Page 16 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

I could’ve gone away after the relentless teasing, but catching the slight smile on Gemma’s face made it all worth it, even if I wasn’t exactly fond of admitting that.

As dinner continued, my family didn’t do too terribly at smoothing over the transition for her, and I was grateful to see her relaxing more in their company. She didn’t do a whole lot of talking, but I couldn’t exactly blame her. With as many siblings as I had, all with fairly strong personalities, it was difficult to get a word in on a good day.

But all in all, as everything wrapped up, it wasn’t that bad.

As we got in the car and headed back to the house, I was feeling better about everything, yet I couldn’t help but notice Gemma’s silence.

She had seemed to open up a bit more around my family, but when it was only the two of us, there was a noticeable shift in her demeanor. She reverted to how she was before as she sat quietly in the passenger seat, keeping her mouth closed.

The radio played quietly between us, and while it was no surprise to me that she wasn’t speaking, it started to grate at me anyway.

I couldn’t tell if she was silently mulling over something, or if she was giving me the silent treatment, but either way, the quiet was getting to me.

After a moment, I cleared my throat. “Dinner went well.”

For a beat, I half expected her to speak up, but she kept silent. After a moment, I tried again.

“The family can be a bit much, but they know not to go too far.”

Still, Gemma said nothing.

Forced to sit there in silence while she refused to speak to me, my blood boiled, and I just wished she would say something—anything. Whether she knew it or not, she was infuriating, and while I was irritated, I couldn’t help but think that I deserved it.

Keeping my mouth shut for the rest of the drive, I let the radio fill the quiet space between us, and while I wanted to just let it go, I couldn’t.

I didn’t know why.

Whether it was the very idea that she would choose to protest me in silence, or because I could feel the solid foundation of my plan falling apart, I couldn’t stand the idea of her maintaining that guard around me, regardless of how valid it was.

She was getting under my skin by doing nothing at all, and that made it all seem worse.

Eventually, we pulled up to the house and went in, not speaking a word to each other. But as the side door closed and we found ourselves in the kitchen, I couldn’t take it.

“Alright, what’s going on?”

Gemma stopped in her tracks before she could get too far, and she turned around with her brows knit together. She still didn’t utter a word, even in her confusion.

I huffed out a breath and took a step toward her. “Why won’t you say a word to me? You haven’t said a thing since we left the restaurant.”

She held my gaze with an incredulous look. “Why won’t I talk to you? That’s what you’re worried about?”

While the way she put it made my question sound outrageous, I doubled down and nodded as I adjusted my cuff. “Yes. Just trying to have a conversation is the least you could do.”

That bewilderment in her eyes deepened as she looked at me. A quiet scoff passed her lips. “After everything you put me through in the last twenty-four hours, you’re concerned about whether or not I’ve spoken to you enough?”

While staring back at her, feeling invalidated in my need for at least the semblance of a connection, I stood my ground. “We’re married now, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it. We might as well get used to things and at least try to make this situation into a positive one.”

As much as I was trying to put a hopeful spin on it, Gemma wasn’t having it. She studied my face for a long moment before shaking her head in disbelief. “You do not get to tell me how to think and feel about all of this. You have no idea what this is like for me.”

“Is it really pure torture to live in this house? To wear name-brand clothes, dine at expensive restaurants, and have everything taken care of?” I questioned her, raising my voice.

“I never asked for any of that! I was perfectly fine living my life as it was, but you came along and shot that down,” Gemma yelled back at me, not even flinching. It was clear her thoughts came from a genuine place of hurt. “You did this to me—you!”

Gritting my teeth, my skin burned as I looked down at her, feeling as my blood boiled.

She was making me furious with how she spoke to me. How she didn’t back down or cower away. Instead, she aired it all out, letting me know exactly what I did wrong.

While I wanted to be furious with her and put her back in her place, there was something about that fire in her that intrigued me. It stirred a new kind of fascination I had never known before, and despite her face being twisted in anger, I couldn’t shake how sexy she looked.

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