Page 159 of Bratva Knight

I smiled sadly. “Respectfully, Zander, there’s nothing you can say that will keep me here. She’s pregnant.”

“What?!” Lukyan shouted. “Already?! Damn, how strong are your swimmers?”

A mixture of emotions swirled in my brother's eyes: shock, bewilderment, happiness, defeat. He knew there was nothing on God’s green Earth that could keep me away from Tatiana then.

Of course I felt bad. We used to talk about this moment all the time when we were kids. The moment when Father would finally step down, and we would be in charge. Just eight and ten-year-old boys giggling under the blankets late at night about all the changes we were going to make.

Switching all of the passwords to “fart knuckles”. Making all of the soldiers wear capes. No more vegetables in the house. Idiotic changes, of course. But to two little kids, they were perfect.

“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Drea squealed, jumping up and down in her chair. “A baby! How exciting!”

“Two, actually.”

“Twins?” Aleksandr's eyes widened at the revelation.

I nodded.

He got to his feet and marched over to me. I thought he was going to hit me or something, but he hauled me up and hugged me so tightly, I choked. “Congratulations, little brother.”

It took a second for me to react, stunned that my usually un-affectionate big brother was embracing me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back.

“Congratulations, son.” Father patted me on the shoulder.

“I wanna get in on this.” Not even a second later, Lukyan joined in, his arms encircling the three of us. “This is so nice,” he breathed dreamily.

Aleksandr grunted. “Get off me.”

“Andddd look at that, you ruined it, ya big grump.”

Laughing softly, I returned to my seat, the others following suit. “Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I won’t still work. I’ll coordinate with our new clients in New York and oversee the deliveries and payments. Tatiana only plans to stay at FIT long enough to gain enough credits so that, when a spot opens up at a college here, she can transfer.”

Aleksandr nodded. “So when do you leave?”

“Now.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Tatiana Andreeva

Sixmonthslater

“Stay still or I’m going to end up poking you.”

“I’m trying,” Drea squealed, fidgeting on the spot. “I’m just so excited! I’ve never been in a fashion show before.”

At her side stood her husband, a perpetually sour look on his face as he was getting fitted with his very own Tatiana Andreeva original three-piece suit. He so very clearly didn’t want to be there. And yeah, I felt a little bad for it, but my assessment was worth sixty percent of my final grade and I needed his help. I neededallof their help.

Not only did I have to create an entire collection, but I also had to put together my very own fashion show and display all of my designs using real life models. Not exactly an easy thing to accomplish when you were over six months pregnant with twins who insisted on using your bladder as a freaking chew toy.

My only saving grace during this whole craziness was Nikolai. Not only had he been there every step of the way, supporting me, helping me cut and sew each piece, but he’d also managed to wrangle his siblings into walking the runway for me.

The last six months had been a whirlwind. He’d moved to New York so that he could be with me—something I’m sure irritated Aleksandr to no end—but it wasn’t permanent. In fact, we were getting ready to move back within the next few weeks. I’d managed to secure a spot at another college, where I planned to finish my studies after I gave birth to the babies. It was important to both of us that the babies be born at home. In Vegas. Plus, there was no way I could have them so far away from my dad. He was so excited to be a grandpa. He’d already changed my old room into a nursery for the babies.

“Tatiana!” a deep, angry voice called out that I would recognise anywhere.

Dressed in his own suit to model for the show, Nikolai came storming over, his face a mask of displeasure and concern.

Uh-oh.

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