Page 87 of Used Bratva Bride

Something dark stirs inside me. She had betrayed me. Lied to me, but she had come back. That means she’s mine.

The silence stretches between us, heavy, filled with things neither of us says. Then, before I can stop myself, I reach for her.

Julie gasps when my fingers grip her chin, tilting her face up to mine. Her skin is warm beneath my touch, her lips parting slightly, breath catching.

She expects rage. She expects punishment. Instead, I lean in, my mouth hovering just over hers.

“You’re mine,” I murmur, the words brushing against her lips. “Mine alone.”

Her breath stutters. I feel it—the way her body tenses, the way she’s fighting whatever it is she feels for me.

I smirk. She can fight it all she wants, but we both know this is where she belongs.

I should be furious. I should be questioning her, demanding to know if this is some elaborate game she’s playing. I see it in her eyes—raw, unguarded truth.

Julie exhales slowly, as if forcing herself to say the words out loud. “I can’t go back.”

I step forward, closing some of the space between us. “Why not?”

Her lips part, then press together again, and I see the war inside her—the hesitation, the vulnerability.

Then, she shakes her head slightly. “Because in your captivity, I learned what freedom really is.”

My breath stills.

She swallows hard, her voice quieter now, but steady. “I lived my whole life for them, Mikhail. I did everything to be noticed. I tried to be what my father wanted. I tried to be the sister Sophia wanted me to be. No matter what I did, I was always an afterthought.”

Her hands curl into fists at her sides, as if the memories are clawing at her. “But you….” She lifts her gaze back to mine, and there’s a fire in her eyes that wasn’t there before. “You looked at me with a warmth they never did. You made me feel seen. Wanted.”

I clench my jaw, barely holding myself back from reaching for her.

She keeps going. “You kissed me like you craved me. Touched me like you were meant to. Heard my ideas.” Her throat bobs, and she forces out the last words, raw with emotion. “How could I leave that behind?”

My pulse thunders in my ears.

She’s choosing this. Choosing me.

I step even closer, until there’s barely an inch between us. My hand lifts, fingers ghosting over the side of her face. I don’t touch her fully—I just feel her warmth, the way she leans into it, the way she doesn’t pull away.

“Why?” I ask, my voice lower now, quieter, dangerous in its demand for the truth.

Julie takes a long breath, as if gathering the courage to say the one thing that will change everything between us.

Then, she exhales.

“I think I’m falling for you.”

The words settle between us like a brand, burning into the space where her hesitation used to be. For a moment, I don’t move. Don’t speak.

She just gave me everything. Every damn piece of herself. I could break her. I could twist those words, use them to control her, to ensure she never strays from me again.

I finally let my fingers trail down her cheek, careful and focused, before tilting her chin up so she’s fully looking at me.

Her lips tremble slightly, but not from fear.

“I think you’re a fool,” I murmur, my thumb brushing over her lower lip.

Julie exhales a shaky breath, but she doesn’t flinch. “Then I’m your fool.”

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