Page 28 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

“You’ve had your fair share of flings throughout the years, but none of them made you this outwardly expressive. Most of the time, you kept your lips sealed so tightly about them that none of us even knew you were seeing anyone. But with Gemma, you seem to be proud of your progress already, even if it’s only been a week.”

I considered his words then, both surprised to hear it and suddenly made aware of that distinction. I hummed to myself and nodded. “Huh, I guess I never noticed. But what can I say? She’s my wife. I might be an ass at times, but I never wanted to condemn her to a life of suffering.”

A smug smirk pulled on Ari’s lips as he pointed at me. “And that’s another indicator right there.”

I scoffed. “So what if it is?”

He put his hands up in defense. “Listen, all I’m saying is, you made it seem like your genius plan to marry her was all for the greater good of the family. That it was essential to maintain our public image. But from what I can tell, it isn’t just that. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say you really do like her.”

Whether it came from the embarrassment of being vulnerable or the fact that Ari was able to point it out so easily, I found myself somewhat flustered. I waved him off casually. “Is it a crime to like your wife?”

Ari barked out a laugh at that, and he shook his head. “No, I suppose it’s not…but in all honesty, I’m glad this marriage might be more than nothing for you. We've all had to deal with your moaning and groaning about not having a wife, and I can speak on everyone’s behalf when I say it’s a relief.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, somewhat sheepish. “Don’t think this is me being soft or anything. I just…don’t want her to hate me forever for forcing her into this, and I’m doing what I can to make things easier for her.”

He gave me a nod and a faint yet understanding smile.

Before he could say anything, a shift in the energy around us claimed my attention, causing me to crane my neck as Lukyan reached the door hurriedly.

My brows furrowed. “What’s going on?”

Our younger brother sucked in a breath as he adjusted his loose curls and looked between us. “I just received word that the Ivanovs are now aware of the article. I got a surveillance notification that they’ve been on the move and are likely attempting to do some serious image clean-up now. I thought I’d let you know.”

While it shouldn’t have been a surprise, given that I knew they’d find out eventually, it still brought a sense of urgency over me.

I looked at Luk with a serious gaze. “Do they know it was written by Gemma?”

He shrugged as he stepped into the room and leaned against the wall. “We don’t know yet, but one would assume. Our guys are digging now. As far as we know, they aren’t too pleased about it.”

“As is understandable,” Ari murmured, tapping his fingers against his chin absently. “Even if we don’t know what their next steps might be, we need to be prepared. Luk, tell the others to make sure everyone is doing their due diligence and keeping an eye out. Watch the warehouses, upcoming trades, and everything in between. We need constant eyes on the twins so that we can respond accordingly if they retaliate.”

Mulling over Gemma’s involvement and the position that put her in, the weight of that consequence seemed heavier than before. I looked at Ari. “Shouldn’t we strike while the iron’s hot and send them a more direct follow-up message?”

He considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “The situation is still developing…there's no use diving in headfirst and risk escalating things more. While their strength pales in comparison to ours, we still don’t want any more potential media eyes on us because of them. If more people start prying into the Ivanovs, they would eventually be led right to us.”

I let out a huff and tried to see it his way, but I couldn’t shake the dread in my chest.

“Who knows?” Ari added, lifting his hands in question. “Maybe this will bring them to their senses and they’ll stay in line.”

It was the ideal outcome, and as much as I wanted to put my faith in it and keep my cool, there was no denying what I had done—what I caused for Gemma. There was a high chance they’d be after her, and I couldn’t risk that happening to her. I needed to know without a shadow of a doubt that she would be safe from them.

With tensions rising, there was no telling exactly what they would do to her if they got their hands on her, and I wasn’t prepared to wait and find out.

“Hopefully,” Luk added before he nodded in Ari’s direction and put his hands against the doorway. “I’ll pass the word around.”

As Ari gave his acknowledgment, Lukyan returned the way he came, disappearing into the hall.

“This puts Gemma in a less-than-ideal position, I imagine,” Ari said, wearing a more serious expression as he looked at me from across the desk. “What’s your next move?”

Still trying to go over it in my mind, I shook my head. “I don’t know…but I can’t let the Ivanovs get their hands on her. I want to allow her the opportunity to keep her internship at the paper. I know how important it is to her, and I don’t want to take that away.”

“But?”

I sighed and scrubbed a hand over my mouth. “But I can’t let her go back to that office. They’ll know where to find her easily enough, and she’ll be their perfect target to get back at us—me specifically. I know how quickly word gets around. They’ll know we’re married.”

Ari gave me a nod. “So I suppose you know what needs to be done, but how will you mend that one caveat?”

It was true, I wanted Gemma to have that one thing in her life was that beyond important to her. I believed it was an anchor for her while we navigated our new normal together, and it would be cruel of me to take it away just like that. She would hate me all over again, and that was the last thing I wanted after we started making strides towards being more cordial with each other.

---