Page 27 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

Writing that article was the first time I was able to see the reality of the organized crime world. That first taste was enough to terrify me and make me wish I could go back in time and never take on that assignment.

Being with them, face-to-face, I didn’t understand how Ben could possibly involve himself in it.

Adrik nodded to himself absently. “So, now that we’ve established all that, let's get to the point here…”

My blood went cold in my veins, and every part of me was screaming to run. I wanted the ground to crack beneath my feet and swallow me whole, but that merciful escape was an impossible one.

Alina narrowed her eyes at me slightly. “Here’s what you’re going to do for us, Gemma. You’re going to walk yourself back into that office, inform your boss that an error was made, and you’re going to redact the statements. Our names will be scrubbed entirely, and you will issue a public statement with the newspaper detailing just how remorseful you are for pointing your finger in the wrong direction. If you fail to comply, you will find out the hard way, all on your own.”

“Even if you’ve managed to get yourself twisted up with the Levovs, you aren’t safe from us, reporter. Make sure you remember that.”

I couldn’t manage a single word—not while my life was flashing before my eyes. My hands trembled, and I couldn’t help but brace myself for the worst, assuming they weren’t done with me yet.

“If you manage to make those adjustments as soon as physically possible, then great. We will leave you alone and pretend like this never happened,” Alina began, allowing her smug smile to shift into a more serious, hardened look. “But if not, you can take a guess at what we will do to you.”

“Have we made ourselves clear?”

Feeling like my heart was going to explode, I managed a weak nod. “Y-yes. Very clear.”

Their smug expressions returned at the same time, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Excellent,” Alina said in a near purr. “Then we will be out of your hair.”

“But remember, we will be watching very closely,” Adrik said in a final warning, his eyes lingering on me before they both turned and left the way they came.

For a prolonged moment, I found myself glued to the spot and unable to get a grip on myself. The rapid beat of my heart was the only thing I could focus on as I watched them leave.

But the moment I snapped back to it, I let go of a shaky breath and moved. Frantic, worried that they might have a change of heart and take me out then and there, I quickened my pace toward the office.

I could hardly breathe, struggling to handle the pressure of what that meant while coming to terms with the situation. Even when I managed to reach my desk without collapsing, I couldn’t focus on the screen in front of me.

For at least half the morning, my heart was pounding in my chest at the reminder of what I had done, and how precarious the situation was.

I'd taken the fall for Ben and put everything on the line to frame the Ivanovs. In doing so, I managed to trap myself between both families, topped off with the added expectations that Ben had of me.

Against my will, I had been thrown into the chaos of it all, and I had no business being there. Yet it was my life hanging in the balance.

Chapter 14 - Benedikt

“You seem chipper this morning.”

Ari’s comment stirred me from my thoughts as I stepped into his office, quick to realize that my mind had in fact strayed from work and was once again stuck on Gemma.

While it was true, I was in a better mood than usual and held my chin up a little higher, I played it off with a nonchalant shrug. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

As he leaned back in his chair, Ari eyed me for a moment. “You were tense ever since your hasty wedding, and I assumed things weren’t going all that well. But the opposite seems to be true.”

Even if I didn’t want him prying too much, since that usually led to me being scrutinized by the entire family in one way or another, at least part of me was glad that my shift in attitude was noticeable.

“It was rocky to begin with, but we’re starting to make some strides,” I said with the slightest twist of a smile as I approached his desk and dropped a folder of new documents on his desk. Moving back to drop myself into the chair opposite him, I let out an easy breath. “The wife has been dropped off at work, we made it to the end of the week without screaming at each other, and the article was altered to protect our image. So far so good. What else could I ask for?”

With his lingering gaze on me, Ari snickered and shook his head as he reached for a file of documents. “If you say so. As strange as it is to see you this genuinely…level-headed, I’ll take it over you moping around any day. She must be quite the catch if you’re this smitten.”

My brows went up at that. “Smitten?”

My brother chuckled as he sifted through the print-offs nonchalantly. “Yes, that’s what I said.”

I cocked my head in slight curiosity. “What makes you say that?”

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