Chapter Thirty-eight
Inna Grace
I set the breakfast tray on the bedside table while Anita arranged the glass of water beside it.
I thanked her, and she bowed once before leaving the room.
All I needed now was for Caitlin to wake up.
But just as I finished the thought, she shifted beneath the covers and slowly pulled herself upright.
“You’re up,” I said. “Perfect timing. I prepared breakfast for you. Everything’s here, so just take whatever you feel like eating.”
I picked up the tray and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, settling it carefully across her lap.
Her face looked better than yesterday. The swollen eye had opened slightly, and the cut on her lip was starting to close at the edges.
I noticed it all at once, then looked away again.
The last thing she needed was to catch me staring at her injuries like I was counting them.
She took the tray and started with the porridge. I watched the small wince she tried to hide each time the spoon brushed too close to the cut on her lip.
I picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of bacon, and looked out the window while I chewed. “The weather today is clear for a beach walk.”
The memory of what Dmitri and I did on the beach tried pushing its way into my head, but I blocked it. I was not about to sit here beside an injured Caitlin and start overheating over beach sex memories while she ate porridge. I picked up a slice of apple and took a bite instead.
Caitlin didn’t respond. She barely said anything since yesterday, and I would not force her into conversation before she was ready. I could do enough talking for both of us.
“No wonder Cole is already playing there. He has claimed the beach as personal property at this point,” I continued. “I’m expecting him to start charging an entry fee soon. Five seashells per person, negotiable if you bring snacks.”
A quick sound escaped Caitlin, almost a laugh, and she looked surprised by it herself, her fingers moving to her lip afterward.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’ll try to be less funny.”
“No.” She shook her head.
It was the most she had said since yesterday.
I picked up another slice of apple. “Have you always lived in Florida?”
That was enough to open the conversation.
She told me she grew up in Alabama, but at some point, everything in her life started revolving around Ivan.
Her parents tried forcing her into a marriage she didn’t want, so she ran away, met Ivan, and ended up marrying him instead.
She didn’t have much of a relationship with her family after that, so for a long time, it was just her and Ivan.
“Maybe this is what I get for disobeying my parents.” She gave a quiet laugh, and I shook my head.
“I don’t think so. Ivan was just an asshole. You can divorce him and focus on designing.”
Caitlin looked at me for a moment and nodded once before returning her attention to the breakfast.
“So, can I finally see some designs you made? You were supposed to show me.”
A small smile appeared on her face. “Yeah.”
“Okay, but first you need to finish breakfast and take your medicine.” I let her eat while I crossed the room to open the curtains. Sunlight spilled through the curtains, and I appreciated how huge the windows were.
Once Caitlin had eaten enough, I set the tray aside and reached for the medicine. “Take these first, then after a few minutes, you’ll take the other ones. Doctor’s orders, and I’ve decided to enforce them.”
She chuckled and took the pills from me. “Thank you, Inna. And I’m sorry. I’m bothering you.”
I looked at her. “You’re not bothering me.”
“I am. You should be somewhere else doing something important, but instead you’re here.”
“Did you force me?” I asked, pointing toward the pills.
“You didn’t, so take your pills. You’re a friend, and friends are supposed to be there for each other.
” I smoothed the front of my dress. “I’m going to bring you some of my clothes, so you have something comfortable to change into.
My size should work. I’m taller than you, but you’re a designer, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out. ”
She nodded with a faint smile. “Just an inch taller. I’m sure they’ll work.”
I took the glass from her hands. “Rest a bit. I’ll be back.” I picked up the tray and walked out of the room.
Before I reached the kitchen, I slowed when I spotted Dmitri at the far end of the corridor heading toward his office. He was still wearing the same clothes he had left on last night.
Last night, after the doctor finished checking Caitlin and she settled into the guest room, I stayed beside her, telling myself I would only sit there for a few minutes.
Instead, I fell asleep. I woke up to Dmitri’s arms lifting me from the chair and carrying me upstairs.
He placed me on the bed and left the room without saying a word.
“Let me take that, ma’am.” Anita appeared beside me and lifted the tray from my hands.
I thanked her, then changed direction and followed Dmitri.
When I reached the office, I stopped outside the door after hearing Dmitri’s voice from inside. “Burn the body if you have to.”
He sounded angry.
I held the sentence in my head for a moment, turning it over carefully.
This was the part I never said out loud, even to myself.
Dmitri ran things strangely. Beneath the businesses with polished names and official addresses lay something darker.
I knew it. I just chose not to look at it too closely.
“Miss?”
I jerked sideways so fast my heart nearly launched out of my chest. Akim stood behind me carrying an iPad and a file.
“Is everyone in this house allergic to making noise when they walk?” I pressed a hand against my chest. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not so long,” he answered.
I straightened and cleared my throat. “You can go in.”
He nodded once and stepped toward the door, but before knocking, he paused and looked back at me. “By the way—”
“I’ll sign them and give them to you,” I cut in. “Do you need them today?”
He hesitated, then stepped back toward me. “I wanted to know how she is.”
Oh.
So an actual human was somewhere underneath all that stone. This man saved Caitlin yesterday, which should have told me enough already.
“She’s better,” I said. “The swelling is going down. You could go see her if you wanted.”
