Page 67 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

The kiss was warm regardless of the tension coiled within him, and I felt the subtle shiver that scurried down my spine as a result.

“I’d tell you not to be up too late, but I know how invested in your work you can get,” Val said, showing a slight flicker of his usual self for as long as he could muster it. “Goodnight.”

He gave me another quick peck before letting go and heading out of the room.

“Goodnight,” I murmured, still aware of the lingering uncertainty in my chest.

Before long, I heard his tired steps moving up the stairs, and I took a deep breath to try and reassure myself.

Once the kitchen was sorted and I turned off the main light, I made my way upstairs to my art room. Bear followed me diligently and slipped into the space with his usual enthusiasm.

When he jumped into the chair and curled up, prepared to stick around for as long as I’d be painting, I scratched between his ears and gave him a small smile.

Then, I pulled my stool up to the easel and got started, continuing my most recent piece.

I had quite a few already, and more than enough contenders to feature in my upcoming showcase, but to be sure of my choices, I wanted to have a wide variety to choose from.

While the usual motions soothed me further, allowing me to get lost in the process, my mind wandered back to our moment in the kitchen.

Even if Val was more withdrawn than usual, he didn’t reject my touch or the comfort I tried to provide, but it still wasn’t enough to completely put me at ease.

Beneath the stoic mask, it was obvious something deeper was bothering him, and I hated thinking about how that affected him beyond what I could see.

As much as I tried not to dwell on it, or the fact that he had been vague on purpose, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from wandering.

Not having every detail of his work shared with me was to be expected, but the thought of our life always being like that sucked out some of my enthusiasm.

I didn’t want to get used to him keeping me at arm’s length and not opening up to me, despite how it would likely help him feel better.

No part of me had wanted to be involved with anything related to his family’s business before, but something in me still wanted to be in the loop. Knowing we had a child on the way, and our futures were going to be intertwined for as long as possible, put more of that pressure on me.

If I was going to be his wife and the mother of his child, then I just wanted to be let in on the bare minimum—enough for me to be able to support him however I could.

The more I understood, the better I could be to him.

I didn’t want to be like Mom…who never asked. Never showed any interest in how my dad was doing.

As far as their relationship went, they were two people living under the same roof who also happened to be married with a child between them.

There was never any warmth from her. No tenderness, and certainly no support.

That coldness was hard enough for me to bear before, and I didn’t want to perpetuate that myself.

When the thoughts were harder for me to block out, I put my paintbrush down and placed a hand over the small swell of my belly.

Closing my eyes, I made a silent promise to the little one growing inside me that, regardless of what happened or what Val would let me in on, they would never know the disconnected upbringing I had.

Even with the work Val and his family did, even with the dangers that came with it, I wouldn’t subject our child to that same fate.

I still wasn’t fully accepting of the path he was on, but I knew I couldn’t change it.

I could only do my best to fulfill my promise to our baby and hope that his exploits wouldn’t drag us all down.

Chapter 25 - Val

Regardless of everything I had going on behind the scenes, between the Gallo family causing more disruptions and Andrey being radio silent, Tia had been working incredibly hard on her art, and I didn’t want to detract from her night.

Finally, her showcase rolled around, and it provided a more than suitable escape from my usual headache.

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