Chapter 9
AXEL
This is my fault.
The thought loops in my head as I watch Leo's mouth touch Aurora's hand. Watch him grin like he's won something. Watch her smile even though I can see the revulsion in her eyes from across the room.
I did this.
I arranged this nightmare.
I drain my whiskey in one swallow. It doesn't help.
Viktor appears at my elbow. "Boss, you okay? You look like you're about to explode."
"Not now, Viktor."
"That's not a—" He stops. Goes very still. "Wait. Is that..."
I don't answer. Don't need to. Viktor's seen me obsessed for a month over a woman I couldn't find.
Now he's looking at her.
"That's her," he breathes. "The woman from the club. Aurora. She's—"
"Don Luca's daughter," I finish. "Yes."
"And she's engaged to—"
"My son. Also, yes."
"Fuck."
"Yeah."
We stand there watching. Aurora's on that platform like she's being auctioned off, and Leo's touching her waist, her hand, acting like he owns her.
Fuck.
"Boss—"
"Not now, Viktor." I need another drink. Need ten drinks. Need to go back in time and punch myself for being such an idiot.
"Axel." Luca's beside me now, champagne in hand. "Good toast, don't you think?"
I want to grab him by the throat, but instead I nod. "Yeah, great toast."
"You don't sound enthusiastic."
"Just processing. Big commitment."
Luca laughs. "Leo seems thrilled. Look at him—can't keep his hands off her."
My jaw clenches. "Yeah. I see that."
"Your son's getting a good woman, Axel. Smart, educated. She'll keep him in line."
"You and your boy will be staying here for the month," Luca continues. "Get everyone acquainted. Aurora and Leo can spend time together, get to know each other, and plan their wedding."
"A month?" The word comes out strangled.
"Problem?"
Yes. A month of watching Leo touch her. A month of pretending she's not mine. A month of pure hell that I created.
"No problem," I lie. "When do we move in?"
"Tomorrow. I've had the east wing prepared. You, Leo, and your men will have plenty of space."
"Great."
"I should go check on Aurora." Luca scans the crowd. "Make sure she's not overwhelmed."
He walks away.
He is definitely a doting father.
I stand there, glass empty, watching Aurora smile and nod and play the perfect daughter while Leo's hand sits on her waist like a brand.
One month.
One month of this torture.
One month that I brought on myself.
We move into the Luca estate the next morning.
The east wing is palatial—five bedrooms, a sitting room, enough space that we could avoid each other if we wanted. Leo's already unpacking.
"A whole month here," he says, grinning. "This is perfect."
I look up from my suitcase. "Perfect?"
"Yeah. Time to get to know my future wife." He's examining himself in the mirror, adjusting his collar. "Aurora Luca. Have to admit, Dad, when you said you were arranging a marriage, I wasn't expecting someone like her."
Someone like her.
"What do you mean?"
"Smart. Hot. From a good family." He grins wider. "I mean, the pregnancy thing is weird, but whatever. We'll handle it."
My hands clench around the shirt I'm holding. "You'll handle it."
"Yeah. I mean, it's not ideal, but—" He shrugs. "It's not like I have to claim the kid as mine or anything. We can figure that out later."
That kid is mine. That's my child you're talking about.
But I can't say it. Can't do anything except stand here and listen to my son dismiss my baby like it's an inconvenience.
"Just be respectful," I say tightly. "Aurora's been through enough."
"Of course. I'm always respectful." He winks. "Especially to beautiful women."
You have no idea who she is. What she means.
"I'm going to check in with Viktor," I say, before I do something I'll regret.
I leave. Find Viktor in the hallway, already unpacking Sergei and Alexei's gear.
"I still can’t believe that's really her," he says quietly.
"Yeah."
"And you arranged for her to marry Leo."
"I didn't know it was her!" The words come out harsh. "I didn't know Luca's daughter was Aurora. Didn't know she was the woman from the club. I just—I thought I was helping Leo. Settling him down. Making a smart alliance."
"And instead, you sold the woman you're crazy about to your own son."
"Yes." I lean against the wall, scrub my hands over my face. "Yes, that's exactly what I did."
"Does she know? That you're the one who arranged this?"
"She knows."
"Is she—" Viktor pauses. "The baby. Is it yours?"
I meet his eyes. "Yes."
"Fuck."
"That seems to be everyone's response."
"Does Luca know?"
"No. And he can't. Not without destroying everything."
Viktor's quiet for a moment. "So, what are you going to do?"
I don't know. But that is why I agreed to this temporary move.
“Survive the month,” I say finally. “And figure it out from there.”
Dinner is torture.
We're seated at a massive table—Luca at the head, me to his right, Leo next to me. Aurora sits across from Leo, between her father and some aunt I don't know.
She's wearing a dark blue dress. Hair down. Minimal makeup. She looks exhausted.
Beautiful.
Mine.
Not yours. You gave her away.
Leo's talking—some story about a business deal, exaggerated and full of himself. Aurora's nodding politely, but I see the way her jaw tightens. The way her fingers grip her fork too hard.
She's barely holding it together.
"Aurora," Luca says. "Why don't you tell Axel and Leo about your degree?” He turns to me. “She is a wizard with numbers.”
She sets down her fork. "Yes. Chartered accountant. I specialized in forensic accounting and financial analysis."
"Smart," I say before I can stop myself.
Her eyes meet mine. Something flashes there— anger, hurt.
"Thank you, Mr. Santego."
"Call me Axel. We're going to be family after all."
The word feels like swallowing glass.
"Of course." She looks away. "Axel."
Leo reaches over and puts his hand on hers. "My fiancée's brilliant. Going to help me run the business side of things."
