Page 58 of Claimed Bratva Virgin

“Lies,” I snarled, slamming my hand against the tree beside her head. She flinched, her breath hitching, and it only stoked the fire burning in my chest. "You thought I was a fool, didn’t you? Smart Leo thought the big Russian was going to fall into her fucking trap and eat out of the palm of her—”

"I didn’t fucking know, Rafa," she cut me off. And when I peered deeper, I saw her eyelids shimmering with unshed tears.

Leonora’s voice quivered, and her hands came up, trembling, as if to plead with me. "I fucking swear it. Papa—my father…he didn’t tell me what he was planning. I didn’t know Luca was in the picture all along, Rafayel. You have to believe me!"

I wanted to.

God, I wanted to believe her. But the doubt coiled around my heart like a snake, tightening with every word she spoke. I stepped closer, caging her in, my body inches from hers. Her scent filled my lungs, intoxicating and maddening all at once.

"And you expect me to just take your word for it?"

Her lip trembled, and for a moment, she looked so fragile I almost softened. Almost. But then she dropped her gaze, and I knew she was hiding something. My hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at me.

"Tell me the fucking truth, Leo," I demanded. "Every. Last. Word. Else, Iamgoing to fucking snap your neck right now like a psychopath.”

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over as her composure cracked.

I hated it when she cried. Her tears upset me, made me want to hurt every damn person that hurt her. But now,Iwas theone hurting her, and while I still felt like a piece of shit, I needed to fight those unexplainable emotions and look past them.

“Uno Italia,” she said, looking up at me to clarify. “One Italy. Papa wants a Colombo-Rossi alliance. That was the plan all along. He…he set me up to marry Luca, to secure our legacy—”

My mouth crashed onto hers, taking what was only fuckingmine,punishing and raw. My blood roared like a fucking pressure cooker, red-hot fury consuming me at the mention of that bastard’s name.

I cupped her jaw, my fingers tightening to pry her mouth apart, giving way for my tongue to plunge deeper. She tasted just as sweet as I remembered, and for some reason, that irked me more.

I tilted her face up, growling against her swollen mouth, “You’re mine, Leonya. Only mine,” before diving in again.

She gasped against me, her hands gripping my shirt as if she didn’t know whether to push me away or pull me closer. I didn’t care. I deepened it, nipping harshly. Possessive, I claimed her in a way words never could. She was mine, and I needed her to feel it, to know it in her bones.

When I finally pulled back, her lips were pink, her cheeks flushed, and her breath came in short, uneven bursts. She looked up at me through tear-filled eyes.

Shit. She was crying again.

“I didn’t want it. I didn’t choose it. He’s using me, just like he used me to get to you. But I swear to you, I would never—” She paused. Then, she burst into full-blown tears, like she did back at my house when she hugged me. “Rafa, I’m pregnant.”

The announcement hit me like a blow to the chest. I froze, my mind racing to process what she’d just said.

The silence stretched between us.

“What did you say?”

Her hands moved to her stomach, a gesture so subtle, so instinctive, that it made the truth sink in. “I’m carrying your child, Rafayel.”

I wanted to believe her. But doubt lingered, festering like an open wound. I narrowed my eyes at her flat stomach.

“How long?”

“Seven weeks,” she responded in a heartbeat.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

But the answer stared at me in the face before she answered. “I found out today. The lone hospital trip? That’s where I received the diagnosis. Honestly, the signs were there, but I didn’t want to believe it. Coupled with that, you kept your distance. I couldn’t just come running to tell you I was pregnant now, or could I? Would you have believed me?”

It made sense. When she said she was scared, I hadn’t understood her fear better until now. Leonora was a smart woman. Betraying me and getting married, though accidentally, wouldn’t have been a mistake she would have made at the same time. She would have geared up, equipped, and prepared herself to sever all ties with me when the time came.

That was the most logical reason I could come up with because if I didn’t, my head would explode with all the uncertainty.

A thousand emotions surged through me at once.

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