Page 57 of Bought to Bear Bratva Heir

He tilted his face up to her, his little face screwed up, and I thought he was going to argue back, but then he nodded, and she dropped him to his feet.

"Come and sit down, Alec." Easily, I pulled out the chair next to me. Where he always sat. "Oh, I’m sorry." Finally, I turned my attention back to Daisy, so different from the elegant woman opposite me in her jeans. "I can’t remember if I introduced you to each other. Daisy looks after Alec for me when I can’t. She’s—" I paused, looking at the face that I would have burnt the worldfor, and took a deep breath. "She’s an old friend. Daisy, this is Marguerite."

The two women leant forward, their hands meeting in a polite shake.

"It’s a pleasure to see you again, Marguerite," Daisy began to say.

"Marguerite is my fiancée."

Daisy froze. The blood rushed from her face at my words. Wildly, she looked at me. I caught her gaze and held it.

"Fiancée?" she whispered, her hand still grasped.

A million emotions swept across her face, and she was powerless to hide even a single one.

I knew what she was thinking. That last night, when I had crawled into her room and made love to her, gently and softly, that something had changed between us. And maybe it had. Just not in the way she had thought.

Last night I had come to the conclusion that I did love her. I would always love her, but love wasn’t enough. I liked seeing her pay more.

"You’re hurting my hand," Marguerite said coldly, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who had noticed Daisy's reaction to the news.

"Sorry." Quickly, Daisy dropped her hand and rubbed her palm against her denim-clad leg. "What wonderful news. I didn’t realize you had known each other very long." She was looking straight at Marguerite.

"Well, sometimes you just know when you meet someone, right?" Marguerite said, her voice turning colder and colder by the second. "I can tell by your face that you are happy that Ilya finally found someone worthy of him. You being an old friend and all."

Daisy’s face crumbled for a split second.

It seemed Marguerite had managed to hurt her with just a few sharp words, easily and efficiently—far more effectively than anything I had ever done.

"I am ecstatic. Congratulations to both of you." She nodded her head once. "I’ll leave you to your—family," she seemed to choke on the word, "breakfast."

She had taken a step back when Alec called out after her. "Are we going to the park today?"

Daisy froze, her eyes drifting to me.

Sighing, I shook my head. "Not today, Alec. I want you to come out with me and Marguerite today."

"To the park?" he asked hopefully.

"Not today. We have to get you fitted for a very special suit, and—"

"Why don’t we let Alexander go out with the nanny today?" Marguerite looked at Alec’s chocolate-covered lips and fingers, her nose wrinkling in disgust. Then she must have noticed the look on my face because she quickly picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of my son’s mouth. "And I’m sure Alexander would much prefer to go to the park than hang out with us. Isn’t that right?"

Alec nodded his head eagerly. "Can I, Papa? Can I go with Daisy instead?"

I wanted my son to be part of this new chapter of my life because, after all, he was my life, but maybe Marguerite had a point. The stores we had to go to would have him bored to tears in minutes.

"That’s fine with me. If Daisy agrees?" I lifted my eyes to her.

"That’s fine with me, Ilya," she said softly. "I love spending time with Alec, and maybe you can both join us later?"

She was trying to be polite. My heart gave a pang of guilt, but I thrust that feeling down. I would not let myself feel sorry for her. Daisy had brought this on herself.

"I’m sure Marguerite has things to arrange for the engagement party tomorrow, but I will join you both later."

I didn’t getto join them at the park. In fact, by the time I got away from Marguerite, Alec was in bed, and Daisy had closed her bedroom door.

The next day was the same but worse. My whole apartment was a hive of activity as decorators and caterers filled the space. I saw Daisy and Alec briefly before they disappeared into his room to play and didn’t appear until much later. And honestly, I wanted nothing more than to disappear with them and close the door to all the racket.