Page 41 of Forced Prisoner By the Bratva

Without a word, I withdrew from her and walked away, my footsteps retreating. The conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere, and I needed some time to cool off.

I headed out and shut the door behind me, leaving her to her thoughts.

This wasn't how I’d intended for our little confrontation to end. I'd hoped that we'd at least make some progress. Instead, we ended up making things worse.

Why was she so stubborn and headstrong? Why wouldn't she even listen to me? And why the hell would she entertain the idea of being with another man just because she thought I was with Jennifer?

My blood boiled at the idea of her in someone else's arms. I'd fucking kill the guy if she dared misbehave.

I stepped out into the compound, the morning sun draping over me as I walked over to my sleek black car. I got inside, started the engine, and drove off.

A few minutes into the drive, my lieutenant, Arlo, called. My thumb slid across the screen, and I answered. “Yes?” My voice was laced with irritation.

“Boss, there's something you have to know,” he said with a cautious tone, a hint of urgency creeping in.

I paused, waiting to hear this piece of information that better be worth my time. “Well, spit out already,” I said, suppressing the rage simmering beneath the surface.

“The day Tessa left your office, she was spotted with Connor Donnelly at a park soon after,” he said, his voice calm and hesitant.

My jaw clenched at the revelation, and my grip on the steering wheel tightened. My scowl deepened, and my expression darkened.

“Check your phone,” Arlo said from the other line.

I removed the device from my ear and felt my chest tighten at the sight of my wife and that bastard Connor staring into each other's eyes. They sat on a bench, his fingers lifting her chin.

What a hypocrite!

She claimed to have been hurt by what she clearly misunderstood, but she decided to find comfort in another man's arms. How dare she?

And to think she ran to Connor at the first sign of trouble in our marriage—the same Connor she’d confessed to liking.

This was a fucking slap to my face. It was an insult to me and what I stood for.

Did they…? No, they couldn't have. Right?

The possibility of her sleeping with him that day gnawed at me. And even though I knew she wouldn't have dared to do something like that, it still had me furious.

Connor Donnelly was testing my patience, and if he didn't tread carefully, he'd lose his life.

I tightened my grip on my phone, rage boiling within me. “Keep an eye on her,” I ordered.

“Copy that.” He ended the call.

Tessa Tarasov, you have some explaining to do,I thought to myself, seething in silence.

Chapter 17 – Tessa

I sat in my car, my heart hammering in my chest as the weight of the decision I'd be forced to make in the next few minutes set in. It was all that I could think of—the possibility of the baby in my womb.

Nothing had ever spooked me like this, not even my marriage to Erik Tarasov. If this was true, if I was indeed carrying a mini Tarasov within me, then I was fucked. The baby would change everything because then, we would be bound together by the very life we'd created.

My pulse quickened, my breath hitched in my throat, and I could feel the cold sweat on my skin.

What will you do if it turns out that you're pregnant?a small voice whispered in my head, fueling my fear and anxiety.Would you keep it?

This question struck me like lightning, disorienting my thoughts and leaving me both helpless and breathless. My mind was a mess of tangled webs, producing nothing helpful, nothing but fear and anxiety. I was too numb to think, and a dull ache plagued my head.

I messaged my temples, my fingertips digging into my flesh in a soothing motion. “You got this,” I mumbled under my breath and raised my head.

---