Chapter 28

The house is quiet when I get home. A soft scent of chocolate wafts in the air when I get closer to the kitchen.

A double layered cake sits on the kitchen island. One piece is missing.

"Oh, you're home." Cora's soft voice comes from behind me. The kitchen door swings gently behind her. She's holding a dessert plate with a fork laid across it and chocolate crumbs strewn about.

"You're up late." I check my watch, but I don't need to. It was midnight when I finally left Kraze and headed home.

Cora should be in bed. Asleep.

"I wanted something sweet." She gives a pointed look at the cake before bringing her dish to the sink. "Do you want a piece? It's devil's food."

"No. I'm fine." I unbutton the top button of my shirt. "You made a whole cake because you wanted something sweet? Aren't there cookies in the pantry?" Mrs. Yugov makes a batch of pryanik every week.

Cora winces. "I ate the last one yesterday." She washes the plate. "Besides, I wanted chocolate. I love those honey cookies though. Too much." She rinses the plate and places it in the drainer along with her fork.

"Is Mrs. Yugov not home?" I ask.

She sighs as she turns around and leans back against the counter. "I can make a cake, Sergei. I wasn't going to wake her up to do it for me." She folds her arms over her chest. "You were working late again. Still working on dismantling your grandmother's company?"

There's a bite to her words. It's my fault. I know it is. I haven't been home much in the last week. She's asleep when I get in, and I'm gone before she wakes up.

"You disapprove?"

"It's your company, do what you want with it. It just seems wasteful and petty."

"Petty?" I bark the word. "That family turned their backs on my mother. My grandmother wouldn't even see her when she was dying. Her own mother continued to shut her out because she would never forgive her for carrying the Petrov name. And when my mother died, the old woman didn't even show her face at the funeral." Selling off her legacy and watching her empire die off is the only avenue I have for retribution.

She opens her mouth, ready to battle me and part of me wants her to. I want her to give me a reason to take her upstairs and rip off her clothes. Give me an excuse to use her body to cleanse the sins of my soul.

But she closes her mouth and drops her gaze.

"I don't want to fight with you," she says simply. "I'm not sure what's going on but something's different. Right?" She steps forward, sliding her forearms onto the kitchen island, reaching her hands toward me.

"Nothing's changed, Cora." A lie has never tasted so bitter before.

"Is it Victoria?"

"No." My throat closes around the denial, choking me with it.

"She's still in town though?"

"Are you jealous?" I ask, pressing my hands to the countertop, just far enough away that our pinkies are an inch apart.

"Should I be?" She brings her eyes to mine and the sadness I see there makes my chest clamp down. "I mean, you see her at the benefit and then I don't see you for almost a week. Is there something I should know?"

"There were some financial things we needed to sort out. They're being sorted." At least I can hold onto that small truth to carry me through.

"What financial things would you have with her?"

"We owned a townhouse together. She used it as a rental property. We've been sorting the sale of it." I couldn't give two shits what she did with the piece of shit property. Agreeing to purchase the stupid thing had been a mistake. And much like everything else where Victoria is concerned, I'm still paying the price.

"All right." She pinches her lips together. "Do you think you'll be home tomorrow night?"

"Why?"

"Krista is coming over. I could use the company." She averts her gaze from mine.

"I have meetings until late. Krista's free to come whenever." I inch my hand closer to hers, almost touching her skin.

"All right. Good." She nods. "You've been working so much lately; I was thinking maybe Saturday we can go out. Just the two of us. Dinner or something. Or maybe I could cook you dinner." Her eyes soften at the idea. There's hope there.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket.

"There's a lot of work to do still."

Her shoulders sag, but she firms up her jaw. "Yeah. I get that. I just thought a few hours on Saturday night wouldn't get in the way of your work."

I lean toward her, inhaling the sweet scent of her lilac shampoo. It takes all the fight in me to keep from climbing over this fucking kitchen island and ripping off those pajama shorts she's wearing.

"I can't." I push away from the island. "I'm going to my office. I have a few things to do before I go to bed."

"Do you want me to wait up?" There it is again. Hope.

I stop at the kitchen door. My phone buzzes in my pocket again, so I pull it out.

Dinner was nice.

"No." I pause when I realize I've snapped the word. Looking back at her over my shoulder, I tense. "It's going to be a while. Don't wait up. You need sleep." She's been spending all of her time helping the nurses with her mother.

The reports sent to my email at the end of every day aren't painting a good picture. Marion is losing more of herself every day. The more help she needs, the more Cora insists on doing. Even with the staff there to take care of it all, Cora has remained fully hands-on.

"Yeah. All right." Cora straightens up and pushes on a fake smile. "I'll just check on Mom then head up."

"Cora." I stop her when she turns away. "We have nurses for her, let them do their jobs."

Her expression hardens. "You have your work. And I have mine."

The back door of the kitchen slams behind her.

My phone goes off again.

I could use a nightcap if you're still up.