Page 21 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

She was silent all the way back to the house. Her eyes never left the window while she sat in her quiet fury, surely considering all of the ways she was thoroughly screwed.

If she had been banking on getting away from me before I could do anything as drastic as marrying her, then she was out of luck. In fact, all of the luck seemed to be on my side, and I did my best to soak up that triumph.

Even if I didn't comment on it, I was sure she could feel how smug I was about it.

If things had been different, then I would've wanted her to be excited...happy, at least. Picturing that alternate outcome in my head made my heart clench for some reason, but I didn't sit with that notion for too long.

The reality was that Daria was officially mine regardless of what that meant; my plan was moving smoothly, and I was getting everything I wanted.

Even when we got out of the vehicle, Daria still didn't say a word, and I guided her back into the house. She didn't resist or pull away while I opened the door and let her through.

Instead, she just looked ahead of herself, either too numb to realize how compliant she was, or she finally understood how useless it was to fight my will. No matter what she did, my wants were always bound to crush hers. And that was how I intended to keep it.

Without me needing to prompt her, she went right up the stairs and down the hall. But my brows furrowed when I realized she was continuing towards the spare bedroom.

"Hold on," I muttered, grabbing at her arm before she could get too far. "Where are you going?"

She scowled at me incredulously. "To my room—"

"No, you aren't," I returned, adjusting her slightly to reaffirm my words. "My wife will sleep in the same bed as me."

I watched as every thought raced through her eyes while she tried to grapple with my demand.

She blinked back at me before murmuring, "What?"

"You heard me...so get used to it."

A scoff left her then as she pulled her arm out of my grasp and looked up at me sharply. "Why would I do that?"

I bristled at her defiance but resisted the urge to grab her again. I had to keep myself under wraps before I did something I'd regret.

"Because we're married now. I won't have you sleeping in there alone...not while you're legally mine."

I couldn't tell if her feelings of disbelief or confusion were more apparent, but either way, she looked briefly stunned before schooling her emotions.

"No way."

"No?" I asked with a hint of mock innocence while cocking a brow. "You think you have a choice in the matter?"

"That's the point," she snapped back, eyes gleaming with her barely contained anger. "I haven't had a choice since I got here."

"And whose fault is that?"

Her jaw clenched while she looked up at me, unable to hold her tongue any longer. "Yours because you can't look past the one thing I did, and now you're weaponizing it against me."

While she wasn't wrong, the way she stated it so plainly grated against my nerves, and it didn't take long for my irritation to match hers. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You say it like you didn't do any harm...but we both know that's not true," I muttered, taking a step closer until she pressed her back against the wall, caging her in. "You deceived me and my family. You pretended to be someone you weren't tofurther your brother's plans. You brought all of this on yourself, whether you want to acknowledge it or not."

Despite looking uncomfortable about me bringing it up again, Daria's brows pinched together. "You don't know the half of what I went through...it wasn't that simple."

"Nor do I care...you were an accomplice in Rurik's plan, and since he's not here, you're the one paying for it."

She shouldn't have looked shocked by that notion, not when I made that plain enough before. But it still seemed to rattle her all the same.

When she didn't say anything, seemingly realizing our proximity as I leaned in a bit closer, I continued.

"For your brother's attempt to get to us, and your little charade, you have the pleasure of shouldering that responsibility. You're going to be stuck with me, reminded every time you look at me of exactly what you did," I murmured, speaking a bit softer while I tapped beneath her chin, making her look at me. "I suggest you get used to following my lead and listening to what I tell you."

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