Page 29 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

Regardless of how simple the question was, he seemed a bit more reserved about it, like he didn’t want to involve his family in the conversation too much. Then, as if meeting me halfway, he murmured, “I have five brothers and a sister.”

“That’s quite the full house,” I commented, wondering just how far he was willing to take our conversation. “And our situation…do any of them know about it?”

There was no missing how that question seemed to rub him the wrong way, and Ivan shook his head before quickly shielding his true thoughts and feelings from me. “No, they don’t. And I’d rather keep it that way for now.”

While I knew that was likely the right call, given how much messier the situation would likely be if they all knew that he had me around, I couldn’t ignore the faint pang of disappointment in my chest.

No part of me wanted to feel any kind of way other than relieved at that statement, but as much as I tried to deny it to myself, it didn’t become any less real.

“Do you plan to tell them?”

He sighed, sitting back in his chair while putting his utensils down. He looked away for a mere second before returning his gaze to me. “I’ll have to eventually, but for now, I’m keeping it to myself while I figure more of you out.”

My gaze narrowed slightly at the claim, not understanding what he was hinting at. “What else is there to figure out?”

Ivan simply looked at me for another moment as a hint of skepticism trickled into his demeanor. “You still aren’t out of the woods yet…I’m wondering if your plan has truly ended, or if I’m only delaying it.”

At first, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had misheard him, but given how he looked at me with accusation in his tone, I knew he meant it.

“My plan? It was never my plan, to begin with,” I returned, not liking where things were going, almost like we had entirely veered off the tracks after seemingly making progress.

He tilted his head slightly. “And how am I supposed to know that?”

My brows furrowed all the while disbelief flooded my system. “You really think I’m up to some master plan that you don’t know about?”

“I don’t know…are you?”

The tonal shift left me feeling like I had endured whiplash all over again, let to wonder where it was coming from, and how he could possibly assume I was up to no good.

I bristled. “How could I be doing that while I’m stuck in your house with no access to the outside world?”

Ivan shrugged. “That’s what I’m trying to work out…maybe you’re simply biding your time until the right opportunity arises. But either way, I won’t let that happen.”

In complete shock of his baseless suggestion, that anger sparked inside of me all over again, and I pushed up from my chair.

“I can’t believe you…getting me to open up just to throw it back in my face.”

With vague irritation, as if it was merely an inconvenience to his night, Ivan sighed. “Maybe if you didn’t give me a reason to, then I wouldn’t assume the worst of you.”

Tired of how he wouldn’t let it go, and how insensitive he was despite what I shared with him, I shook my head and grit my teeth while storming out of the room.

Right when I started to think we were making some sort of progress, he shot it down completely.

Moving through the house and up to the second floor, that rage boiled beneath my skin. Even if he was capable of being nice, it seemed he preferred not to be, regardless of how it made him look.

Leaving him and what remained of our dinner behind, I couldn’t help but feel like there was no chance in hell we’d ever get passed that hatred between us.

Chapter 13 - Ivan

I had experienced different kinds of victories while working with my siblings, some big and some small, but there was something different in the way I triumphed over Daria.

That irritation I had with her was ever-green, and with her being under my roof for over a week, I could spend every waking moment at home reaping the benefits of my effort.

Legally bound to me and given no choice but to comply, she had mostly thrown in the towel and accepted defeat.

She was suffering—there was no doubting that.

As much as I had soaked it in initially, something about the sight of her almost moping around started to bleed the joy out of my victory. I didn't want to admit it, but the shine only lasted for so long.

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