Page 78 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

As much as it stung not to have him around, I knew it wasn’t his fault. He always put me first in every decision he made since we met; what would it be if we didn’t spend this birthday together? There were still many more birthdays ahead, and I knew I would have him all to myself on my birthday someday.

Swallowing the disappointment, I decided to get water and, if I could find the right ingredients, bake myself a cake. After that, I was going to tire myself out and sleep throughout the night. With any luck, he would already be here before I woke up.

I dragged myself to my feet and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I opened the cap and downed half the contents of the bottle in one gulp.

Taking what was left of my bottle of water, I walked to the cabinets, opening each of them and checking for the ingredients I needed. Baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract—

A sharp noise in a corner of the house caught my attention. I stopped moving and listened.

It sounded like rustling and footsteps. No one was supposed to be home aside from me.

My scalp prickled, the hairs at the back of my neck rising. The bodyguards usually stayed at their spots outside, and they would never come in here without informing me first.

I ignored the flare of panic in my chest, picked a knife from the set on the kitchen counter, and quietly followed the source of the noise.

It led me to one of the visitor rooms downstairs, and the closer I got, the louder the noise became. I couldn’t tell for sure if it was someone inside or if my mind was playing tricks on me.

I gripped the edge of the knife and followed the noise, pushing the door open cautiously and readying my hands to launch an attack on whoever the intruder was.

But rather than an intruder, I gasped in surprise at the view in front of me. The room was dark except for the warm glow of red, scented candlelight. “Candles?”

My stomach fluttered as I stared at the room at large in awe.

On a small center table in the middle of the room, a cake with flickering pink number twenty-three candles rested on top of it

“Happy birthday,solnishko.”

Andrei’s voice curled around me like velvet, deep and filled with something rich and possessive.

I turned sharply, my pulse racing as Andrei emerged from the shadows.

“You—” I started, but my words faltered when I saw him.

He looked perfect in the dim light, his dirty blond hair slightly tousled and the crisp lines of his shirt undone at the collar. His eyes—those ruthless, beautiful blue eyes—watched me with amusement, hunger, and something softer, deeper.

“I thought you had a meeting,” I whispered.

He neared me and ran a finger down my face, his touch so gentle that I felt all the panic from earlier seep away. “I did, but you’re more important than any meeting, Giselle.”

Happiness bubbled inside me; it was almost overwhelming, and tears of joy welled in my eyes.

I placed my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you, Andrei.”

“I’m your husband,solnishko. It’s my job to make you happy.” He raked his fingers through my hair and gave my scalp a gentle massage for an entire minute while I listened to the beat of his heart.

When I finally pulled away, my grip on the knife loosened, and it dangled freely between my fingers.

Andrei chuckled, plucking it from my grip before placing it on a nearby table. “And what were you going to do with this, wife?”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It seemed smart at the time, but any man like Andrei could’ve easily overpowered me and grabbed the knife from me. The smartest thing to dowould have been to call for help, but I was too scared at the time to be smart.

I pouted as I stared up at my husband. “I thought there was an intruder,” I admitted, feeling a little ridiculous now.

“The house is well guarded. Even a fly can’t get past those men outside. No one would even dare to harm you.” His voice was serious, his gaze darkening. “Not on your birthday. Not ever.”

Emotion clogged my throat as I looked at him. This man, who had a reputation for being dangerous and merciless in the world, was mine. And he would do anything for me.

It felt like, although Dad had died, he made sure to leave a guardian angel for me before he did. It seemed as though he knew he would die, and he knew hiding the shipment would somehow lead me to Andrei.

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