Page 90 of Baby for the Bratva

“Of course! Are you still planning on giving me ten million dollars?”

I laugh. “Of course.”

“Then you have yourself a wife, Yuri.” She smiles, but then her expression melts into something more serious. “But… I’m not sure if I want the ten million, honestly.”

“What? Why not?” I ask, panic rising in my chest. All this, just to be tosses aside like our relationship meant nothing? I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I wouldn’t accept it, either. I’d kidnap her and claim her as my own, no matter how much she hated me.

“Yuri, I don’t want you for the money. I want you for you.”

I breathe out a sign of relief mixed with a laugh. I was about to go nuclear, but I’m realizing now that my dreams of having a real relationship with Stella are coming true. She’s the one who admitted her love to me, and it wasn’t just in the heat of the moment. She must’ve really meant it.

“Darling, you can have me. However you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. I’m all yours,” I say, making a cross over my heart.

She looks at the ring on her finger and a smile comes across her face again. “I love you, Yuri. I want you to know that. I’m sorry if I was reluctant to jump into all this with you, and if you thought I was only in it for the money. That was wrong of me.”

I shake my head. “You can have it. You can have everything, just as long as I can have you.”

“Don’t tempt me,” she replies with an impish sparkle in her eye. “I’m more of a spender than a saver.”

I open my arms, making a wide gesture. “Spend it all, my angel. I love you too much to ever say no.”

She wags her finger at me, her cheeks glowing pink. “You’re always such a charmer. I need to watch out.”

“Or what? You’ll fall in love again?”

“Too late for that. I’m thinking more like baby number two.”

I’m struck by a sudden confusion. What is she talking about? Does she already have a child I don’t know about? I’d love her regardless, but I feel like that’s something we should’ve talked about.

“Number two?” I ask, my throat tightening.

“Jesus, Yuri, you look terrified,” she says with a laugh. “Yes, number two. I’m already pregnant with the first one.” She places her hand on her belly, over her white cotton blanket. “I found out today, actually.”

My heart skips a beat. She’s pregnant with my baby? We took so many risks that this should be the obvious result, but it’s still shocking to me. I wasn’t thinking about the reality of having a baby with Stella until this very moment. Everything beforehand was a mere fantasy, like it would never actually happen.

I can’t say I’m not excited, though. I am, and the more I process what she’s just told me, the more happiness bubbles up inside of me.

I’m going to be a father? That’s incredible!

Furthermore, it’s going to be because the most beautiful woman in the universe is having my baby? It’s unbelievable.

I look up at the ceiling, past it toward heaven and silently thank whoever might be out there watching over me. Even though I have sinned dearly in this lifetime, I’m still permitted to have such incredible blessings.

“Are you sure you’re pregnant?” I ask, my voice cracking as I grab Stella by the shoulders. I try not to shake her because I know she’s sore, but I’m so excited I could explode. Suddenly, I have all the energy in the world.

“I’m certain,” she says with a warm smile. “I took a pregnancy test right before I was kidnapped. And then again, at the hospital, they did some tests and confirmed it.”

“I’m sorry it happened like this,” I say, feeling guilty again. “The kidnapping could’ve been prevented, but we thought you were going to stay with Molly. Why did you run like that?”

She shrugs. “A little argument. I realized I don’t need any friends right now. I have more important things to focus on.”

“But I can still be your friend, right?” I ask, rubbing her shoulders.

She tosses her head back and laughs. “Yes, Yuri. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t do this without you.”

I feel warm all over, like I’m glowing with buoyant energy from the inside. I no longer feel the floor against my feet, nor the ache in my legs from standing. It’s as though I’ve gone back in time twenty years, and I’m just as young as Stella is.

And I suppose I have to be, if I’m to raise a child. There can be no more smoking and drinking late at night. I already exercise like a madman, but perhaps my diet could use some work. My goal is no longer to become the richest man on the planet, but instead to live for a hundred years so I can witness my children grow and have children of their own.

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