Chapter 17

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My penthouse looks like a home for the first time since I moved in

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My penthouse looks like a home for the first time since I moved in. Gaia was giggling, dancing around bare feet, occasionally throwing sly jabs at me. It filled my chest with joy to see her happy at the same time I felt heartburn. Gaia is used to luxury. Her house is bigger than my father's biggest mansion he has in the Hamptons. Her house has a vast beautiful garden, and the pots here are filled with plastic decors.

It didn't get past my attention that she was spending an ample amount of time near the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlook downtown Manhattan. She'll be sad to know the glasses are tinted. I would love to see her this carefree all the time. But my father can access the penthouse, as my pakhan I'm not allowed to keep him out of my private life, my louse. He wouldn't take it lightly if Gaia tried her luck with him and talked back.

My phone notifies the arrival of my brother through the private elevator. Gaia bolted to the elevator at a heart-stopping fast pace. Her upper body form was all wrong. If she continues, she could lose her-

A loud painful oomph from Gaia confirmed my suspicion. She has lost her foot and collided with Ruslan.

"See, brother. You think I exaggerate when I tell you the girls throw themselves at me." I hear his smug voice boom across the living area. He emerged in the kitchen, holding a sullen-faced Gaia by her forearm as I continued to chop cilantro to make an Italian-style pasta for her.

Gaia's shoulder sagged as she slid onto the kitchen stool like a baby.

"You warned me you would fight back." I grumble in a low voice, only for Gaia's ears as she opens her mouth to speak while Ruslan raids the fridge and emerges with ginger ale for us.

"You are the other Mikhailov with good hair." She seethes to Ruslan, eyeing his hair with envy, my own eyes following his locks that stop just above his ears.

Ruslan curled his fingers around his mouth and hollered with an unnecessary force.

"So he talks about me huh..." he enunciates, clapping my shoulder hard after every single word.

"Yeah... he told me you are a fucking narcissist. I didn't believe him, so he called you over. He had obviously downplayed." Gaia bites back, gripping the tab on the soda can.

Her eyes close in a retort as the can open with a pop, Ruslan glances at me briefly at the protectiveness in her tone. We have done much worse to get a reaction from each other. No one has ever come to our rescue. Ruslan flips his hair, causing Gaia's scowl to turn deeper.

"Have you tried the nanomax treatment?" Ruslan asked.

"The last time I went for a treatment, I lost a good chunk of hair. And later realized those chemicals don't suit me. I wanted to try..." Gaia continues, her anger quickly vanishing. Ruslan kept going on with his hair lecture, and some ideas about making hair masks from ingredients easily be found in a kitchen. Guess I'll be going some grocery shopping after dealing with the debtors.

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