Page 125 of Viparious

She moves her mitten-covered hand, waving bye.She’s nothing like me, thank fuck, apart from when she bursts into fits of rage, and I couldn’t be prouder. Although Inessa and the rest of the family say she’s my double, she’s all her mama.

Lifting her higher, I kiss her cheek and ignore the way my heart dies and grows at the same time.

“How do you know her name, malenkaya zvezda1?”

She throws herself forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing, just repeating her sister’s name as though it’s obvious.

“Vanya.”

Inessa stands waiting with tears lining her lashes and comes to my side. Grigory respectfully nods his head, and both cups have been used. She was warm. My strength. Ever thinking she was a weakness was bullshit, some fucked up part of my brain that had been polluted with Len’s thinking. My queen is nothing but my strength. She’s powerful and does things no one else can. Like making sure the jet is booked every year, telling everyone to fuck off so I don’t have to focus on anything other than Vanya and raising our daughter to have that steel spine in everything she does.

She fits herself at my side with her features hard and cold. I can’t force them to spend all day in the cold. Verena waves over my shoulder and hums, “Bye bye, Vanya. Play ‘gain.”

Inessa takes a deep breath to stop any emotion showing as we walk out through the churchyard. Her lips twitch when she sees the charred remains of the neighbor’s house, but there’s no verbal question. She looks up at me and raises a brow. I’m not going to lie to her. I’m also never going to give her the full extent of my sins without her explicitly requesting the details.

* * *

3 months later

Coming hometo a house full of noise always feels new. Even though it’s been years, that first step inside makes me pause. So is seeing my brother, who had a death match last night, sat with pink shit all over his face beside Inessa, Viktor, and Dani. Their spa days are weird as fuck. We have enough money for them to actually go and get treatments, but they turn the lounge into a resort, watching reality TV and eating junk food.

They’ve even corrupted my daughter, and she has face cream lathered on her little cheeks with her ankles crossed, fitting in with them. The only person who’s missing is Valentin and if he walks out in the same get up, I’m turning around.

The ugly orange pants are wrapped around Inessa’s legs, every pair I throw out is replaced and I’m close to buying the fucking company to stop them from making them anymore. But she was the happiest I’ve ever seen her when she found out they make the horrendous things in a maternity collection. I know I’m going to be stuck with them for life rubbing against my legs when she gets restless in her sleep and freaking me out in the morning when I manage to write them out of my memory.

Kissing the top of Inessa’s head, I turn to Verena and soften my voice. “Ready to learn how to swim, malenkaya zvezda?”

She’s afraid of the pool, always thinking there’s fish in it when the water is clear and free of anything. Blowing out a long breath, her face hardens, and she claps her hands together, psyching herself up as Viktor joins in verbally.

“Veroushka can do it, I’ll show you how to do backflips.”

She looks at her cousin with a grateful smile, nods in agreement and slides off the sofa, coming to my side.

He runs off to wash the shit off his face and get ready. Picking Verena up, I take her with me, knowing her mother will waddle behind us. Inessa is only four months pregnant, but she acts like it’s been four years, being dramatic and enjoying making me pay for everything I missed the first time.I wait for her as the elevator doors open and she adds extra drama when I turn. Her hand goes to her back, and she shuffles her feet despite the smug glee on her face. As long as she tortures me with dramatics, we’re fine. If she goes silent on me, it will be a worse punishment.

Verena looks at her and asks, “Why walk like that?”

My wife has blue shit all over her face and she looks like an alien. But she smiles and stops forcing her waddle as she steps into the elevator. “Because your little brother or sister is very big.”

Our daughter looks down at her small bump and with her lips twisting to one side as the elevator moves. She wriggles until she’s half hanging down and presses the tip of her finger to Inessa’s bump as she says, “Be nice to mama.” I lift her up, so she doesn’t fall but she adds a threat. “Or tell papa off you.”

Inessa hides her laugh as she looks up at me and shakes her head. We both know I’m never going to reprimand them for anything. They can wreak as much havoc as they want. But Verena crosses her arms over her chest and declares, “Fix now.”

She’s exactly like her mother, ordering everyone around and refusing to accept anyone’s shit. Even though her sibling isn’t born.

The elevator comes to a stop, and I don’t follow my wife. I allow her to walk ahead as I point at her tabby cat legs and whisper in Verena’s ear, “You’re never going to wear them, okay?”

She shakes her head and loudly snitches, “Like mama’s pants. They soft.”

The brat turns her head to glare at me. She never utters a bad word in front of our daughter and the little brat in the making giggles, knocking her cream-laden face into my suit and rubbing it into the material.

“Mama look funny.”

She’s not wrong, considering she currently has blue shit on her face and those tabby cat pants with one of my t-shirts.

I turn into Verena’s room and take her into the bathroom to wipe her face. She stands on the vanity, doing breathing exercises and slapping her arms out, pretending to swim. I soften my voice as I stroke her dark hair out of her face.

“Are you scared?”

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