Page 13 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

I watched Yaro as he divided the eggs between our plates. “Do I have to stay here? Or could I go back to the campus? Maybe we can figure something out so I can keep studying.”

Yaro paused his work and took an audible deep breath in. “I can’t let that happen. Not if you’re going to be a Levov. Me and my family have enemies, and if they find out about you, they’ll do whatever they can to use that against me. They’d likely try to use you as ransom.”

My worries only deepened. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

But those red flags were raised in my mind, and I silently pleaded for the chance to return to campus. To distance ourselves, even if my name had to be signed on a marriage license.

That desperation gripped me. “Nothing will happen, and I’ll be careful. I promise,” I began, hoping for any flicker of hope. “I just…I wanted to go to NYU more than anything, and it was my one shot—”

“I said no!” Yaro snapped, dropping the pan back onto the stove with a noisy clatter. “That’s final.”

I jumped from my place, afraid of what he was capable of. Of what he would do to me.

An angry air followed him as he grabbed a plate and pushed it before me. Refusing to look me in the eyes, he clenched his jaw and headed for the door.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he muttered.

Before I could say anything, he snatched up a set of keys and a phone and stormed out of the condo. The door slammed shut and locked behind him.

As the storm went with him, only silence and eery stillness remained.

Blinking back my disbelief, my stomach turned as I glanced down at the generous helping of food on my plate. I suddenly wasn’t as hungry anymore.

Chapter 5 - Yaro

The echo of clanking machines moved around me as I focused on my deep breaths and concentrated on the task at hand. Pushing the mechanism up, I worked against the resistance and felt the strain in my muscles.

Breathing in and out, I tried to let go of that previous anger.

“You scored yourself a wife, huh?” Elias, my best friend since childhood, asked from his place on the bench. He pressed the dumbbells as naturally as always and broke a moderate sweat.

“It wasn’t exactly on my list, but it happened,” I returned, pushing past the burning in my limbs.

Music came from Elias’ Bluetooth speaker as it filled the warehouse gym, and I tried to use it to concentrate better. Although, the reminder of Grace sparked another wave of irritation in me.

“Even if that’s the case, it fell into place pretty quickly,” he added, lifting the dumbbell back onto the stand with a heavy exhale. “I can’t believe you’ll be a married man.”

“Me neither.”

“But this should be a good thing. You’ll have someone reliable waiting for you at home. No need to prowl,” Elias teased.

“I don’t prowl,” I rebutted. “But the rest will be revealed with time. I don’t know much about her.”

“I’d say she’s pretty lucky marrying into the Levov family,” Elias said with a chuckle. “Hell, I was beginning to wonder if I should convince you to propose to me.”

Scoffing at him with a shake of my head, I’d leave it to nobody else but him to joke about my future. It wasn’t unusual for him to do that, especially if things weren’t going in my favor.

While I found it slightly amusing, I couldn’t help but feel more solemn than expected.

Even if many marriages in my family sparked from alliances or convenient deals, they were a relatively big deal to us. The ceremonies didn’t require flashy details or trimmings, but we respected them and upheld our promises.

My cousins were all happily married against all odds, but I wasn’t sure how well my situation would be favored.

I never thought I’d be one to step into a rushed wedding to a woman I didn’t know. Yet, I didn’t think having someone in my condo with me was the worst thing in the world. Someone to add more life to the place.

A gorgeous woman at that.

That factor helped, and at the very least, I wouldn’t feel entirely so alone in the relatively big space.

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