Page 53 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

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At first, I couldn’t tell if it was a stomach bug, the stress of everything, or something much worse, but that discomfort still lingered even days later.

I expected to sleep it off, but it persisted.

Instead, my energy dropped to next to nothing, nothing was appetizing, and I was struggling to sleep at night.

Worst of all, I realized something while standing in the bathroom after taking a shower: my period never started.

My panic was immediate, and I knew I couldn’t say anything to anyone before finding out if that sneaking suspicion of mine was the reason for the delay.

It was terrifying, but I needed to know.

Before I could fixate on it and lose my mind, I was able to get one of the drivers to take me to the pharmacy.

As a small consolation, Val wasn’t as strict as he could have, which meant slipping out of the house wasn’t too much of a challenge. So long as the driver stayed with me, I was fine.

That was how I found myself walking through the pharmacy with a few different products in my hands to cover up the test. All the while, my pulse was in my ears as I paid for the items before heading out.

I hadn’t said a word to the driver, and I certainly didn’t on the way back home.

Every second leading up to me locking myself in the bathroom was pure agony. My chest ached in anticipation while I did what needed to be done, and I could only stand there while I waited for the results.

Then, almost like a cruel joke to add to everything else, that second line appeared.

It was positive.

I was pregnant.

Standing there in the bathroom alone, I was moments away from hitting the floor if it hadn’t been for my iron grip on the countertop.

My skin went cold as that damning realization hit me in waves.

Not only was I married to Val, but that positive test only further cemented me to him.

Pulling in deep breaths, I tried to focus on the fact that he had been acting differently lately, like he was trying to be better in some ways.

Even if he was still smug and most certainly a criminal, there seemed to be a more genuine touch to our interactions. Being near him had been easier to bear before he dropped that bombshell on me, but with that new knowledge, I had no idea what to think.

He could be the nicest man in the world, but knowing his affiliations made it feel impossible to accept him completely.

I didn’t want to be tied to a criminal, and I certainly didn’t want to raise a baby in that world.

But while I stared down at those lines on the test, I couldn’t help but see a mental image of my parents.

How my mom had been so emotionally distant ever since I was a little girl, like she never wanted me in the first place.

I didn’t want my child to feel the same way, and I certainly didn’t want to be like her, either.

Regardless, the reality was so much harder to swallow than I was capable of, and I was terrified.

Chapter 19 - Val

There was no understating how horribly I screwed up—well, how Tommaso did, but I didn’t exactly handle it the way I should’ve.

I never should’ve given him the chance to let the cat out of the bag in the first place. He dropped the one thing I was trying to protect Tia from on her without a second thought.

The smug bastard.

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