Page 65 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

Andrey had promised Tommaso to Tia…and he likely did it after I refused the offer the first time. As a result, it seemed Francesco was prepared to do anything in his power to get some sort of revenge.

Then, I was reminded of that moment in the club when Tommaso had been all over Tia.

It was clear neither he nor his father were over what happened, and with that in mind, it only made that memory feel more insidious.

Tommaso obviously felt that he had some kind of claim over Tia, and that thought alone was enough to make me squeeze my fists to keep from lashing out.

With a heavy breath, Daniil tucked his gun away and glanced at me. “Well…I guess we have our answer now. That partner of yours has some things to explain, it seems.”

He was right; Andrey and I were due to have a long conversation, and I had the feeling he wasn’t going to like it.

When I partnered with him, I agreed to the arrangement in good faith. It was to prove I intended to hold up my end of the deal. In no way was it something I needed to do, but I did it anyway.

In return, he was supposed to do what I expected of him. Not send another family after my ass in retribution.

The thought of him even wagering Tia in an arranged marriage with someone else had my blood boiling. Worse still, Tommaso, assuming he had every right to try and take her from me, set off a different kind of fury in me.

Tia was my wife, the mother of my child, and I wasn’t planning on letting go of her anytime soon, regardless of who was offended by our marriage.

It was clear I had to do something to subdue the Gallo family, but my first step was confronting Andrey.

One way or another, he wasn’t going to be able to avoid me for long.

Chapter 24 - Tia

I knew Val was trying to maintain a brave face about something, but I couldn’t place exactly what it was.

Either way, it was obvious something had been eating at him over the last few days. He wasn’t being as warm as usual or telling me about how the club was progressing.

Instead, I could feel the heavy silence between us throughout dinner.

It wasn’t like him to be withdrawn or distant…not when that had been my role before.

More times than not, he was the one prompting me to share what my day was like or how I was feeling, but for some reason, he was quiet.

At first, I wondered if I had done something to upset him, but it didn’t seem targeted at me.

It was easy to see the rigidness of his jaw throughout the meal, or the way he didn’t look at me much, like he was too deep in his head to be aware of his surroundings.

I had hoped he would just come out with it and tell me what was on his mind, but even after several days, nothing seemed to change, and he still hadn’t said anything.

When I got up to rinse my dishes and load them into the dishwasher, I decided I couldn’t sit in that silence any longer.

I needed to know what was going on with him and how I could help if possible.

Eventually, Val did the same and put his dishes away while I lingered there. Once his hands were empty, I took a step towards him and reached for his hand.

“Everything alright?” I asked gently, noting the way he didn’t pull away.

Instead, Val let out a quiet breath and nodded, bringing me a bit closer.

“I’m fine,” he murmured. While it sounded convincing, given how his expression seemed too tense for that to be true, I didn’t believe him.

“Are you sure? You’ve been quieter than usual,” I persisted, trying to be as encouraging as possible, not wanting to push him further into that withdrawn state of his.

“I’m sure,” he returned quietly with a hint of exhaustion in his tone while he wrapped both arms around me, allowing me to share in his warmth. “There’s been a lot going on at work lately, and I’m trying to stay on top of it all. I’m just tired.”

While it very well could’ve been true, I still had the feeling he wasn’t being entirely truthful with me.

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