I’d watched him build his inner circle and cultivate trustworthy relationships with the five men he called brothers. They were decidedly more loyal than his own brother Yosef had ever been, and I was right to worry about what these men would do when Yannick’s time came and he up and left. Their dislike and disregard for me was well known, maybe with the exception of Sandir, who somehow tolerated me occasionally. Irina Ischmova would not be a blip on their radar when they regarded Yannick’s decision.
Grudging Yannick this would be a bitch thing to do. He’d paid penance, not entirely a willing accomplice to what our families had done. He may have had a smoking gun to his head, but I’d stood to lose everything too had he not signed on the dotted line, I was more than prepared to play the role to get what I wanted - the decent Ischmov brother and the empire he was set to inherit. It would have been so easy to have dissolved the partnership when my father had died but some greedy part of me wanted to hold on to Yannick a little longer. He’d never been mine in a genuine sense, and I was under no illusions he ever would be. Fifteen-year-old actions bore lifelong consequences, and I never did get what I wanted.
Yannick.
Still, the bed was lonely without him. Up I got, guiding my arms into the sleeves of a silk robe and tying the sash tight around my body in annoyance. Going in search of the man, I found him exactly where I’d guessed he’d gone when he’d finally tromped up the stairs, less than quiet.
“You shouldn’t be in here, Irina.” Yan was sitting up in bed, the lamp on and thumbing through his phone.
“Neither should you.”
“No?” he asked without looking up.
“There is a perfectly good bed next door, where you belong.”
Putting his phone on the bedside table, he folded his hands in his lap and held my unwavering gaze. “I have never belonged in your bed.” Yes, this was it. My husband was finally being straight, provoking a vein of disappointment I had no right to feel because I’d definitely called it and had seen this coming for a long time. “Come in if you must.”
Closing the door behind me, I crossed the room and accepted his invite when he pulled the covers back on the bed. “We have a lot to talk about,” I said, slipping in beside him and mirroring his position.
“We do. But not at this absurd time in the morning when I’ve had too much vodka.”
“Caulder’s?”
“Yes.”
“We own four other establishments of the same ilk, yet you always go there.”
“Of the same ilk?” he laughed, shaking his head. “There’s nothing special about Caulder’s except the fact it’s mine, not ours. The place is legitimate, not a whiff of drugs run through the bar. If I want to drink in peace, I go where Bill runs a tight ship with a pleasant atmosphere, not to some skanky drug bar where the top shelf choice is a half-ounce of coke. And not the drinking kind either.”
“So, Miss CeeCee never tempts you?”
Yan snorted, then let out another laugh. “God, no. I made the mistake of tipping her too generously once, and maybe Andrey used her for a minute, if only to shut her the hell up. The woman is annoying as fuck.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Bill’s a decent manager, keeps his mouth shut, that’s why I always go to there.”
The silence was comfortable between us for a change and I wondered if that was because we were both aware the tide was shifting in our relationship, the ironclad contract between us no longer holding any weight. Letting Yan go seemed impossible. Bitch was my middle name, he knew better than anyone how I operated, he’d be expecting a fight. The thought of playing dirty to keep him around didn’t sit right, yet it was all I knew and whilst I’d achieve nothing by being the same old me, it was a foregone conclusion in my mind. I loved Yannick, probably not like a wife should love their husband, but for once I could see beyond everything else and appreciate the man for who he was. As loyal as he was to his friends, he also loyal to me - proving so time and time again, albeit reluctantly. Reaching for at least an amicable separation and subsequent understanding was better for us both. As much as I had the power to destroy him, he too had the same ability, and such a scenario wasn’t beneficial in the long run. Letting go was inevitable, I could at least control how it happened, and if I strayed and the knives came out, like I expected they would, then who would blame me?
“I’m sorry.” The sentiment was half hearted with little meaning and he knew it.
“Your apology is wasted, Irina. We both knew what this was, we both made sacrifices. I wasn’t oblivious to all the betrayal going on. Yosef didn’t create the situation all by himself, there were a lot of fingers in a lot of pies and it got messy. We’ve been through enough together, you and I, it makes no sense to part as enemies, so why don’t we try, hhmm?”
As diplomatic as ever. “I would prefer that.”
“No games, huh? I’m sick and tired of asking the same thing, only for it to fall on deaf ears. This time I demand it, I deserve it, at the very least. If I have to walk
