Chapter 135 Intrigue

Chapter 135 Intrigue
Time moved on as usual. Outside it was already May again, and just a few days ago we celebrated Marina and Viktor’s wedding.
The event was beautiful and unforgettable. I’m incredibly happy for my friend, because she is happy. She made a stunning bride and now a stunning wife. I just hope her husband treats her the way she deserves—because she certainly earned her happiness. The couple really wants children, and, quite logically, they’ve been working very actively on that. We stayed in Kremenchuk for a few days, visiting my parents, and I never actually saw Marina again—married life comes with marital duties, which my friend apparently can no longer escape.
Nazar started visiting us more often. Maybe it’s jealousy toward the “new relative” everyone gets along with so well. Or maybe he finally realized that being close to family is better—here everyone has your back. They’ll support you, help you, give advice, and, honestly, no one minds if the brothers sneak off to have some “boys' time.”
I trust Kirill and I know he loves me—just as much as I love him. And if the guys need their purely “brotherly time,” I’m only glad. Let them bond. We girls can also have fun—though with juice and other non-alcoholic drinks, since we’re all moms and breastfeeding. But that never dims our mood or the fun of our gatherings when the kids are watched over.
Choosing a nanny is something I now approach with a hundred times more scrutiny. No wonder I hadn’t liked Alexandra from the start—our stubborn grandpa was simply impossible to overrule. But now? I can’t entrust my children to just anyone. It’s a blessing that Oleg married our Valentina. She happily comes over to help with the babies. Her husband doesn’t like the idea of her working, so she gets bored at home, and baking cakes can also get old. Time spent with us always cheers her up.
Yesterday Nazar came again—our kids absolutely adore him. He easily found common ground with them, and now he’s officially their favorite uncle in the whole world.
And now, while the four of them are demolishing our house together, I slipped out for a stroller walk with Soli. Sometimes you just crave that rare thing called silence… So my route took me through our little settlement.
Passing familiar houses, I noticed many had been sold. Some already had lawns, while others were just getting their furniture delivered.
Walking along the road, I saw a white car approaching. When it pulled up beside me, a woman stepped out… Aisha?
She looked extremely pleased with herself and radiantly arrogant. She clearly noticed me with the stroller and came straight toward me.
For a second, I thought she wanted to apologize for the things she’d said earlier—but very quickly I understood how wrong I was… VERY wrong.
“Ah, there you are,” she purred venomously, sauntering closer without even greeting me. “I was on my way to your place. But this is even better—meeting you alone.”
Her tone, the way she spoke—I didn’t like any of it. A chill slid down my spine, and a faint panic crept in.
“It’s pretty here,” Aisha suddenly changed the topic, glancing around. “I could stay.”
“What do you mean?” I frowned.
“I mean that soon enough, you’ll need to start packing your bags,” she dropped smugly. “Very soon.”
“What makes you think that?” I stared at her, quietly baffled by her audacity.
Aisha looked me over from head to toe with disdain and superiority. I had no idea what her goal was, but I already knew I wasn’t going to like what she said next.
Instead of answering, she reached into her purse, pulled out some photographs, and handed them to me with a satisfied smirk.
“What’s this?” I asked, eyeing the prints like they were a venomous snake, hesitating before taking them.
“You really are stupid,” she suddenly laughed. “You think you actually managed to ‘get’ Kirill? Did you even know about the agreement between my father and Oleg?” she asked slyly, and my nerves tightened—because I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
“What agreement?” My voice trembled, my breathing quickened.
“Our fathers have been friends for years, and they dreamed of Kirill and me getting together. So if Kirill and I decide to take that step—mutually—they agreed to eliminate anything standing in the way,” the brunette smiled, and fear prickled at me.
“And why exactly do you think Kirill wants to be with you?” I tried to sound confident, though it was difficult. Instead of answering, she nodded toward the photos I was still afraid to look at.
With trembling hands, I picked up the first photo—and the ground dropped out from under me.