Page 76 of The Bratva's Forbidden Pregnancy

At the same time, we said, “Listen, I—”

She chuckled softly.

“You go first,” we chorused again.

I scoffed, pinching the bridge of my nose at this silly coincidence that made us look like children on a playground. “Okay, you go first,” I said, looking into her eyes.

She sighed softly. “I don’t know what to say…I mean, I thought I had it all planned out, but right now, I’m out of words.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me exactly how you feel?” I suggested. “That would help.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think that's a good idea, Vlad. I don’t wanna go down that road.”

“That’s why we’re here, Sienna—to go down that road,” I said. “We’ve long avoided this talk, and I think now is the time to settle this once and for all.”

Her eyes started to go dim, losing their iconic sparks. Her shoulders dropped, and her carefree countenance was gradually fading away. She took her focus off me and fixed her gaze on the horizon. Her eyes were rapidly blinking as though she was fighting back her tears, and her feet were crossed, one behind the other.

I could see how much she was struggling with the feelings she’d bottled up all this while, and it was obvious she was afraid that she’d break down.

She turned back to me. “This is hard for me, you know that. Don’t you?”

I nodded subtly.

“I'm trying to let go of the hurt, the pain, and the trauma—I really am—but it’s more difficult than I thought,” she said, her lips trembling.

“I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I wanted to marry you,” I said.

“Why?” she asked. “I recently learned from my mom that the motive behind something matters a lot. So, why do you want to marry me, Vlad? What’s the real reason? Do you feel obligated to do so just because I’m pregnant?” She blinked rapidly in an attempt to hold back her tears.

I stepped forward and reached out to hold her hand. “You think so little of me, Sienna.”

“Would you blame me?” she asked but didn’t pull away. “After everything that I’ve seen, everything that I’ve heard about you….”

“I understand your skepticism,” I said, placing a palm on her face. “I do. But I’m not marrying you out of a sense of duty. No, I want you to be my wife because I….”

She stared at me, breathing heavily as she anticipated the words that clung to my throat. “That’s the problem, Vlad.” Sienna gently pulled away. “You don’t know how you feel. How am I supposed to trust you when you can’t be true to yourself?”

“I’m not a man of many words, Sienna,” I said calmly, watching her fight to stay composed, but her feelings seemed overwhelming.

“I’m not asking for many words, Vlad. I’m asking for the truth about why you want to marry me,” she explained, her arms spread apart as the hem of her dress twirled around her legs in a mesmerizing rhythm. “Is that too much to ask?”

The tears in her eyes hurt me, but she wouldn’t let me explain.

“This is what you do. You act like you care—and you’re so good at it—but when it’s time to prove it, you go mute.” The words rushed out her mouth. “I hate that I love you, Vlad.” She sobbed. “It sucks to love someone and not be loved in return.”

“What sucks even more is to love someone and not be able to tell them how you feel,” I replied softly, catching her eyes.

She looked at me in silence as she tried to process what I’d just said.

“We’re two different people, Sienna, and we have different approaches to stuff,” I said, halting in front of her. “The things you can say freely are sometimes very difficult for me. I wasn’t trained to love or express any emotion at all.” I wiped away her tears, my thumb brushing softly over her cheek.

She seemed calmer this time, and her body tensed at my touch, at our close proximity.

“But with you, things are different,” I continued. “You taught me to see things from another perspective, to always find the light in the dark. You have successfully snuck your way into my heart, Sienna, and all I do all day, every day, is think about you.”

“What…what are you trying to say?” she stuttered.

“I’m trying to say that this isn’t one sided.” A sigh came forth, and I caressed her hair, my eyes deeply locked with hers. “I love you, Sienna Summers.”

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