Page 58 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

In her mind, I was nothing more than a lying manipulator with an agenda to push, and I just wanted to prove to her that wasn't true.

Alone in the backyard, I sat by the pool and wiped the frustrated tears from beneath my eyes while I watched how the water rippled under the setting sun.

Even if things had been going well between us, I couldn't help but feel like Ivan keeping me around was just making things worse...

If they didn't already hate me, then there was a high chance they would after that interaction, and with them knowing what I had done to lose their faith in me, I doubted they'd ever come back around.

It was a miracle Ivan found it in himself to let me in rather than continue his attempts to torture me, and I had my doubts the others would do the same.

Ivan was insane for ever bringing me back home with him, and especially for marrying me. Even if he didn't seem to regret it, my heart ached at the thought of him beginning to after seeing the rift it just caused.

I wouldn't be surprised if he considered taking me back to Mexico and rinsing his hands of me, but with the pregnancy, things were a lot more complicated.

I winced internally at the memory of how startled Ivan had been when Olivia dropped the news in the least graceful way possible. He seemed shocked, yet...he didn't look angry. If anything, he looked somewhat excited.

That was a good thing, but it was completely overshadowed by everything else. It just left a sour taste in my mouth.

In the quiet state of isolation I put myself in, I let go of a shaky breath and tried to pull it together.

I didn't want to get emotional over what happened, but something about the way Olivia's anger had been so raw and unfiltered shook my nerves entirely.

The buzz of my phone in my pocket claimed my attention, making me glance down before pulling it out.

A small piece of me hoped it was Ivan, but the rest just wanted to be left alone.

Just when things seemed like they couldn't get worse, I was wildly corrected...

My stomach dropped at the text lighting up my screen from that same number. Whether it really was from my brother or sent by one of his associates, it still made my hands shake anyway.

Sniffling, I scanned the message that read:

Don't choose, then I will.

Those words felt like a stake to the heart, well aware of what was being insinuated.

He wanted me to pick between him...being trapped and under his control, forced to manipulate and use more people. Or the Fokins...my husband's family, who likely hated my guts for doing the former.

I hated being stuck in that position, forced to pick one difficult situation from another.

Regardless of feeling more supported by Ivan than before, I didn't know how he felt about me then, or if his opinion of me had changed again. The whole situation seemed to be surrounded by a dark haze, and the unknowns hurt to even consider.

Still, I knew that Rurik was trying to push me into a corner so he could pull me back in again. He likely wanted me to hurt the Fokins in another way, and to flex his power over me in every sense.

But while I stared down at the screen and couldn't ignore the aching in my heart, I knew for certain that I didn't want to deceive Ivan again.

I regretted doing it enough the first time, but after gaining a bit more of his trust and seeing the gentler, more caring side of him again, I didn't want to squander it.

If I did, he would never forgive me again.

He was someone who rarely gave second chances, and the fact that he gave me another was huge. There was no way he'd be able to trust me again.

Thinking about how far we had come since getting married brought a warm sensation to my stomach, and I just wanted it to stay. To feel it forever.

But a nagging thought in the back of my mind played with the idea of leaving anyway. If I wasn't in the picture, I'd make things easier for everyone involved.

Olivia would be able to rest easy knowing I wasn't there to cause more problems, Ivan wouldn't have to deal with the complications of being married to me, and all of his siblings would reap the benefits as a result.

It hurt to think about, yet it seemed...the most fair after everything.

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