Page 72 of Claimed Bratva Virgin

I was in the kitchen, preparing Rafayel’s dinner, when the first pang hit me like a bolt of lightning, ripping through my abdomen and doubling me over in a mixture of shock and pain.

My hand shot out instinctively, gripping the edge of the table for support as my knees buckled. I gasped, the breath stolen from my lungs, and felt a sharp bead of sweat rolling down my temple.

“Leonora!” Varya’s face appeared blurry in my vision when she perched by my side.

“The baby...” I groaned. “The baby is coming.”

I forced myself to breathe, shaky and shallow at first but then steadier. I had prepared for this moment, yet no amount of planning could have truly braced me for this sort of pain.

“Help!” Varya called out. “Someone, help us!”

Panic clawed at the edges of my mind, but I wrestled it down. People rushed in—mostly men and maids, a blur of concerned faces I barely registered. I heard Varya’s voice, though indistinct, and there was a brief argument about how I wouldn’t make it to the hospital on time.

Another voice, a man’s this time, suggested calling the boss.

I nodded, too shocked to speak. I needed to see my husband. I needed Rafayel.

Another pang hit, stronger than the last. “God!” I cried, twisting in pain.

Strong arms guided me to the bed, and my world narrowed to the shocks of agony that seemed to split me in two.

It felt like I was underwater.

Hands pressed cool cloths to my forehead. Someone whispered encouragements I couldn’t process. All I could do was hold on, gripping the bedpost until my knuckles turned white, my cries tearing from my throat in guttural bursts.

“Rafa!”

“It’s time to push!” someone said.

“Rafayel!”

I bore down, my body straining with a force I didn’t know I possessed. Each contraction felt like climbing a mountain. Sweat dripped from my brow, mixing with tears I hadn’t realized I’d shed. My nails dug into the sheets as I roared against the pain, primal and raw.

“Come on, child. You have to push.”

I screamed.

Minutes blurred into an eternity.

The pain, the pressure, the exhaustion—it all mingled into a single, overwhelming moment. Just when I thought I couldn’t endure another second, a sharp, searing final push brought with it a rush of relief.

And then, piercing through the quiet chaos, came the sound I had been waiting to hear for months.

The first wail of life.

“It’s a girl,” one of the maids squealed.

I smiled. “A girl.”

Her cry was so loud, strong, and insistent, almost as stubborn as I was. My chest heaved as I collapsed back against the pillows, tears streaming freely now. But before Varya handed me my baby, a heavy blanket pulled me under, and all I saw was black.

Chapter 24 – Rafayel

Blood, sweat, and fear were a trifecta I had grown all too familiar with over the years. And the room reeked of it now.

When I had my casino designed, it wasn’t for this kind of business. The leather chairs, polished oak desk, and the glittering lights of the slot machines beyond the tinted glass were to depict opulence. Yet here I was, standing before a pathetic excuse for a man strapped to a chair, his head lolling forward like a broken puppet.

The idiot who thought he could slither out of my grasp.

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