Page 23 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

The ring around my finger felt like a tool to mock me, and I couldn’t look down at it without feeling my stomach twist.

It spoke of my dad’s cruel decision and Val’s victory over me.

Eventually, the vehicle pulled up to a not-so-humble place that spoke entirely of the wealth his family possessed, and the driver cut the engine.

I still couldn’t feel my legs while I sat there for a moment longer, noting as Val wordlessly got out. A moment later, my door opened, and he was there, looking at me expectantly.

“Well?” he asked, gesturing for me to give him my hand.

As much as I didn’t want to comply with him, I also didn’t want to sit there a moment longer than I needed to with him closer than necessary.

Just barely stopping myself from muttering under my breath, I accepted his hand, and he smoothly pulled me out of the car.

Val’s hand found the small of my back once again, causing me to freeze up immediately, tensing while he guided me toward the opulent front door.

I had no doubt he noticed how rigid I was, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he maintained that slight hold on me, whether it was a bid for control or an attempt at soothing me.

Regardless, it was unwanted.

Clenching my jaw while we moved across the driveway, I muttered, “Don’t expect me to comply with whatever you want. I’m not a trophy, and I’m not your obedient little wife.”

Even if I didn’t look in his direction, I still felt his gaze on me.

“Youaremy wife, but I certainly don’t expect you to give in without a fight,” Val murmured, dipping his face closer to mine with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Besides…your resistance is something I like about you.”

Even if the admission caught me off guard, I scoffed to myself and continued walking, refusing to look at him. Another man by the door opened it up for us, and I went in first with my arms crossed, feeling ridiculous in that stupid dress.

As I stormed ahead, having no idea where I was going, I heard the sound of Val’s chuckle behind me.

He was such a smug asshole…

I didn’t have a choice in our marriage, but I wasn’t about to give all of myself to him. Never.

While he could force my hand, he couldn’t make me like him, and he certainly wasn’t going to find the wife he wanted in me.

I was going to keep my distance, no matter the circumstances.

He wasn’t going to win. Not completely.

Chapter 9 - Val

A week had come and gone since the wedding, and in all honesty, I had no idea what to do with myself or all of the pent-up agitation inside me.

I was restless, like I was wound up too tight, and I was just waiting to implode. It gnawed at me in the pit of my stomach, and it only seemed to get worse the longer I was around her.

Tia’s presence in the house was constant and maddening, looming over me, dangling there like a treat I couldn’t have.

It’s not that I didn’t want her near me. The opposite was true.

I wanted her more than anything. I needed her, and something about that was incredibly frustrating, especially given how she wanted nothing to do with me.

Initially, I thought I’d be able to get over it, and that with time, that need would calm down.

But of course, that was far from the truth.

While I knew well enough going into it that she would try to avoid me, I didn’t anticipate just how incredible she was at exactly that.

I did my best to go about my business and to seem unbothered by it, but every time I came across her somewhere in the house, I couldn’t help the way my resolve faltered.

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