Aurora's whole body goes rigid.
I watch her try not to pull away from his touch. Watch her force a smile.
This is my fault.
The dinner continues. Course after course, conversation flowing around me while I sit here burning with the knowledge that I did this to her.
Aurora barely eats. Just pushes food around her plate, answers questions when asked, and looks like she'd rather be anywhere else.
"We should discuss wedding plans," the aunt says. "Have you thought about a date?"
"Not yet," Luca answers. "We're thinking three months. Enough time to plan something appropriate."
Three months.
In three months, Leo will have a legal claim to her, to her name, to the child I put inside her. My child will call my son father because I walked into Luca's office and made a deal without asking a single question that mattered.
I've made decisions that cost lives and felt less sick about it than this.
"Sounds perfect," Leo says. "Though honestly, I'd marry her tomorrow if I could."
He grins at Aurora. She smiles back, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
I drain my wine glass. Pour another.
Viktor, sitting a few seats down, catches my eye. The look he gives me says you're drowning, and everyone can see it.
I know.
Finally, mercifully, dinner ends.
"Aurora, walk with me," Luca says, standing. "We should discuss some financial matters."
She stands, clearly relieved to get away from Leo.
They disappear into Luca's office.
Leo stretches. "I'm going to the game room. Anyone want to play pool?"
"I'll join you," Sergei says.
They wander off, Alexei following.
I wait exactly five minutes. Then I head upstairs.
I know which room is Aurora's—saw the staff bringing her things there earlier.
I shouldn't go there. Shouldn't corner her.
I go anyway.
I'm standing outside her door when I hear footsteps. Aurora rounds the corner and stops when she sees me.
We stare at each other.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice is sharp.
"We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Aurora—"
"Don't." She moves toward her door. "Just don't."
"Please." The word comes out rough. "Just — give me five minutes."
She stops. Turns. And I see it all in her face — the fury, yes, but underneath it something worse. Something exhausted. Like she's been holding everything up by herself for so long, and she's just now realizing she's still holding it.
"Five minutes for what? To explain why you sold me to your son?"
"I didn't know it was you."
"But you did it anyway." Her voice is very controlled. That's almost worse than if she were screaming. "You went to my father and you arranged my future, and you didn't know my name. Didn't ask to meet me. Didn't think to wonder what kind of person you were handing over to your prick of a son."
"I was trying to—"
"I know what you were trying to do. I heard the reasoning.
" Her jaw tightens. "Leo needs a wife. You and my father should be officially allied.
I was the convenient solution. The pregnant daughter who needed dealing with.
" She laughs, and it comes out wrong, too sharp.
"Do you know what my father said to me when he sent me to the countryside?
That I needed to be dealt with. And then you sat in his office and agreed to deal with me and nobody—" Her voice finally cracks, just slightly.
She swallows it. "Nobody asked me anything. "
I don't say anything. There's nothing to say.
"Aurora—"
"Don't." Her eyes are bright now, and I realize she's furious at herself for telling me, for giving me that, for cracking even that much. "Don't look at me like that. I don't need your guilt. I have enough of my own."
"You have nothing to feel guilty for—"
"I have a baby, no husband, and an engagement to the son of my unborn child’s father.
My guilt is not the issue right now." She presses her back against the wall, tilts her head up like she's trying to keep herself from crying through sheer vertical force.
"You asked for five minutes. You got them.
So tell me: what were you going to say that was going to make any of this different? "
I open my mouth.
And I have nothing. No plan, no fix, no brilliant solution. Just the fact of what I did and the woman standing in front of me and the child between us and all the ways I cannot undo any of it.
"I don't know," I admit. "I don't have an answer.
I just — I needed to say it to your face.
That I'm sorry. That I knew something felt wrong and I ignored it, and I should have asked Luca his daughter's name, should have asked to meet her before I agreed to anything.
I should have—" I stop. "I should have been more careful with someone's life. "
The silence between us changes. Still tense, still wrecked — but something in it shifts slightly.
"You can't fix this," she says, and it's not an accusation anymore. Just a fact. Tired.
"Not tonight," I say. "But I'm not—" I stop, because I nearly say leaving you in this and I don't have the right to say it. Don't have the right to any of the things I want to say. "I'm not done trying to find a way."
She looks at me for a long moment. Something moves across her face that I can't name.
"The baby is yours," she says quietly. "I want you to know that I know that. Whatever happens — whoever it belongs to on paper — I know."
"I know too."
"Okay." She closes her eyes briefly. "Okay."
She takes a shaky breath. "This is happening. I'm marrying Leo in three months. Your baby is going to be his. And we both just have to—to live with it."
"I can't." The admission rips out of me. "I can't watch him touch you. Can't watch you pretend. Can't—"
"This is fucked up," she whispers.
"Yes."
"I can't believe this is happening."
We're inches apart now. The air between us crackles with everything we can't say, can't do.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask. "That you were Luca's daughter?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were my father's best friend?" She fires back.
"We didn't talk about our personal lives."
"Exactly." Her eyes search mine. "We had six days. Six days of first names and pretending the real world didn't exist. And now—"
Footsteps echo down the hallway.
We both jump apart.
Aurora's eyes go wide. "You need to go—"
"Aurora—"
"Now."
She's already moving, slipping into her room. The door closes just as Leo rounds the corner.
"Dad?" He stops. "What are you doing up here?"
"Looking for the bathroom. Got turned around."
He buys it. "It's down the other hall. Come on."
I follow him, but every step away from Aurora's door feels wrong.
This is going to be hell.
One month of living under the same roof. One month of watching her with Leo. One month of knowing that I created this nightmare.
And I have no idea how to end it.