Page 106 of The Disputed Legacy
The trust.
As Saul and I led Oscar down the aisle with us, music played loudly, off note with the sudden change in the program.
We weren’t rushing out of here only as a husband and wife. We were parents, ready to help Oscar get over this. Because wecould celebrate this, our love, every single day of the year. For the rest of our lives.
40
SAUL
One month later…
I waved at my brothers before leaving the office. It wasn’t Father’s office anymore, but Maxim’s.
He wastheboss. OurPakhan. And with Father having us all in here for a talk, I knew that his choice to step down was the right one.
Even though he’d recovered a lot, he lost the faith in himself that he wouldn’t have any issues down the line. With his age and how hard his recovery from being poisoned was, that was a justifiable concern. Maxim had done too good of a job being the interim leader, and it was a no-brainer that he’d stay in his position.
“This is a team,” Father emphasized to us all. “No matter how much the family grows, you four will always be a team.” He settled his gaze on me for a longer beat, almost as if he wanted to once more remind me that I was an Ivanov brother. Always had been and always would. That stupid rumor from Dominic Romano was laughable, and it didn’t matter anyway.
He was dead.
“Each of you will always back each other up,” Father said, fighting tears. “I was an only child, but when I saw each of you born and had the privilege of watching you grow, I never felt alone again. Your mother nearly destroyed me when you were taken, but in a testament to the Ivanov strength, you survived and have lived to carry on the name now.”
We knew that. And we’d always lived by that motto, that we were a team, we were one. Father didn’t need to instruct us to do what felt right, but I suspected this grand speech he had planned was part of his getting closure from leaving the job to his eldest.
I doubted that any of us counted on this meeting to get this emotional, but it was. I was proud of my father for stepping down, I was proud of my brother taking the lead, and I was proud just to be here.
But… I checked the time again. I wasn’t trying to hurry through this or rush anyone along, but I did have places to go and people to see.
It was more like I had one place to go and one person to see.
Now that the flu was done hitting us all, Willow and I were finally ready to enjoy a belated honeymoon night. Taking a full vacation would wait for a while, but we had arranged for Sloane and Katerina to babysit Oscar.
On our wedding day, we were at home, helping Oscar. That was how committed we were as parents. Even though someone else could’ve stepped in, Willow and I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the day or reception knowing that Oscar wasn’t with us.
I’d never forget the sight of Willow and me on Oscar’s bed, flanking him as we had our wedding dinner and cake on to-go containers as he napped and fought his fever.
Willow got it after him.
Then me.
On to the others.
It was a brutal couple of weeks of illness, but we’d all managed.
“Okay, Saul,” Father said. “Go on. Enjoy your honeymoon.”
The others laughed, clearly seeing how antsy I had been to get out of there.
And I didn’t wait. With that wave, I excused myself and practically ran to my apartment.
Willow was waiting for me, just tossing the last of her things into a bag. “I was wondering where you were.”
“The meeting got a little intense.”
She furrowed her brow. “Bad intense?”
“Emotional.”
