“And you?”
“We’ll see what happens.”
I rushed over to my suitcase. “How can I help?”
“Don’t leave me.”
I stopped opening my bag and turned to him. “Misha, I’m not going anywhere.”
Remaining silent, he stepped into his pants.
“I’m not.”
He shrugged. “I shouldn’t worry about that, but I do.”
“You shouldn’t.” I left my bag alone. “Okay. You’re shutting off a country to save my life.”
“I am.” He went to his closet and opened it.
“That’s. . .I don’t know what to say. . .Thank you?”
He glanced over his shoulder and smirked. “There will be ways for you to thank me later.”
In no mood to joke around, I went back to the earlier topic. “What is the problem with Valentina? Just tell me. Whatever it is, this thing must be weighing on your shoulders. Take it off. Make your load today lighter. I’m here to protect you just like you are keeping me safe. Tell me.”
He dropped his hands and turned to me. “Valentina had a little girl.”
I nodded. “Last year, Olesya told me that she was pregnant.”
“Before all of that, Olesya took Kazimir’s semen.”
I blinked.
“Olesya slept with Kazimir to get back at Valentina for breaking up with her. Apparently, Valentina only did it because she didn’t have a penis to impregnate her. But who really knows when it comes to Valentina? She likes drama.”
My head spun. “Okay. I didn’t think Olesya would have anything to do with whatever problem this was.”
“She’s the backstory to the news. One-night Olesya went to Valentina and they had sex.”
“Okay. They were always off and on. Very volatile.”
“She slipped Kazimir’s semen into Valentina.”
I tensed.
“At least that what she claimed to Valentina one night. No one knows if that is true.”
“She. . .” I shook my head. “O did what?”
“Horrified, Valentina rushed off and convinced me that Kazimir was sleeping with you.”
I touched my chest. “Me? How did I get involved in this?”
“Valentina knew that I was obsessed with you, so she lied to get me to do something for her. When I confirmed that Kazimir had left Olesya and your penthouse, I assumed Valentina was correct.”
I rubbed my head. “You didn’t know that Olesya was messing with Kazimir? He was the one who bought the penthouse and moved us in.”
“I didn’t know all of that until later. So. . .” He sighed.
So confused, my head spun. “What?”
“Valentina took me to my place and boozed me up. I was depressed and drunk. Had it been any other man that I thought you were with I would have. . .”
I blinked. “What?”
“I would have figured out a way to get rid of him.”
“You would have killed him?”
“Not all my solutions deal with death.”
I didn’t know what to unpack first. All I could do was stand there in a daze.
“But you supposedly were with Kazimir. I wouldn’t hurt him. So, nice and drunk, Valentina began to come on to me. . .”
Stunned, I hugged myself.
“We had sex and then she left.” He studied my reaction.
Shock and jealousy mixed inside of my head.
Misha continued. “Months later, I discovered that she was pregnant. I went to her. She refused to tell me if I was the father or not.”
“Why not?”
“Unfortunately, she thought it may have been Kazimir’s child. That night of sex with me was to give her an excuse just in case rumors were started.”
“But she didn’t know for sure?”
“She didn’t.”
“That’s why she killed O?”
“Yes. Several months after she gave birth.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. I didn’t know what I was expecting him to confess, but it hadn’t been this.
“A few days ago, I took the baby’s pacifier and sent it to a lab. I’m the father.”
“Does Valentina know?”
“I recently told her.”
“And now what?”
“Nothing yet. One must understand the difficult relationship that Valentina and I have. We despise each other, yet will fight anyone that comes against us. We loathe the other’s image, but will always care and support each other. We’re fucked up unrelated siblings.” He cleared his throat. “Now we have a child together. And I can’t think of a more nightmarish co-parenting situation.”
Stunned, I whispered, “You’re a father.”
“I am.”
A knock came.
Circuit yelled, “We need you. The power plant is presenting a problem—”
“I’m coming!” But Misha didn’t turn back to the closet. He studied me some more. “How do you feel about all of this?”
“How do I feel? That’s not my concern.” I blinked. “How do you feel? You’re a father. And it came unexpectedly with a person you dislike.”
He walked over to me. “You’re in my life which means. . .you’ll be in my daughter’s life. You’ll be around to deal with whatever my parenting situation will bring. I’m still not sure of how this will work with Valentina or what a father truly is. Surely, my father never presented a proper example. All and all, I just don’t want you to leave because of this.”