Page 56 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

Before he could finish, I shoved my way into his arms, pressing up against his chest as I held him close. My face meshed into his front as I squeezed him tightly and breathed in his familiar and comforting scent.

“I don’t care about all that,” I said, just above a whisper, feeling as his arms surrounded me in response. “You’re here now, and I’m safe. That’s what matters.”

While I could feel some sort of rebuttal brewing within him, likely not wanting to absolve himself of blame too soon, Ben let go of a deep breath and relaxed into the embrace. He leaned his head against mine. “You’re right. We can put all of this behind us now.”

With the weight of our impending doom lifted from my shoulders, I noted how light I felt, and for the first time in a while, I could breathe again.

***

The ride home was mostly quiet as we both took the time to digest what happened and to sort through it on our own.

It was difficult to fathom how quickly everything happened, and how Alina and Adrik wouldn’t be able to cause problems anymore. Still, it was a relief, and I swore to myself that I wouldn’t take it for granted.

As the shock and heightened emotions that came with the situation eventually subsided and Ben pulled into the garage, he killed the engine and remained in his seat, seemingly pausing as he released a deep, contemplative breath.

I looked over at him, sensing that it wasn’t the end of us coming to terms with what happened. My heart softened as his remorseful yet determined eyes settled on me.

“I’ve experienced a lot of things and have seen more than enough horror to numb me to the shock of it, but I’ve never been more terrified than how I felt in that moment,” Ben admitted, looking and sounding more vulnerable than I had witnessed before. He averted his eyes only for a moment as he collected himself. “I realized that I’ve only ever acted impulsively. Since Ari is the responsible leader and I have seniority over our younger brothers, I never really had to face any consequences for my rash choices. But after marrying you and realizing I couldn’t be careless anymore…that changed everything for me.”

I eased into the feeling of understanding and acceptance as I listened, not allowing even a fragment of judgment to come through.

“Seeing you there just out of my reach and completely helpless because of what I did to you and how I forced you into this whole mess, I felt so angry with myself. I pulled you into this world when you didn’t want it, and while I don’t regret bringing you into my life, I know now that moving forward, I can’t just make those decisions. I need to consider you and your needs. That being said, I need to lay this out on the table.”

Brows lightly pinched together in question, I leaned in a bit closer and murmured, “What is it, Ben?”

He let out a breath, almost like he was bracing for potential pain. “Losing you is the last thing I want. I hate the idea of it. But if you need to separate for your well-being, I can accept that. After everything, whatever you need, I fully support you.”

More concern moved through me as I looked at him for answers. “Ben, what are you talking about?”

“I’ve caused you enough harm already, and I’m just putting it out there that I won’t be mad if you decide all of this is too much for you. If you want to put distance between yourself and my line of work,” he explained, sincere yet visibly hurting from the thought, “I’ll understand completely. Even if—”

“Ben,” I interrupted, reaching a hand across the center console to take his in mine as I looked at him, stifling the faintest flicker of amusement in me. “I was already close enough to being taken away from you, what makes you think I’d willingly leave?”

As he heard me, his shoulders dropped with his exhale.

“I don’t want to leave you, Ben,” I began, speaking as confidently as I could to prove it to him. “Not knowing if I’d ever get to see you again hurt more than anything, and I was silently praying for the chance to return to you. So no, I don’t want to separate. I want to be with you, and I want to make sure that nothing ever comes between us.”

As he met my gaze again, the relief in his eyes was evident. He managed a small smile as he nodded, taking my hand in his. “I…want to be with you too, Gemma. You’re my wife, and I cherish that completely.”

With an understanding reached between us, I mirrored his gentle expression as I took him in. “Good, then it’s settled. Neither of us are going anywhere.”

Leaning over to press his forehead against mine, Ben let me feel the uninterrupted adoration he felt, along with the relief that came with his calm exhale.

As I soaked in his warmth and comfort, I felt at ease, and able to see so completely the love exchanged between us. We weren’t perfect, but the connection between us was more than enough to offer me the hope of knowing we could have a future together, and we had all the time in the world to explore it.

Chapter 28 - Gemma

Even while my dreams were at their most ambitious and I found myself craving a successful career, I never imagined I’d be a CEO, let alone launching a publication of my own.

But it seemed anything was possible with the Levovs, and I was in no position to complain.

The office was filled with the family I'd grown to accept as my own as they stood around with drinks in hand as they talked, all sharing in on the excitement. There were even family members from Andrei’s branch, and I spent a good chunk of the late afternoon getting to know them and their names.

Ben had been incredibly kind in putting the launch party together, and to my surprise, he even worked out all the details.

It was nice, and I found myself becoming impossibly excited for what was to come.

After our confrontation with the Ivanov twins, everything else seemed to fall perfectly into place. With Adrik dead and Alina sent somewhere else to begin again under a new identity, there was no need to make any redactions or apologies. Instead, they took the fall for the crimes, and when Adrik’s body was eventually located by police elsewhere, apparently the feds figured their guy was already gone.

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