Chapter 7 Benedikt
Benedikt
Her words land like a live grenade in the middle of the table.
For a second, I don’t move. Don’t blink. Don’t even breathe. I just watch her, the way her fingers curl against the linen, the way her lashes lower like she’s suddenly shy. It’s a good act. Almost too good.
But it’s not one we discussed.
My father’s gaze snaps to me out of my peripheral. He’s not the kind of man you can bluff easily. He’s looking for cracks in me, in her, in whatever the hell we’re supposed to be selling him.
She caught on.
Fast.
Ivan isn’t throwing his bets on our arrangement, and she just handed him the one thing he’s always wanted.
An heir to continue his legacy.
Something my brother can’t give him.
Reaching for her hand, I give it a small squeeze because she doesn’t know all of what she just did.
We haven’t even slept together. Not once. And unless immaculate conception is suddenly a thing, this is bullshit. The kind that could set my plans on fire if I don’t handle it right.
“You didn’t think to tell me first?”
My tone is low, even, and controlled. The kind that makes people lean in to hear more because I’m not outright with what’s in my head, but always making people second-guess.
I would jump for joy with something like this.
I know that.
My father knows that.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t know how.”
Translation: I didn’t plan to. I’m making this up as I go.
I raise her hand to my lips and press a soft kiss to the top. “We’ll go to the doctor’s first thing in the morning, princess. I want to be sure so we can take all the precautions to make sure you’re well taken care of.”
Ivan leans back, steepling his fingers. “An heir, then?” His lips coil, still suspicious of how perfectly this is playing out. “I’ll schedule the appointment for you tomorrow.”
Of course you will, you stupid son of a bitch.
If I refuse his help, I can lie about how Sienna is pregnant all I want. My father wants proof.
And he’ll get the proof.
Because I’ll threaten the doctor with a death sentence if he says otherwise.
“Before nine,” I profess. “I have to work.”
Typical me.
For the first time tonight, the corners of his mouth twitch upward. He’s buying it or he wants to.
“I didn’t think you had it in you, Benedikt. Settling down. A family.”
I don’t take the bait. “I don’t waste time when I find what I want.”
Beside me, Sienna shifts like she’s not sure whether I’ve just complimented her or staked a claim. She should know better that it’s both.
“Well, I’m hoping for a good outcome,” my father replies. “If so, we have plenty to celebrate.”
I ignore him. He’s going to look into every nook and cranny to debunk this relationship. But if I can get Sienna pregnant, he can’t deny that I’m doing exactly what he’s dreamed of. It won’t matter how long we’ve so-called dated.
“How are you feeling now?” I ask Sienna, sounding like the doting fiancé who has her best interests. “Are you still queasy?”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine.”
She looks like she’s going to puke. Her skin is pale, and there’s no excitement in her tone now.
Any other couple would be jumping for joy.
We’re over here lying our asses off like we’re forced in an arranged marriage.
So I call it out.
“You look ill,” I reply. “You’re doing that thing where you overwork yourself and pretend it’s just lack of sleep.”
She semi-smirks at that. “You worry too much.”
“Trust me, I’m curbing it.” I press another kiss to her hand, allowing it to linger there for a few seconds longer than the first. “I wouldn’t have dragged you out of the house if I knew—”
“Ben, I’m going to shoot myself if you’re like this for the next nine months. Women work all the time when pregnant.”
“Not mine.”
She scowls at me, which is the truest thing she’s done all night. “Well, I am. I’m building a brand and a business. I don’t have time to sit around all day and wait.”
“You’re stubborn as fuck, Sienna,” I mutter. “You can do certain things at home.”
“No.” She pulls her hand out of my hold and gives my cheek a small tap. “Stop worrying until we know for sure. You’re doing that thing where you plan lightyears ahead when you don’t have all the facts.”
“It’s your fault. You shouldn’t have worn that damn dress.”
She scoffs and chuckles, but it’s not real.
This is all a game.
One my father is paying special attention to.
“So,” my father says, swirling his wine lazily. “There might be a grandchild on the way. You don’t date. You don’t commit. And now, suddenly, you bring a beautiful woman to my table who may be carrying your child.” His lips curl faintly. “I don’t know if I should be thrilled or insulted.”
“Insulted?” Sienna mocks, sounding a bit like herself. “I’m missing something, Mr. Volkov. If you disapprove—”
“On the contrary—”
“It wouldn’t matter,” I cut in, playing my role as if my father’s suspicions weren’t justified. “Don’t worry, princess. Regardless of my father’s feelings, I’m not marrying you to appease him. If he’s unhappy with the match, he has another son he can play puppetmaster to.”
