16. Xander

When I walk up to the terrace the cool night air gently brushes against my face. The city lights twinkle below, casting a soft glow on the surrounding buildings. Katerina’s silhouette outlines the backdrop of the night sky as she stands in front of the railing. Her long blonde hair practically dances in the breeze.

“Rico I’m fine, I promise I haven’t been crying,” she says, her voice soft but firm.

I’m sure he would believe her if it wasn’t for the little sniff after that sentence.

“I’m fine,” she repeats. “When have you ever known me to fall apart?”

The short answer to that would probably be never. But considering what I just watched minutes ago. Her breaking down as she hugged her son for the first time, I’d say that’s changed. Katerina’s world is extremely different from mine. I can’t say I know much but what I do know is that it’s a world that preys on weakness, failure.

Living with my father, growing up with him was hard. But I can’t even begin to imagine the life she must have lived. And while I don’t think she hates her upbringing, she seems very comfortable actually, I do know that whatever I went through must have been child play compared to the expectations she’s had to live with.

“What’s going on back there?” Katerina questions. “With Papa? Have you gone to meet Sophia?”

Whatever he says on the other end makes her shoulders slump. I watch as her hand grips the railing tighter.

“He’ll calm down,” she murmurs. “He has to.”

She falls quiet again for a couple seconds before speaking.

“Yeah, I’ll probably head over to a hotel or something. Call me when you get to Sophia’s. And Rico? Thank you.”

The call ends and she lets out a soft breath. I decide to make my presence known, walking forward until I’m right beside her. She looks up at me for a second before looking back towards the night sky.

“Hey,” I say. “Were you just talking to your cousin?”

“Yeah, Rico. I should probably introduce you two sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

“How is he?” she asks.

“Nate’s good. Already in bed. It’s late and he’s had a rough day. He fell asleep as soon as I tucked him in.”

“Okay,” she nods, still facing forward.

“So what’s wrong? You look like the embodiment of distraught.”

She smiles but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Oh nothing’s wrong. Apart from the fact that my father has sent out men to find me, and drag me back home by my hair, kicking and screaming if they have to,” she informs me.

My jaw tightens. What the fuck?

Katerina continues. “Oh and my sister still has no idea what’s going on but she will soon and once she does, she’s probably going to hate me.”

That gives me pause, “She didn’t know?”

“No. No one knew,” she says softly. “I didn’t tell my family about Nate.”

I don’t say anything for a couple of seconds letting that digest. What could she possibly have been hiding? Why didn’t she tell anyone? Not even the people she trusted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave soon,” Katerina states, looking up at me. “I just need a couple more minutes.”

My eyes narrow. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Her mouth opens slightly. “What?”

“We have an extra room. You can sleep there, while we figure everything out.”

“But-”

I shake my head before she can counter me.

“Katerina, you don’t have anywhere else to stay. And you’re already here. Plus, it would be in poor fashion to kick a woman out at 11pm in the middle of the night.”

That finally makes her smile. She gives me a look.

“You’re doing a horrible job of hating me.”

I shrug. “I can go back to doing that in the morning. Let’s just sleep tonight, okay? I know you need to rest.”

She inhales softly. “Thank you. For everything. Thank you for letting me see him.”

Her eyes get a glassy sheen and she looks away, running a hand through her hair.

“Of course, Katerina.”

I lead her back inside, towards the bed I already asked to be cleaned up. She looks around for a couple of second before looking at me.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll make some calls. Do my best to mitigate the fallout from the article. It’s an exclusive so if we can keep others from reporting on it, things shouldn’t be too bad.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen, princess. If a story’s out there, it’s out there.”

“But, it’s just not fair!” she says, her voice rising an octave. “I hate what this is going to do to Nate, to you.”

“Honestly, I think you have a lot more to worry about than both of us,” I point out.

She sighs, looking away.

