Page 29 of The Bratva King's Twins

My ruthlessness and ambition could easily be misconstrued as me being a complete monster only out for blood. But I didn’t want Vivian to think that of me.

I wanted her to know I was capable of being the person she needed to lean on. That I could be gentle and nurturing.

As her lashes lay heavily against the tops of her cheeks and her chest moved rhythmically with every gentle breath, I couldn’t help but reflect on the night before.

Everything seemed to move so quickly, and that shift in our dynamic made it that much more intense. The sex had been mind-blowing and was exactly what I needed after bottling up that frustration inside myself. Luckily, it didn’t stop in the kitchen.

While I had given up my control and couldn’t resist how much I wanted her, throwing all caution to the wind felt worth it. We both reached a moment of bliss, releasing everything that was pent up between us. It even offered me a glimmer of hope for what might be ahead of us.

Even if Vivian had a way of weakening my resolve and making me hungry for more, I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted us to be honest about our mutual attraction, and to not fight those feelings.

As I studied every inch of her features, along with her perfect body that was half-exposed beneath the sheets, I brought a hand up and ghosted my fingertips up and down her arm.

I watched as I caressed her skin, intrigued by how even in sleep, she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.

Despite everything, it was hard to believe she was my wife. I had the pleasure of seeing her every day, all with the potential to become so much more.

Stirring, Vivian broke my trance as her eyes slowly opened, blinking back at me with the slightest bit of confusion in her gaze. But as she regained her bearings, she wore a faint smile as she stretched in her place.

“Morning,” she hummed, surprisingly soft as she lay there.

“Good morning,” I returned, noting how groggy my voice still sounded.

Even if she was being quiet and elegant like a feline, just looking into those eyes reminded me of her fire, and how determined she had been to prove her point the night before.

I never expected her to be quite so outspoken given how passive and doe-like she had been before, but something was refreshing about it. Knowing she could push back against me excited something within me.

“I have to ask,” I began, keeping my tone as gentle and receptive as possible. “Why is being busy such a big deal for you when you already have everything you could ever need?”

A part of me immediately regretted asking the question when she seemed to pull back and retreat within herself again. Wanting to claw it back and apologize, I could only watch as she pulled the sheets higher and moved into a sitting position. She averted her eyes, and while I assumed she was about to leave the bed and bring us back to square one all over again, she sighed instead.

Interested in whatever she had to say, I followed her lead and leaned against the headboard.

“I don’t intend to be mean. I’m just curious,” I managed, hoping to encourage her to open up.

“I know, it’s fine,” she murmured, seemingly wrangling with something internally before she gave in again. “I may have grown up with two brothers, but we were never the family I wanted us to be. Elio and Dante…they treated me like I was no better than a verbal punching bag. Dante was the worst one. Dad was too busy with his work, and he didn’t let them in on the family business, which bothered them, so they took their anger out on me. To make up for keeping me from pursuing anything of my own, he made sure I wasn’t idle for too long with lessons and anything else I wanted. I always wanted more for myself, and the chance to do it on my own, but I couldn’t while living there. I felt trapped, and with my brothers treating me like garbage, I only had those things to distract me. I don’t want to feel trapped here, too.”

As empathetic as I was to hear her reasoning, I couldn’t completely temper my anger at how she had been treated, and at the hands of her own siblings.

Given how absent Edoardo had been, it seemed I did pull her out of a bad situation.

“Your brothers should be ashamed of themselves for treating their only sister like that,” I murmured, reaching out for her hand. “I’m sorry you didn’t experience better.”

With a grim expression, Vivian tried to pull a tight-lipped smile. “I wish they thought the same.”

Knowing I had been right about assuming things weren’t good at home, easily recalling those bruises on her wrists, it made me soften. In that moment, I made the mental note to be gentler around her, and to keep that in mind moving forward.

She deserved better than what her family gave her, and something in me wanted to give her that. No matter what it took, I wanted to be the one to show her she could have so much more.

It all made sense to me then.

“After seeing how your family acted around each other, I couldn’t help but wonder where mine went wrong. I questioned why we couldn’t be the same way, and why my brothers saw me as their enemy instead of their sister,” Vivian continued with defeat in her voice. When she met my gaze, there was no missing the deep sadness there. “How did you get so lucky with your siblings?”

Considering everything we went through together, it was easy to see why we would be close. Thinking back to those times, I shrugged. “We only ever had each other. And honestly, the women in our family are treated better than anyone else. We so rarely had girls born into our family that they were like royalty in their own right.”

“That sounds nice,” she sighed, looking off in consideration.

Giving her hand a small squeeze, I wanted Vivian to know I’d treat her with the utmost respect, and that my family would do the same. Even if we got off on the wrong foot, she mattered to me beyond our marriage license.

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