Page 51 of The Bratva's Forbidden Pregnancy

“We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” I said bluntly.

He grabbed my hand and spun me to face him. “But I do,” he said, trying to catch my eyes.

“So, now you wanna talk, huh?” I squirmed out of his hold. “After all this time, you finally decided to talk, and you want me to listen. Is that it?”

He was silent, his eyes locked on mine.

“You don’t get to sleep with me and then treat me like trash the next morning, then ghost me for weeks and expect everything to be all rosy between us like nothing happened,” I lashed out at him, my voice rising and falling as I spoke. “I…I sincerely thought we had something good going on. I guess the joke’s on me.” I was trying so hard to fight back those tears.

“I know you’re angry—”

“Angry?” I scoffed, rudely cutting him off. “No, Vlad.” I rapidly clicked my tongue, shaking a finger in the air. “Anger is nowhere close to what I’m feeling right now. Like ghosting me wasn’t enough, you went around sleeping with other women….”

“Other women…?” His brows rose immediately, and his lips pulled into a frown, like he truly had no idea what I was talking about.

What a great actor.

“Oh, please don’t play dumb with me, Vlad. Own it.”

“Own what? What are you talking about?”

“I saw the pictures, goddammit!” I snapped.

Again, he appeared puzzled.

“Pretty face, blue eyes, brunette—ring a bell?” I listed the physical qualities of the woman he was with at the club.

He thought for a moment. “Hold on, are you talking about Lily…my escort?” His eyes widened in shock.

With that look of you can't possibly be serious etched on his face, I couldn’t help but think that maybe there was nothing going on between them.

“I don’t care who she is or what you’ve done with her. All I care about is how you made me feel; you hurt me, Vlad.” Now, those tears finally won the battle and broke through my walls. “I trusted you, and you hurt me.”

He took a step forward and tried to hold my hand, but I yanked it away. Vlad reached out and tugged me back to face him.

“My parents warned me, but I didn’t listen,” I said, sniffling.

He placed a palm on my cheeks, and with his thumb, he wiped my tears. “I’m sorry, Sienna, but I had to. It was the only way to keep you away from me.”

My brows furrowed, knitting in confusion. “What’re you talking about?”

“Your dad reached out to me the morning after our first night together. He begged me to stay away from his little girl if I ever cared about our friendship. It’s not like I had a choice,” he explained, and there was a hint of pain in his voice.

It made sense, but that wouldn’t do it for me.

“Yes, you did have a choice, and you made it.” I wiped my tears and turned to leave, but he wouldn't let me go. “What do you want, Vlad?” I faced him, my voice weak and tired. “You already made your choice. Why won’t you leave me be?”

“Because I like you, Sienna. I really do,” he confessed.

I held my breath for a moment, and my brain stopped functioning for about three seconds. His words hit me like a bullet, causing me to step back with a dropped jaw.

“You’ve managed to unlock something in me, something I didn’t know I had: compassion.” He drew closer. “You taught me to search for the faintest light in the dark.” He grasped my hands, his eyes telling his story alongside his words. “You, Sienna, taught me that life isn’t black and white, that I could see things from a different perspective.”

That’s actually very sweet, coming from you, and I want to believe you. I really do. But I can’t.

My tears wouldn’t stop pouring, and my heart was bleeding. He seemed genuine, but I couldn’t risk it; I couldn’t trust him again.

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