“Go to sleep, Katerina. We’ll figure out our plans for world domination tomorrow,” I tell her.

She rolls her eyes but her lips twitch.

“Good night, Xander.”

“Night.”

I walk out of the room, climbing up the stairs. After checking up on Nate and ensuring he’s still asleep, I head over to my bedroom. It feels like every nerve and neuron in my body is fired up, running, my brain whirs as I try to figure out my next course of action.

I wasn’t lying when I told Katerina that she would probably have to deal with the worst of the news. Especially considering her family had no idea. Which is still insane to me. She and her sister are pretty close. Why would she not tell her?

Now I’m even more curious. I need to know why Nate’s birth had to be such a huge secret. I need to know what she’s hiding.

The fryingpan sizzles as I prep it for breakfast. It’s simple, not too over the top. Just some eggs, toast and bacon. Nate comes bouncing down the stairs as soon as the smell of food fills the house. He takes his seat at the table, waiting for me to finish preparing our meal.

It takes a couple of minutes for Katerina to appear. She steps out of her room in a long t-shirt and loose shorts. My eyes trail down her legs for a second but then I’m distracted by the look of panic Nate shoots my way.

Ah. He didn’t know she stayed the night.

“Katerina needed somewhere to sleep last night, sport,” I explain. “I offered to let her stay here. Is that okay?”

She stands uncertainly at the threshold between the living room and the kitchen, her eyes fixed on Nate. My son looks down at the table and nods.

“Yes, it’s fine. Good morning, Katerina,” he says in a low voice.

Very slowly, she walks inside. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

The air is slightly tense, awkward, which is to be expected. Last night after the long hug she gave him, it was pretty quiet. Neither of them seemed to know what to say and how to navigate the situation they’ve found themselves it. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how to help. They have to figure it out on their own.

Katerina needs to figure out how to have a relationship with her son.

“That’s nice,” she says softly.

Nate points at the chair opposite him, “You can sit there. Daddy sits at the head of the table.”

“Okay,” Katerina says, moving to take her assigned seat. Her expression suddenly turns lightens. “You know in my home, I usually sit at the head of the table.”

Nate’s eyes widen. “Really? Why? In my grandfather’s house, he sits at the head of the table. And here, dad does. You’re a girl though. Why do you get to sit there?”

I chuckle softly under my breath.

Katerina answers him earnestly. “That’s because I’m the head of my family. Girls can be in charge as well.”

Nate’s eyes widen further and I’m a little discomfited that the concept is so foreign to him. Katerina doesn’t seem to mind. She seems a little amused actually.

“Is it because there’s no boy that can sit at the head of the table?” he asks curiously.

“No. My dad is still alive. And I have an uncle and a male cousin who’s practically like my brother. All of them are well suited for the role but it was given to me, because I was just as capable, even more so.”

Nate nods slowly, thinking over her words.

“What about your mother?” he questions.

I still for a second. Damn, he really needs to stop being so perceptive. I watch as different emotions run across Katerina’s face. Her mother has always been a sort of touchy subject. All I know is that she died, a long time ago. But it’s clear the scars resulting from the death run deep.

“My mom passed away a long time ago, sweetie,” she tells him gently.

“Oh,” his face scrunches up. “I’m sorry.”

“It okay. I had my Papa, my uncle, my cousin and my sister growing up.”

“You have a sister?” he asks and she nods. “What’s her name?”

“Her name is Sophia. She also has her own family and a cousin I’m sure you’d love to meet.”

“A cousin?” Nate asks wide eyed.

I’m sure this is a lot of information. It must be hard for him to process the fact that he has a whole new family he had never even heard of until the day before.

“Yeah, her name is Nova. She’s an adorable little two year old.”

Nate grows quiet for a couple of seconds, letting that digest. Katerina stares at him for a minute, her expression shifting into guilt. I guess she realizes how overwhelming it must be for him. I finally finish preparing the food, dishing it all out in three separate plates. I place their food in front of them. Katerina looks up at me gratefully.