My father scoffs. “I’d hardly say it’s fair for me to buy into this when I’ve never heard of you wanting to marry or date in the first place. This is a surprise, Benedikt. I know you’d feel the same.”
“I would,” I agree. “However, we both know who would’ve gotten the key to your kingdom, father.”
He lifts his features. “Would we? And who would that be?”
Not me.
I’ve sat here and tried to convince myself that, if I get married and have a child, Nikolai will always be his number one choice. It doesn’t matter how much of a fuck up he is or how many times he gets himself into trouble. My father is ignorantly and stupidly faithful to my older brother—period.
I smile, something I don’t do, and I know it doesn’t reach my eyes. “You think I wasted my time finding a woman to agree to marry me so I could buy my way into your good gracious, father?”
I did all that.
It was a long shot. I knew what I was gambling. I needed a reason to keep Sienna.
However, even before the woman at my side stepped into my office with a birthday cake, I knew then she would pay her father’s debt for my benefit.
No matter what that was.
“I do,” Ivan admits. “However, it’d be out of character.”
“And then some.” I reach for my wine glass and bring it to my lips. “I’m not here to show off. I’m here because you and Nikolai won’t give up on me coming to this dinner. So, I’m hoping you have something to tell me, and that’s why my presence was subtly required.”
“I don’t”
I hum my indifference, finishing the wine in one gulp before I shove my chair back. Sienna put on the performance I needed, and I have to get planning on my plan B.
Not to sit here and be judged all night.
But before I’m able to stand, Nikolai steps in.
He stops just inside the room, his eyes scanning the table until they land on me, then her. The smirk that follows is pure provocation.
“Well, who is this?” he inquires, his voice dripping with amusement. “Is this the beautiful woman we were supposed to save a space for?”
“Nikolai,” my father starts. “This is Sienna Graves. Your brother’s fiancée.”
“Fiancee?” He walks forward, not sounding surprised or buying into this as well. “How convenient.”
“We were just leaving,” I deadpan.
“No,” Ivan says smoothly, cutting through my words like a knife. “You’re staying. Your brother is here, dinner is almost ready, and I’m sure Sienna would appreciate more than five minutes with her future family.”
I meet his gaze, reading the unspoken command there.
It’s not a suggestion.
It’s a performance, and we’re all actors whether we like it or not.
“Exactly,” Nikolai chimes in, the picture of charming arrogance as he takes the empty chair directly across from Sienna. “Besides, I’d like to get to know the woman who’s willing to sign her life away to my dear little brother.”
I don’t miss the way his eyes linger on her, assessing, curious, and far too interested. It’s not the leering kind of attention, not yet, but it’s the kind that takes inventory.
The kind that makes me want to put him through the wall.
Sienna shifts slightly in her seat, polite but cautious, offering him a small smile. She doesn’t know him yet. She doesn’t know what he’s capable of.
“I’m sure she has better things to do than answer your questions,” I say, my tone flat.
Nikolai leans back, spreading his arms lazily over the chair. “Oh, I doubt that. Tell me, Sienna, how did you two meet?”
My father signals for the first course to be brought in, servants appearing with plates I have no appetite for. I glance at the door. Every minute I sit here is a minute wasted—time I should be using to set Plan B in motion.
Plan B has teeth.
Plan B is offshore, clean, and in my control. Something I can sink into if the key to my father’s kingdom slips through my fingers, which it will if he has his way.
I’m not stupid. I’ve never been stupid. I’ve been ready for this outcome since the day I understood how deep his loyalty to Nikolai runs.
But right now, I’m stuck at this table, watching my brother’s curiosity coil tighter around Sienna with every passing second.
“She brought me cake,” I answer for her, because I’m done with his little fishing expedition. “We hit it off.”
Nikolai grins like he’s just been handed ammunition. “Cake? That’s how you landed him?” He laughs low, shaking his head. “I need to hear more of this.”
“You don’t,” I reply.
Ivan chuckles under his breath, clearly entertained by the tension sparking across the table. “Let the woman speak, Benedikt. It’s rude to interrupt.”
It takes everything in me not to push my chair back and walk out. I want distance and space to think. I want to start calling my people overseas and begin moving the first pieces into place.
The longer I sit here, the more I feel the walls closing in, and that’s not a feeling I tolerate well.
But walking out now, in front of my father and my brother, would be blood in the water. And I’ve already given them enough to chew on.
So I pick up my fork, force my hand steady, and pretend like I’m not already planning exactly how to burn this entire table down if I have to.