Page 47 of Forced Pregnant Bride

He looked different from the last time I’d really seen him. His face, which was always clean-shaven, was now spotted with stubble. He’d let his hair grow out a little bit longer, and above all that, Jayden might not have dressed as expensive as the Colombo’s in the room, but the look in his eyes was as dark and intimidating as theirs. Whatever they’d done to get into my brother’s head must have worked.

An unbearable pain seared through my chest, and I almost flinched when he curled a finger under my chin. A softness glazed over his steel gaze, and he sighed.

“Serena….”

“I don’t need a threat to do that, Jay. You know this; I would gladly give my life for yours again, under any circumstance, if I have to. There was a debt to be paid; Timur had to do what he did, following his rules of business. If it weren’t for Dad, we wouldn’t have crossed his path in the firstplace. I’m just saying…there was no malicious reason behind what he did. Besides, he’s never hurt me.”

Jayden backed away as if he’d been stung, rising to his full height, his shadow falling over me when I tilted my head backward to glare at him.

“I don’t know what’s come over you, but you have to snap out of it. Did he bewitch you or something? I’m saying you don’t have to live that life. I’m here, standing right in front of you, Serena. Everything I did was to set you free. We can run away now, leave the country just like we’d planned that night, without the fear of Timur hanging over our heads.

I shook my head. “No.”

“No?”

Ignoring the growing frown on his face, I repeated more sternly, “No, Jay, I don’t want to do this. None of this feels right.”

That was what my mouth said, but my heart was saying another, something I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to admit.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about them.” I looked over his shoulder at the Colombos. “You might have the purest intentions to rescue me, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from our experience with Timur, it’s that nothing comes without a price. So, tell me, what’s in this for them? Or are the Italians now Samaritans?”

“Far from it, pretty one.” Enzo came into the light. His jaw was fixed with more impatience as he glowered at me. “You’re right. Nothing comes without a price. Your brother here needed our help to save you, and in return, I get to use you as bait to reel in that son of a bitch and teach him a good lesson for holding my daughter captive. Seeing that you’re in good condition, I’m sure you must be very important to that bastard. He’s taking care of you. That means he’d definitely be on his way to find you.”

“Captive?” I wanted to laugh at his choice of words. Only heavens knew what she’d said to her father to get him all riled up. “She was tied in ropes, the same ropes my brother and I were bound with, and maybe you didn’t notice, but he released her. Just like us, to him, she was nothing special.”

Behind her father, Leonara scoffed, and Enzo narrowed his eyes. “You’re truly naïve.” Turning around, he beckoned on his children. “Matteo, Leonara, I need you two to visit Jose, Miguel, and Pablo. There are rumors about someone new around the block with a product in high demand. Get everything we need to do. I’ll handle the Russian.”

As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Jay pounced forward, brows drawn as he glared. “I cannot believe that you are defending that asshole. I know you’re practically a saint, Serena; you have a heart of gold and always see the best in everyone and every fucking—”

“Language, Jay.”

“You see?” I flinched when he pointed an accusatory finger at me. “That right there; I bet you don’t scold your husband when he curses or lashes out at you with foul language. What could you possibly see in a man like him that would make you lose your common sense? What’s it to you if Enzo wants to kill him? He deserves to die.”

“Jayden!” The thought of seeing Timur lay dead before my feet made me want to gag. “He hasn’t hurt you, has he? He’s kept his word so far, hasn’t he? Then what is it with you wishing him death? If our father never owed him, then there’d be no Timur in our lives anyway.”

I never would have met him.

The thought left a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jayden was getting ready to speak, but I didn’t give him a chance. “You know, after the whole fallout between Mom and Dad, you weren’t exactly the easiest person to raise, JaydenSkye. You say Timur’s a bad man, but you managed to give me hell sometimes. Remember the days when you wouldn’t listen to me, or those times when you’d yell at me for being, in your words, overprotective and overbearing? You knew all I’ve ever wanted was the best for you, and in those days, you’d just treat me like dirt under your shoes. I’ve put up with your whining, complaints, and a list of many other things you did that could have made anyone else quit the job and leave you to fend for yourself, but I didn’t, and it’s because I—”

“You love me.” Huffing, he ran his fingers through his hair. Some of the tension melted off his shoulders, and the look in his eyes was more sober than annoyed. “And I love you, too, sister. I know I’ve not been the easiest one to handle, but I did, and I still appreciate everything you’ve ever done for me. Heck, I wouldn’t even be standing here if it weren’t for your investments in my life. But like it or not, Serena, we’re family, and we’d go to lengths to protect each other. That’s what I’m doing now. Timur’s level of being bad goes beyond the childish tantrums and shit I put you through after Mom and Dad left us, and you know it. That man has blood on his hands and no fucking conscience. You’re not safe with him; none of us are.”

But how was it possible that I didn’t feel safewithouthim?

A tear slipped from my eye, and Jayden brushed it off my cheek. He didn’t know why I was crying, but I did. I knew it had everything to do with not wanting to be apart from my husband. Jayden was right; Timur was the least definition of a safe place. Nevertheless, that revelation didn’t deter me. Over the few months we’d been together, even if none of us had expressly admitted it, we’d formed a bond, a strong one.

Every morning, I looked forward to waking up by his side, and at night, I wanted to curl into him and fall asleep to the sound of my heart beating against his chest. He’d even begunsmiling less robotically and a lot more around me, and though those moments were rare, I treasured each one like a priceless piece of treasure entrusted only in my care. Being with Timur recently felt almost joyful…like I got a special privilege to have something no one else had access to.

I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet.

And….

“I’m pregnant, Jay.”

The silence that fell between my brother and me was deafening. He struggled to digest the news while I cried harder at the thought of having my baby grow up without a father. The last thing I wanted was to subject my child to the same pains and emotional distress Jay and I went through after our father detached from us.

“You’re what?”

---