Page 48 of The Bratva King's Pregnant Bride

Anticipation and anxiety, twin emotions to accompany our twins into the room, hovered over me. I didn’t care so much about the interrupted rhythm of the machines, the gentle murmur of nurses.

As time ticked by, my discomfort stretched and spread, making the seconds crawl by with excruciating slowness. I silently prayed that I would live through this so as to see the end result: my children.

I couldn’t see the nurses’ masked expressions, save for their eyes, which were unreadable.

“It’s going to be alright,” Dominik kept saying, and at some point, I wished he would stop. After a while, it seemed he was saying it to himself more than me.

But he was being strong for me. He was here. I needed to return the favor.

Whatever happened beneath me, I was positioned so that I wouldn’t know or see.

“Let’s finish up,” the doctor said.

What does that mean? What about the children? Had something happened?

Dominik was no longer looking me. He had his gaze aimed towards my legs, unspeaking. I looked at him expectantly, for he was my only readable map in this obscure and mystifying moment.

I felt my forehead crease as my brows drew together. The machines only fed my fears, since I had no way of understanding what they reported. The drugs fought to ease my anxiety, but I would not be at ease until I heard those cries—the cries that were part of my soul. The cries I had dreamed and longed for.

Then, a beautiful sound reached my ears.

Dominik laughed through his mask and looked at me, his eyes sparkling.

My forehead smoothed as joy dawned. Even in my weary state, I smiled.

Now, I could read all their masked faces: All was well. My babies were alive.

I heard rustling and running water as the babies received their first bath, and two nurses brought them to Dominik, who lowered one close to my face, enough for me to smell and kiss the twin’s forehead. He the laid the other on my breast, and I gave this twin the same treatment.

Their cries softened into contended murmurs as they nestled against their parents. Their tiny forms were perfect, their every breath a miracle.

My joy came alive, all pain forgotten. Every moment leading to this became a thing of the past.

I was moved to a private room, with my babies not far off. Dominik, now back in his usual attire—a dark, three-piece suit, stood over the babies’ cribs, and he stared at both of them with a look of wonder on his face.

The lines on his face had smoothed into elation, a written signature of how well the day had turned out. He was the latest father in town, and looking through the slightly parted curtain which gave a view of the corridor, I could see a suited figure. No doubt, he was an armed guard; it was just like Dominik to keep his most precious and priceless treasures protected. Only now, I wondered if I would still be part of that treasure.

Maybe now that I’d given birth, he would toss me out of his life to continue with mine. Being ripped away from my babies would be heart-wrenching, the worst punishment imaginable. I would give anything in the world to see them grow. I had carried them all this time, nurturing them in my womb; as much as they were Dominik’s, they were mine.

The possibility of Dominik chasing me out of their life was so terrifying, it brought my anxiety back. I tried to conceal it with a weak smile when he finally looked at me.

We were alone now, the white walls of the room watching us… silent. There were no rushing nurses, no medications to be taken. Just rest, and unspoken feelings floating in the air, drifting around us.

“There’s so much to say, yet I don’t know just how to say it,” Dominik began. “You’ve given me the world, and yet, ‘thank you’ feels so small a phrase to say for all of this. You’ve turned my life around. You’ve made me realize a life I never knew of. A gift beyond gifts. The pinnacle of treasures.”

He looked at the babies, then back at me. “This world I have built… I would tear it down in a heartbeat if it would ensure their safety. I would watch the entire world burn for them.” His eyes shone as he laid a hand on my cheek. “Thank you, Maya. Thank you for giving me such treasures… priceless treasures I value much more than myself. They are beautiful. I cherish them so much.”

He sat in the chair at my bedside. “There’s so much I want to say. So much. I just want you to know that I still cherish you. It may not seem so, and I’m sorry for not telling you before. However, as you know—or may have suspected—I’m a man of many passions. Only, in this regard, you stand out.”

He brushed a hand over my cheek. “I didn’t tell you about your brother’s death because, in truth, I didn’t want you going through the shock. If I knew it was going to lead to this, I would have done my best to cover it twice over and only reveal it when it was appropriate. I hate seeing you in pain. The mild aches, your worries—they bother me, they are my worries too…” He trailed off when he saw the tears in my eyes.

“Why?” I asked. “Why do I make you feel that way?”

He shrugged and smiled. “It may sound silly coming from a man like me, but I love you, Maya.”

His words were arrows that pierced me right in the heart. Hearing them from Dominik? It was something I never thought I’d ever have. Those were big words for him, and the fact that he said them to me? That he sought to lay my doubts to rest? It made my heart swell in my chest.

My eyes were so blurry, it was almost hard to see. I wiped my eyes and looked into his deep green eyes, then I laughed a little. “I love you too, Dominik.”

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