Page 53 of Unholy Matrimony

31. No way!

32. Okay

33. Flower

Chapter twenty-three

Leonid

We have been keeping busy for the past few weeks, Lina, with baby preparations, especially now that she is in her second trimester.

She feels more comfortable getting the house ready for a baby. She even has a baby bump, making an appearance. Last week we announced the pregnancy after Pascha Liturgy and she received a blessing from Father Ireni for an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery. The doctor said in five weeks we could find out the gender of the baby with an ultrasound.

Raisa came for the holiday break. I loved seeing my wife so happy, having her sister here. They spent a week and a half baking, attending services, and decorating for Pascha. We took Raisa back to the school after the Pascha break, and the house feels emptier now.

While I have been keeping things as normal as possible at home, for Lina’s sake. Things are tense with my father. If it was us who killed his men, Yuri guaranteed retaliation. It's causing serious stress for some men, as we have always had a good relationship with the Volkov Bratva.

Yuri Volkov has been a great ally in the past. That’s why when my father ordered the hits, I was hesitant to do it. The twins and I are getting nervous. I can’t have this retaliation make it to our homes. Mila is due in a month and with Lina pregnant, I don’t want to risk it.

I pull into my father's carport and take a deep breath before exiting the vehicle. As I walk up to the door, I make sure I silence my phone. I don’t need any distractions when I talk with him. I bang on the door, and who opens the door?

Olga.

She gives me a coy smile. “I knew you couldn’t stay away forever. Come in, Leo baby.” She reaches for my hand. I recoil. “What the fuck are you still doing here, Olga?”

Maybe she is fucking my father? That wouldn’t surprise me. If she can’t have one Igorov, she goes for the other.

“Your father thought it best for me to stay. You know, in case you change your mind about being married to the Nun.” I shake my head in disbelief.

I suck my teeth and say, “So us fucking in the library, loud enough for you to hear, wasn’t enough of a hint. Khorosho1? How about this then, Lina is pregnant. We are having a baby in twenty- five weeks, Olga. So let me make this one hundred percent clear. There will never be an ‘us’. I will always choose her and our child. No matter who my father tries to throw in my path. It will always be her.”

I push past her, and she screams before she walks out the door.

One task out of the way, now for the main one. I turn into the open door of my father's office and he is sitting behind his desk. He looks up from the pile of papers. “What have you done to make Olga scream?” He tosses his glasses and the papers down.

“It’s not what I’ve done per se, but what she now knows.” I sit in the chair across from him. “The same thing I am about to tell you. Stop trying to sabotage my marriage!” I growl. “We are having a baby, and absolutely nothing would make me leave her. Do you understand? You must, on some level, surely. You never left my mother, and you had me. So why do this to me? I have devoted my life to you and the Bratva. I’ve never said no to anything you have thrown my way.”

My father stands and walks to the little bar to the right of his desk, grabbing two glasses and a bottle of Stoli. He walks back, sits down, and pours.

He pushes one glass across to me. “Vashemu nasledniku2!” He toasts, drinking his glass and slamming it down.

I roll my eyes and drink, setting my glass down. “The Borisov bloodline continues. Good. When will the baby be born?”

“30th of November if she goes full term. The doctor says first babies can be late, though.” I reply.

My father sits, nodding. “Is it a boy?” he inquires. Of course, that’s all he cares about.

“We won’t know for 5 more weeks, but it doesn’t matter to us. We will be happy with a boy or a girl.” Secretly, I have been praying for a girl.

He scoffs, “We need boys, Leonid.” I sit forward.

“This isn’t all I came here to talk to you about. This Yuri situation is getting bad. He is threatening retaliation. We need to mend the fracture before people die.” “You are right,” he blows out a breath, “We will invite Yuri to dinner here. We will hash it out. Figure out what it will take to put this behind us.”

We go over the details of the dinner, and I feel satisfied as I leave the house. I take out my phone and call Oleg. “Privet, Brat,3 can you and Ilya meet me to go over some things? Say in 15 minutes.” “Konechno, brat4. See you then.” It’s a brisk 11 degrees celcius, and I almost wished I had taken the bike out. I wouldn’t be freezing my balls off and the roads are no longer iced over. Maybe this weekend.

I meet the twins at a cafe in town that our men frequent. We sit at a table near the back and the server brings us tea and pastries, without being asked. After taking a drink, I speak, “So Pakhan is going to be holding a dinner to mend things with the Volkovs. We all have to be there, but no women. I think it would be best if Mila stayed with Lina at my house to be safe. What do you think?”

Oleg groans, “This is some fucked up shit, Lenya. You know Yuri is angry and doesn't forgive easily. This is gonna be a shitstorm. What the fuck is Igor thinking?” He picks up his cup and downs the tea, making a face from the bitterness.

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