Page 60 of Beautiful Agony

I cup her face in my hands, marveling at how she can still care about someone who's caused her so much pain.

"If that's what you want,zvyozdochka. He doesn't deserve your kindness, but I will offer it if you insist. That's what makes you special." I kiss her gently. "You keep fighting for people even when they don't deserve it."

"He's still family," she whispers, though I detect the hurt in her voice.

"That's exactly what I mean." I press a kiss to her forehead. "Most people would have written him off long ago. But you? You see the good in everyone. Even in monsters like me."

She starts to protest but I silence her with a gentle finger to her lips.

"It's what I love about you. Your ability to forgive, to keep believing in people—it's rare. Precious." My thumb traces herlower lip. "Though I still want to break his fingers every time he speaks to you that way."

A small smile tugs at her mouth. "Just his fingers?"

"Well, maybe his jaw too." I return her smile, but grow serious again. "As long as you want him protected, I'll make sure he stays safe. But only because it matters to you."

She nestles back against my chest with a contented sigh. "Thank you."

I press my hand against Lacey's still-flat belly, marveling at the miracle growing inside. My child.Ourchild. The thought fills me with equal parts wonder and terror.

"What are you thinking about?" Lacey asks, covering my hand with hers.

"How different our child's life will be from mine." I kiss her shoulder. "They'll know love from the start. They'll have two parents who want them."

Lacey's fingers intertwine with mine. "And a whole household that'll spoil them rotten. Can you imagine Lenka with a baby?"

The image makes me smile. "She'll probably teach them Russian before English."

"I hope they have your eyes," Lacey says softly. "Those storm-gray eyes that see right through me."

"And your smile. That smile that lights up entire rooms." I nuzzle her neck. "Your kindness too."

Lacey shifts to face me, her expression growing thoughtful. "Having Dad and Freddy here... it's making me think about what family really means. How it's not just blood." She touches mychest, right over my heart. "It's about choice too. The people we choose to love, to protect."

"Like how you chose to be with a monster like me?"

"Stop that," she scolds gently. "You're not a monster. You're going to be an amazing father."

The certainty in her voice makes my throat tight. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I see how you are with the people you care about. How protective you are." Her hand returns to her belly. “Our child is going to be loved, Vadim. They'll never doubt it for a second."

Looking at Lacey in my arms, her amber-flecked eyes half-closed in contentment, I feel my heart start to race. The words I've been holding back surge forward, impossible to contain any longer.

"I love you."

The silence that follows feels eternal. My chest tightens as I wait for her response, terrified that I've said too much too soon. After everything we've been through—the forced marriage, Paris, Irina's death, her kidnapping—maybe she's not ready to hear those words.

But then she shifts in my arms, tilting her face up to mine. Those beautiful eyes search my face, and I see tears gathering in them.

"I love you too," she whispers.

The relief that floods through me is staggering. I pull her closer, burying my face in her citrus-and-lavender scented hair, letting the warmth of her words wash over me. For the first time in my life, I feel truly whole.

She loves me. Not the pakhan, or the man who can give her everything money can buy. Just me. The broken son of a monster who's spent his whole life trying to prove he's different from his father.

And somehow, impossibly, she sees past all of that to love the man beneath.

Slowly, I hook my finger under her chin, and tilt it up until her lips meet mine in a kiss.

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