Page 60 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

So, I spent the rest of the day trying to reach him, only to hear that godforsaken voicemail prompt.

As much as I wanted to believe he was just caught up in other matters, the longer I had to consider it, the more I saw a pattern. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, and each time, I never received as much as a quick explanation.

While Andrey knew his shit when it came to running a business, his poor communication left something to be desired.

One moment, things were going well, and the strip club was exceeding expectations—it was a hit and accomplishing exactly what I needed it to; then the next, he was pulling back, giving me less to work with or going completely silent on me.

Again, I couldn’t expect him to be waiting at my beck and call, but at the same time, there was an expectation in our agreement. For his cut, he had to report back to me. He needed to be consistent, and he needed to do his job.

But as of late, his communication had been spotty at best, and that wasn’t something I could deal with long-term.

As the day came to a close and I never heard anything back from Andrey, an annoying dread settled in the pit of my stomach. That bad feeling persisted, and I wanted nothing more than for it to go away.

I didn’t know what was going on, but whatever it was, I needed an explanation from him. But first, I needed to reach him.

With everything moving forward in my life, having a wife to keep happy and a baby on the way, I didn’t need Andrey holding me up.

The fewer problems, the better. But that was on him.

Chapter 22 - Tia

It was a difficult habit to break, but ever since Val laid everything out on the table and decided the only choice we had was to commit to each other and our arrangement, I finally stopped running.

I stopped trying to cling to my resistance, even if that part was especially hard.

Regardless of how hell-bent I had been on not giving myself over to him, especially not to such a complete extent, I knew I wasn’t ever going to be able to fully escape him.

With him knowing about the pregnancy, there was no way he’d ever let me slip away.

And while it wasn’t the easiest thing to accept how our lives seemed to twist together even more, those moments of tenderness gave me the slightest hope that things could be alright between us. At least, it was enough of a balm to keep me from spiraling and questioning if embracing my role entirely was the right thing to do.

Things weren’t always perfect, but even I could appreciate all the ways Val was trying. He was displaying more patience than I openly gave him credit for.

In those past few weeks, the tension between us had mostly dwindled, and while I wouldn’t say everything was as it should be, our interactions were certainly more civil than they had been in a while.

While I was several hours deep into another painting, Val had poked his head in to let me know we were having dinner with his family. His brother Alex invited everyone over, citing that it was time we all got together.

It was clear I had no say in it, but I also wasn’t prepared to take that away from Val. Not when he seemed excited about it.

While the hours moved around me after the fact, I found it harder to focus on my work, able to feel the knots in my stomach.

I had only been around his family on a few occasions, and what I had seen of them certainly left an impression. Needless to say, they were intimidating. Even Yuri could be intense when he needed to be, regardless of how rare that was.

But before long, I went through the motions, got myself ready, and found myself approaching the impressive house at Val’s side.

The more I was immersed in his world, the more I felt like an outsider looking in, as if I would only ever be an observer. Someone who was too freaked out by it all to take too close of a look at it.

Even if Val was being honest about his dealings and everything that surrounded his family’s empire, he was still keeping a respectful distance between that part of his life and me. At the very least, it didn’t feel as suffocating because of it.

Still, I couldn’t shake the truth.

Admittedly, Val dressed impeccably, as he normally did, but there was something different about him. Like a renewed sense of confidence surrounded him and made him seem even more in control.

As much as his apparent intense side made me wary, I couldn’t deny how good that self-assurance looked on him.

Despite his calm demeanor, I felt like a tempest had been let loose within me, and I had to inwardly psych myself up.

It was just a dinner…only his family. It would be fine.

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