Page 41 of Forced By the Bratva Beast

“Thanks. I won’t. It’s a force of habit.” She drops her head to my chest.

“Force of habit?” I ask softly, wanting her to feel safe enough to open up to me.

“Yeah,” she quips in a dull tone. “When I was younger, I was hospitalized for a week because I had this severe diabetic episode, and it was right when my parents died. Such hell. It just made me realize I’m alone in this world. That’s why I don’t really ask people for help. I didn’t have anyone to help me.”

An ache hits my chest as she tells the story, but I don’t know why. For me I always had somebody else’s shoes to fill. My brother before me, whose shadow I walked in for so long until I broke free. “Well, you don’t have to do everything without help now. I’m here.”

“Thanks. When I went to the doctor for my diabetes checkup, that’s how I found out I was pregnant,” she confesses, staring at me through the dark.

“Right. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have known?”

“No. I probably would have found out at some stage, I guess.” She shrugs, her vulnerability coming to life, making me want to protect her more.

“Then I’m glad for it, and if you need anything, I will make sure you have the right care and medical attention. Will it affect the baby?”

“No, if I take care of myself. Just give me some time to adjust to things. It’s all still so much for me… with everything,” she confesses.

“Okay. I’ll try.” I grimace, not wanting her to know just how much I care. That’s too much of a weakness to show. “I’m not making promises,” I enforce begrudgingly, knowing my temper can flare if I’m left in the dark for too long. “Don’t hide things.”

“Then I won’t.” She lays her head on my chest as I kiss her temple. I’m surprised by my depth of concern for her well-being.

Chapter Twenty-One – Sophia

The honeymoon was supposed to last for close to two weeks, but because of work we had to return after only five days. Now we’re back in Chicago, and it feels as if we didn’t even go to the Maldives. Things have been such a surreal whirlwind that my new life is giving me whiplash.

I’m disappointed I didn’t get a chance to spend more time with him and to explore more of the island. Oh well. Instead, I fill Ava in on everything as I wait for Andrei to come home.

“So how was it? Aren’t you supposed to be still there?”

“Yes, but Andrei had to come home to work. Apparently, there was an emergency and nobody else in the organization could fix it but him,” I reply glumly, recognizing that what he’s probably been asked to fix might involve criminal activity. I’m still confused as to how I’m supposed to feel about that, but the more nights I spend with Andrei, talking and laughing in bed together, the more I let it slip from my head that he’s the head of a Bratva organization.

“That’s sucky. Are you feeling okay with the pregnancy and stuff?” Ava asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing too bad. Just some weird pains I’ve never had before, but the doctor told me they’re normal.”

“Ah okay. That’s good. It’s not the same without you here in lectures and I swear the professors keep looking at me because they’re looking for you.”

Chuckling, I shudder, the dark stain of New York still engraved in my mind. “Yeah, well they aren’t going to see meanytime soon,” I conclude, a wash of guilt coming over me when I think about letting Dr. Perri down, but I don’t want to be anywhere near the vicinity of her brother, or her.

“Don’t you think you should speak to Dr. Perri? Don’t you want to know if she knows?” Feeling sick, I sigh.

“Yes. Of course, I want to talk to her about her sick-in-the-head brother, but I’m so scared of what she’s going to say! It’s Dr. Perri. I looked up to her, and it’s just so bad right now. Andrei fucked up his hand and his face. If Christopher sees me, he’s probably going to try and press charges or something. Why wouldn’t he? Who’s going to believe me?” I ask her, putting all my brushed aside fears on the table.

I haven’t spoken to Andrei about them because I know he’ll just tell me he plans to kill the guy, and I don’t want to know about it if he does. “This is a mess, but if I were you, I would hire a lawyer and bring them to see Dr. Perri about it.”

Tired of thinking about it all, I dismiss Ava. “No, Ava. Just leave it alone. I don’t even want to think about it anymore. I’m concentrating on the baby and being a wife.”

And with that, I look at the time on my cell phone, pining a little for Andrei. I look for him after seven, and that’s usually when he gets in. I have free rein of the house, and I can go out if I want to, but I know he has location tracking on the car. Ava calls me on my bluff, but I want to rest and get prepared for dinner anyway. “Are you scared? Do you want me to investigate things from my end?”

Tapping my teeth, I shake my head, swallowing down my regret. “No. Don’t. Leave it. Trust me. It’s best left the way it is. It’s going to blow over and when everything settles with the new baby then I’ll decide if I’m coming back or not.”

“Okay, friend. You’ve made up your mind, sounds like. I’m going to go. You have a nice night with your new husband while I toil on case scenarios,” she wails, but I’ve spent enough study time with Ava to know she loves geeking out on law stuff like I do. The confronting pinch of regret brings me down for a moment as I wish to be back in class with my friend somehow.

“Stop it. You love it. If you get stuck, call me so I can reminisce about my lost career,” I moan back at her.

“Babe, it’s not lost, it’s just on hold. Love you, and I will. Byeee.”

“Bye.” But I don’t have enough time to wallow in my losses and regrets as the familiar sound of a car door slamming brings a spark back to me. It’s Andrei and he’s home.

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