“Thanks, Xander. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s just some toast and eggs, Katerina. Relax and eat,” I tell her with a playful smile.

She rolls her eyes but does as asked, biting into her meal. Nate is already shoveling his food into his mouth when I sit down. We’re all quiet for several seconds.

“Dad, why didn’t I go to school today?” he asks through a mouthful of food.

I look at him and arch an eyebrow. “Considering present company, how about we try to display some more respectable manners during our meal? That means chewing and swallowing before speaking.”

He pouts at that making Katerina laugh.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

Nate makes sure there’s nothing in his mouth before speaking again, “So why didn’t I go to school?”

Katerina and I share a look before looking back at him.

“Well, sport the next few days are going to be a little tumultuous-”

“What does tumultuous mean?”

“Rough,” I clarify. “We’re about to have a rough couple of days. You know how sometimes our family’s in the news? Well, we’re going to be in the news again. You, me and Katerina.”

“Why?”

After keeping the secret about his mother from him for most of his life, I’m intent on making sure he has all the facts when it comes to matters concerning him. That means explaining the situation and making sure he understands what’s at stake. He’s old enough to do so.

“Because everyone is about to find out that Katerina is your mother and it might come as a bit of a shock.”

“Oh, I get that. It was shocking to me too,” he states. “Why does everyone care though?”

I take in a deep breath before looking towards her for help. Her lips twitch.

“Because, sweetie, my family’s a little famous in New York. So the news will cause an uproar. It might be better for you to stay at home for a couple of days until it dies down.”

He pouts. “But I won’t get to see Daniel in those days. I want to go to school,” he complains.

Before he can throw a tantrum, I hurriedly soothe him.

“Maybe Daniel can come over to our house and play with you one of these days? I’ll try to get in contact with his family and see if that would be okay.”

He nods eagerly at that. “Okay, dad. “

Thankfully, the rest of the meal goes by without any other problems. After we’re done, Nate disappears to play in his room. I make both Katerina and I a cup of coffee and we head to the living room, taking a seat.

“Is it just me or does this feel strangely domesticated?” I ask after a couple of seconds.

“Honestly, I’m leaning more towards uncomfortable. But sure, domesticated works,” she says on a shrug. “I think it feels weird because it’s so normal.”

“You’ve never being good at normal,” I point out.

“Neither have you,” she shoots back.

“Anyway, it’s a brand new day. What’s your plan? I know you already have one.”

Instead of replying she takes a sip of her coffee, her expression thoughtful.

“Realistically speaking, the news is going to affect your family’s’ company much more than it’s going to affect my family’s business. My biggest problem now is how to reattain trust and respect I’ve worked so hard to get from the men who work for my family but I’m sure I’ll figure that out eventually.”

“How about your family? Shouldn’t they be your biggest problem?”

She sighs softly. “My dad will cool off in a couple of days and when he does, I’ll try to explain everything to him. As for my sister… I’m sure Rico would have told her by now. The fact that she hasn’t called me or reached out to me is extremely telling. I don’t know if I should call her or go and see her.”

“What would you say? How are you going to explain it to them?” I question. “Because I’m pretty sure you know ‘I didn’t have a choice’ isn’t going to cut it anymore. It’s not just me right now. It’s Nate, your family. It’s time to come clean, Katerina.”

Her expression doesn’t waver. It’s clear she was expecting it. Expecting me to ask. But I can tell she’s dreading it. A light tremor goes through her hand. She carefully sets the coffee mug on the table in front of us, before looking back at me steadily.

“I’m going to start by saying that I know that there’s no excuse for my actions. But when all of this happened, I was young and stupid. A 19 year old with no clue what she was doing. I was also in a place of hurt and again, I know that’s not an excuse but if I could take it all back I would.”

My breath leaves me a in a rush.

“I’m listening, princess.”