeah," Matteo chimes in. "Morozovs are West-Coast, aren't they?"

Armani drops his fork. "You're going to move?"

"Um," I bite my lip, looking up at Dmitri. "I'm not sure?"

"You haven't thought about it?" Dad asks, looking worried.

"I've spoken to my father," Dmitri speaks up, still remaining calm. He's not worried, and so I try not to be either. "He wants to retire within the next six years. Until then, I'm able to live here and fly back when needed. Jade and I still need to discuss what she wants, but I meant what I said about keeping her Moretti side alive. If she wants to remain in this house or minutes away, I'm willing to make that work."

"We can stay?" I whisper, hardly believing it.

Dmitri smiles. "Within the next six years, I can go wherever you point me to, Krasotka. Anything you want, it's yours."

"You're always welcome here, sweetheart," Dad adds.

"Ivan and Dmitri too?" I ask, double-checking.

He chuckles. "For you? Of course."

"And Anatoly?"

"Anyone you want."

"I'm moving to the fourth floor with Cassio," Nico announces, rolling his eyes. "I did not sign up to hear twins screaming the house down in the middle of the night, thank you very much."

Matteo snorts, tossing a bread roll at Nico's chest. "You're already losing the favorite uncle race, and they aren't even born yet."

"How will I live with such a travesty?" Nico drawls, yawning.

Not sure I would want to compete with nine people for that title, either.

Changing the topic, Apollo speaks next. "So that threat you went to take care of, I assume that's all sorted?"

Dmitri's smile vanishes, but he nods. "Yes. It was my mother, and yes, she's dead." He says it so matter-of-a-factly that I can't tell if he's hurting. I squeeze his forearm anyway, letting him know that I'm here for him. "She wasn't the one who was trying to target Jade, though; she just wanted me dead."

There's an uncomfortable shift at the table, but at least it isn't an angry one.

"She's been dead to me for years, so I don't much care to discuss her any longer. There still lies the issue of Bruce and Kim, I'd like to help with that."

"Karina," I correct under my breath.

"What, baby?" Dmitri asks quietly.

"I'll explain later," I tell him, patting his hand.

"We'll take all the help we can get," Dad tells my husband, his pride far less important than getting me justice. "We can discuss it tomorrow."

I give him a grateful smile and thankfully, the mood is able to lighten up again as we all continue to eat. I still don't know what happened to Dmitri's little sister, and I'm not going to pry. If I ever get to meet her, I don't want her to think her story was told for her. If Dmitri could kill his own mother to avenge her, I know it has to be something awful. As someone who can sympathize with that, I don't need details to know I wish her nothing but the best in her recovery. However long it takes.

When dinner comes to a finish and the night comes to an end, no one questions it when Dmitri, Ivan, and I all go to my room to sleep. We have a lot to sort out, and Ivan will definitely have to get his own room soon, but for tonight, we just allow ourselves to relax. All of the horrors and hardships are muted, and we simply exist together.

It's perfect.