Page 30 of Forced By the Bratva

Pulling free, I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him as I responded. “What do you mean a woman like me? What is wrong with me?”

Piotr shook his head. “Nothing,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to imply anything wrong with you princess.” He took a deep breath and stepped back. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“That is not up to you. You are not my father. I can and will do as I please. I want to help where I can. I am not freeloading here.” I spat, stomping my foot on the ground.

Chapter 16 - Piotr

Clenching my fists at my sides, I kept my anger in. I didn’t want Alyssa to join our organization. My goal was to keep her safe. As I stood deciding what to say to defuse the situation, Alyssa continued to speak.

“Piotr, you need to accept that I want to be part of this. Please don’t deny me.”

I didn’t want to cause her pain, but my anger was still rising. I knew I might say things that weren’t appropriate. I wanted to tell her that she would be ruining her life and her future. But she was right; it wasn’t my place to say such things. Even though she was my wife, it wasn’t a consensual marriage.

Looking at her face, I knew I had already hurt her. Not wanting to lash out any further, I moved past her, heading to the stairs. I could hear her calling after me as I went up. I didn’t stop or turn. I needed some time to be alone, time to think.

Entering my room, I closed the door and stood for a moment. How could I make her see that this life wasn’t a suitable one? I was pacing back and forth when the door swung open.

Alyssa barged in but only took two steps. She halted suddenly and gasped. She glanced around the room with wide eyes. I felt sure she had come to make her point and continued our argument. But she was caught off guard by my room.

Most people didn’t understand it. I knew my family didn’t and didn’t expect Alyssa to understand either. I love living a minimalist life. As she scanned the room, I could see her anger fading. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then closed it again. The expression on her face was so damn cute I almost forgot why we were fighting.

But her reaction, was the reason I felt she wasn’t ready. I doubted that her innocence would ever disappear. She was unique, and I loved her for it. I just stood watching her. After a while, Alyssa looked at me. Her eyes were filled with sorrow suddenly.

She spoke softly as she walked closer. “Is this all you have?”

Feeling my anger being replaced by care, I pointed at the two bean bags by the window as I spoke. “Let’s have a seat, princess.”

She plotted down onto one as I sat down opposite her. “I have never wanted or needed much in life. To me, fancy things are just that, fancy things. They aren’t things I need.”

Alyssa shook her head as I spoke, but I wasn’t sure she heard me. “Living a simple life is all I want. It reminds me of where I came from. It keeps me grounded if I could say so.”

“But…, but” Alyssa staggered through her words but couldn’t seem to find the right ones.

“I don’t have a desire for expensive items. This what you see here,” I said waving around the room. “This is enough for me. I like the way I live. Do you understand, princess?”

I could see she was still confused as mixed emotions danced around in her eyes. Before she could say anything, I continued in hopes of giving her some clarity. “All of this reminds me a bit of my orphan roots. It feels like home.”

Alyssa reached out, taking my hands in hers. She smiled at me as she tenderly squeezed my hands.

“The life we live is a dangerous one, Alyssa. I don’t want you in the middle of all this chaos.”

She opened her mouth to speak. Pulling up my hand, I placed a finger on her lips. “Not long ago,” I said, swallowing hard. “We almost lost Leon doing a routine job. We didn’t expect the blowback we experienced. We weren’t prepared, and it almost cost us dearly.”

Looking out the window, I continued. “Leon and I found ourselves blocked in. Leon got stabbed, and we almost didn’t make it out. If not for Ashan, I don’t know if Leon would have made it.”

Looking back at her, I saw tears filling her eyes. “But I will be careful and only go where you deem safe,” Alyssa whispered.

I could see she was conflicted. Letting out a sigh, I continued to tell her about our near-death experiences. “Mila was captured once. It was a while back, and you will never catch her speaking about it. She was doing routine spying on a company that traded in illegal wildlife. She disappeared for a couple of days. By the time Konstantin and I found her, it was almost too late.”

Swallowing the lump forcing its way up my throat, I looked deep into Alyssa’s eyes. “She was dumped under a bridge, naked and severely beaten up. We couldn’t get close or touch her for months afterward. She stayed in her room and woke at night screaming.”

I shook my head as I remembered her pulling away from me and hitting me out of fear. I didn’t ever want to see anyone in such a state. I would lose my mind if something like that happened to Alyssa.

She was about to speak, but I interrupted her. “Then there was Konstantin. He almost died as well. He suffered from amnesia after his incident. I won’t go into details about that. He can tell you if he wants to. But this is why I don’t want you getting involved.”

Alyssa nodded. She pulled her hands out of mine and folded them in her lap. She turned her gaze down to her hands.

“I don’t want to hurt you, and it's not that I don’t think you can do it. But I have many stories like these I can tell you. We have had multiple near-death experiences. It’s a dangerous life we live, princess.”

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