Page 23 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

In a way, I wanted to trust him. I wanted to think he had my best interests at heart, and that maybe one day we could reach a more stable place, given how I was tied to him by law. Yet in that moment with everything still so fresh, it didn’t seem possible. I knew it would take a long time and would involve him proving that I could trust him.

Eventually, as more of my coworkers entered the office and offered their usual greetings, I reminded myself that despite it all, I had to play it cool. I had to act like nothing was wrong.

While I had to save the Levov reputation, I also had to save face for myself. I was still an intern, after all. I had a lot more grunt work to do, and I had to stay on top of things despite how difficult it seemed at the moment.

Forcing myself out of my chair, I let go of a calming breath and kept my chin up as I left my desk and moved through the office.

Even if things were far from okay, I needed to find a sense of normalcy.

Benedikt may have changed my personal life forever, but I refused to let him take away the one thing that mattered the most to me.

With practiced ease, I moved passed the cubicles until I found Sky’s desk, a coworker I meshed with well. We weren’t quite close enough to spend time together away from work, but we were friendly, and she was easy to talk to. It wasn’t perfect, but she was a support system of sorts.

With her blonde hair pulled into a slicked-back bun and wearing a light pink blazer, Sky met my gaze with a warm smile. “Gemma, hey! How was your weekend?”

The question was far from out of the ordinary, but given how tumultuous and strange those past few days were, I was startled at first. However, I maintained my cool and returned her smile.

“It wasn’t too bad, I was just busy staying on top of work, followed by a Sunday spent on the couch.”

Sky’s expression was one of understanding. “I hear you. The news cycle has been brutal lately.”

Nodding my agreement, I absently scratched at my neck. “I certainly have my work cut out for me.”

At the gesture, Sky paused and looked at my left hand with piqued curiosity. “What’s that?”

My brows furrowed, unsure of what she was talking about until I pulled my hand back and realized the grave error I made.

I didn’t take my ring off before leaving the house. My heart nearly fell to the floor, and I was immediately caught in a fluster. Unable to find the words, I stood there like an idiot as Sky got up with a quiet gasp and gently reached for my hand, inspecting the ring closely.

“No way!”

I hushed her immediately, glancing around the office to make sure nobody heard. Forcing a smile, I had to be quick on my feet as I wracked my brain for any kind of explanation. “Oops, you caught me. But keep this between us.”

Eyes dazzling with both the idea of having a secret between us and scandalized by the sudden news I had not intended to reveal to anyone, Sky nodded and cleared her throat as she sat back down again.

“You got married?” she whispered, careful to keep it to herself.

I managed a sheepish smile and nodded.

She chuckled to herself. “Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t know you were in a relationship.”

Aware that I’d have to lie again, I sighed inwardly, yet put on a brave face and did my best to be convincing. “Honestly, things progressed so naturally that it felt like we were already married, and I guess it just slipped my mind. We decided to elope Saturday, and we kept it fairly low-key.”

Sky gave me a touched expression as she put a hand against her chest. “That’s so beautiful, Gemma. Congratulations! What’s your sweetheart’s name?”

“Ben,” I said, wishing I could eat my words. For half a beat, I wondered if I should’ve used a fake name, although that would likely make things far too complicated if I managed to forget what I went with.

“Well, you and Ben sound like you have a perfect relationship. Whatever suits you, right?”

While it was sweet of her to be so supportive despite my lie, surprised that she didn’t see completely through it, I wanted the interaction to be over more than anything.

Standing there, I realized just how deep in it I was.

Since the cat was out of the bag and at least one person knew about the elopement, which was real enough, I suddenly found myself having to keep up a charade. If I were to fumble or get caught in my lies, I’d have an uncomfortable number of questions to answer, and that wasn’t something I wanted to deal with.

Not to mention, I was supposed to be bringing as little attention to the Levovs as possible. If I somehow let it slip, I would only be adding fuel to the ridiculous fire.

It was my first day back at work since it happened, and instead of returning to that sanctuary reserved only for me, I found myself weaving between lies I had to spin to shield us both.

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