“There’s no need,” he replied, then turned back toward the office door.
I pressed my lips together to stop myself from smiling and walked away. The fact that he even asked about her was enough. He barely held conversations with me at all.
The day moved faster than the ones before it, probably because, for once, I moved with it instead of sitting somewhere trapped inside my own thoughts.
Most of my time went between Cole and Caitlin, back and forth across the mansion until the hours disappeared without me noticing.
Caitlin slept through most of the day, which was exactly what her body needed after everything.
Cole, on the other hand, had showered and was already dramatic about bedtime.
“Put these on,” I said, tossing the pajamas at him while picking up his towel before he could protest. I started drying his hair, and he tolerated it for exactly three seconds before he started complaining.
“Can I do that myself?” he asked.
“No.”
“There’s a dryer right there. Come on, you’re making my head hurt.” He stepped sideways to escape me, and I followed without mercy, scrubbing the towel over his hair harder just to annoy him.
He slipped away again with an offended groan, and I laughed as I tossed the towel into the laundry basket. “Fine. Get dressed quickly.”
“It’s not funny when I’m the one whose head hurts,” he muttered, dragging on his pajama shorts with the dignity of a deeply wronged old man.
“You’re nine. You’ll survive.”
“That doesn’t make me immune to pain,” he pointed out.
He kept complaining under his breath while I used the dryer on his hair and ignored him. Once I finished, I walked him to the bed and tucked him in. I ruffled his hair one last time because that was part of the routine.
“Goodnight, kiddo.”
“I’m nine!” he yelled from beneath the covers just as I closed the door behind me.
I headed toward the guest wing to check on Caitlin, but as I passed Grandma’s room, a rough cough sounded from inside. I stopped and knocked gently on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Inna,” I answered.
“Oh, come in, dear.”
She was in bed, propped up against the pillows, looking perfectly composed as if she hadn’t just coughed loud enough for the entire hallway to hear. I moved farther into the room and glanced toward the bedside table. The glass sitting there was empty.
“Can I bring you some water?”
She waved a hand dismissively. “I keep a few bottles in the drawer.”
I opened the top drawer and found rows of medication bottles instead. Closing it, I checked the second drawer and found several water bottles stacked inside. I placed one on the bedside table where she could reach it without getting up.
“There. It’ll be easier to reach now.”
She chuckled. “Is that your polite way of calling me old?”
“I didn’t say that.” I sat beside her on the bed. “But if you cough like that at two in the morning while the water is hidden inside a drawer, you’ll be struggling for a while.”
She laughed again. “Okay, okay. You win.” Her gaze settled on me for a moment. “You make this house feel alive. You and Cole both. That boy is determined.”
“He is,” I agreed, leaving the conversation there because a lie was hidden beneath that topic. Grandma never called Cole Dmitri’s son, never even implied it openly, and I noticed it every single time while pretending not to.
“Dmitri mentioned your father is in critical condition.”
I nodded slowly. “He’ll recover.”
“Good. Stay positive.” She smoothed the blanket over her lap before continuing. “I’m going to see him tomorrow. I have a meeting nearby.”
“Can I come?” The question left me faster than I intended.
She gave me a look that almost carried an apology. “I believe Dmitri already told you that you can’t go. I’ll be sneaking in by myself.”
“Then at least tell me how he is afterward.” Silence settled between us again, and I took it as my cue to leave. “I’ll let you sleep.”
“Do you plan to give Dmitri a child?”
I froze. “I’m sorry?”
“I know Cole is your brother,” she said calmly. “But he already feels like a grandson to me. I would love for Dmitri to have a child before I die.”
I sat back down. The sentence rearranged itself inside my head twice before I trusted what I heard. She knew Cole wasn’t Dmitri’s son.
Which meant she knew everything else too.
“After you two are done pretending,” she continued, “maybe you’ll realize you actually make a good couple.”
“You knew?” I stared at her. “This whole time?”
She laughed. “What do you think? That I’m stupid?”
“No, I just…” I stopped midway through the sentence. “You knew I stole his money?”
Her eyes widened. “You stole Dmitri’s money?”
Shit.
I bit my lip and looked down at my lap. Why would I say that out loud?
Grandma burst into laughter, and I looked back up at her. “That is exactly why I keep telling Dmitri you’d make a good wife,” she said while wiping at the corner of her eye. “You fit into this family perfectly.”
“Shouldn’t that make you hate me?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“Hate you?” She waved the idea away. “Please. I’ve done worse.”
I snorted. “You didn’t rob a bank, did you?”
She shifted deeper into the pillows. “You’d be surprised.” She cleared her throat. “The pills are working. I should sleep.”
I sat there a moment longer after she closed her eyes. In my entire life, I never had grandparents, and I never cared enough to ask my parents about them either. But this felt nice. I pulled the blanket higher over her and stood up.
“Goodnight, Grandma.”
“Goodnight, dear.”
I left the room and paused in the hallway while the conversation settled over me piece by piece. She knew. This entire time, she knew Dmitri and I were pretending. She still welcomed us into this house and treated us like family. She saw through all of it and chose not to turn it into a problem.
Did Dmitri know Grandma knew the marriage was fake?