Page 38 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

She looked genuinely relaxed, almost like she had something to look forward to.

And if it meant not having her scream at me or be angry with me all the time, then it felt like a win in my book.

“Looks like someone’s getting soft,” Yuri said, tone just as pleased as the moment he first saw my reaction. He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “This is your beast now…good luck.”

“Shut up.”

As annoying as his glee was, I focused on Tia’s joy instead, struggling to fathom how she twisted my arm so easily.

I was bending my own rules for her, and that seemed like a foreign concept entirely.

Chapter 14 - Tia

As much as I didn’t want to acknowledge it, I was starting to settle in…finding a groove regardless of how I felt about the situation.

Fortunately, I had a new friend to keep me company and to make the transition easier to handle.

It turned out that Bear really had been a stray and not just a runaway. After Val put the word out, we heard nothing, and as he said, that meant the dog was mine.

I was surprised that he went along with it, given how unimpressed he seemed about it.

I took to Bear immediately, while Val avoided him, acting like the poor thing was infectious. But he was missing out.

Even if my art room was quiet, having Bear’s presence made the silence feel less stifling, and I was grateful for his company.

With the afternoon light filtering in through the windows, I was busy with my oil paints while Bear slept on one of the armchairs set up not far from me. He snored occasionally, making me chuckle to myself.

But the sound of footsteps broke my concentration, and upon looking up, I found Val entering the room.

My heart faltered for a moment—the briefest hint of disappointment, knowing my peace was likely about to be ruined.

But at the same time, the sight of Val wearing his dark slacks and that navy button-up made my stomach flutter.

As much as I wanted to pretend otherwise, he was still gorgeous…things would be so much easier if he wasn’t.

Val’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before quietly entering the room. “I thought I’d find you in here…”

“Like usual.”

He hummed, moving towards the chair. He sighed and gestured for the dog to move. “Down, Bear.”

With an annoyed-sounding huff, Bear got up almost reluctantly and hopped down before heading to the door and slipping out with the quiet padding of his paws against the hardwood floor.

Then, Val lowered himself into the chair and tapped his fingers against the armrest before glancing at me.

Despite his presence, I took a discreet breath and tried to focus on my work, not the way his eyes kept trailing over to me.

“Business has been going well,” Val said after a few moments of silence while he looked out one of the windows.

Eyes flickering over to him, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion moved through me. “Is it, now?”

He nodded before meeting my gaze. “It is. I’ve been making good progress with your dad at the strip club. It’s all coming together.”

Nodding in response, I found my thoughts drifting, wondering why he was telling me about it in the first place. He never shared that kind of thing with me before.

As much as I didn’t want to just stand there silently behind the easel, I didn’t know how to respond, or what he was trying to get at.

“You know,” Val began after a moment, letting the faintest smirk spread across his face. “I was thinking I could bring you along sometime…let you see what we’ve done.”

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