Chapter 93
Katerina:
I sat in the café, by myself, as I took a deep breath, getting lost in my thoughts.
“Katerina.” Viktor’s voice broke my thoughts, and I smiled, wanting to get up to greet him. He shook his head and
motioned to me to stay and not move. It was a shady place to be in at this time, but I didn’t know where else to go to get my privacy. Anywhere else would have had me on headlines.
“What happened?” He asked, and I looked down at the drink that I had. It was an untouched cup of coffee. I kept
running my finger over it a few times, and it wasn’t until Viktor removed the cup from me that I snapped out of my thoughts.
“I thought that I would be happy being mean to her. I thought that I would be satisfied. It wasn’t until he came to
the auction hall with the kids that I snapped out of it. The woman meant nothing right now. I wanted my kids,
and he just reminded me of that.” I said, not looking up at him. I couldn’t meet his eyes. I knew that he would be disappointed in me.
However, to my surprise, he put his hand on my own, gently massaging it before opening my closed fist and
intertwining our fingers. I looked at his hand, feeling my heart skip a beat for the first time in years. The truth of
his action was something that I couldn’t help but find myself admiring.
“You are going to have them soon, Katerina. But you are going to need to be a little more patient. He knew that it
would weaken you, and that was what he wanted. He knows that we are going to have our meeting tomorrow, and that is what he wanted to reach. Your weak point, something that would hurt you.” He said, gently running
his finger over mine. “I watched what you did today.”
“What?” I asked, and he smiled.
“I had one of my men by a portrait. I have to admit, it is not one that I would have, but my mom would be happy
to find it in her living room. I knew that I had to support you if you needed anything there, and if she chose to cross limits with you, I didn’t want you to be alone. I stood in the back, watching you, and I was more than a little proud to be able to watch a woman as strong as you were. You proved to me, to the women, and to the whole world that you are not going to allow him to break you.” He said gently. “I don’t want you to allow yourself to break because of him. It doesn’t suit you, and a frown is not one that suits you. Frankly, I grew to admire the beautiful smile that you have.”
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0 I laughed as my cheeks heated, and he smiled when he saw my blush. He kept his hand on mine, but used his other to brush my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear gently. “That is the smile that I want to see, and I
I don’t want to see you losing it.”
“What if I don’t manage to get the kids? What if he takes them from me?” I asked, and he shook his head.
*Lam going to have you take the kids. I promise you, even if it is the last thing that I do, I am not going to allow him to deprive you from them. But I am going to need you to be patient. Just as you stood strong in front of him
and everyone, you are going to stand strong now. It is going to prove to him that nothing that he can do will
break you.” He said, putting a finger under my chin to make me look him in the eye. “Can you promise me that?”
“I wish,”
“You will,” he said, and I took a deep breath. “For your own sake, for the kids, and for me. I don’t want to see you losing hope. It brightens a dark day when I have one, and trust me, I tend to have a lot.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked as he removed his finger from under my chin. I couldn’t help but notice that his hand was still holding mine and taking sight of my gaze, he hesitated and went to remove his hand. I tightened mine around his, stopping him. He smiled at the gesture and allowed himself to relax. “You are always listening to my problems. I figure that it might be my turn to listen to yours?”
“I am your lawyer.”
“I doubt that my lawyer would be coming to a café, at ten at night, need I add, a shady one…”
“The fact that you chose the location is something that I find odd. But I know not to ask what a woman would do when she is annoyed.” He said, and I laughed.
“You seem to know a lot about women,” I said, and he smirked. “But I am not going to drop the subject this time. I am going to let go as not to press on you. I just want you to know that I am more than willing to be your listening ear if you need it.”
“Thank you,” he said, and I squeezed his hand gently before letting go,
“So, what do you think about a drink? My treat this time.” I said, and he smirked.
“It depends, are you going to actually drink it? Or is it going to be another ice latte that was supposedly a cappuccino?” He asked, making me laugh. The fact that I could laugh despite the pain that I was feeling was one that I was thankful for. And I knew that had it not been for him, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. The man’s
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kindness was the reason behind my smile and I knew, somehow that he saw that in my eyes.
“No, no, I am going to order a cold drink this time.” I said, making him chuckle.
“As if that is going to change anything?” He asked, “but fair enough. ONLY if I can invite you for dinner.”
“You are playing with fire.”
“You should be thankful that I am allowing you to pay in the first place.” He said, making my heart swell. “A man never has a woman pay, and I am the man that would be more than willing to spoil the woman that I like.”
“The woman that you like?” I asked, and he ran his finger over a diamond ring that I had around my finger. He raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head. “The wedding ring has been long disposed off. This one is a gift that I got for myself when the kids left the hospital for the first time after their early labor.”
“It is a reminder to me to fight.” I said, and he nodded.
“And I’ll be there for you through the whole way.” He said, his voice softening. “As long as you allow me to be…”
