Page 96 of Pregnant Bratva Wife
“I know that, too.”
“And I can’t just forgive what you did.”
“I’m not asking you to.” He led me to the living room couch, keeping his arm around me as if he were afraid I might bolt. Maybe I would have if I’d had the energy. But he was being so good, so gentle. I kept the fact that I was with his child from him, and he still put me first. “I’m just asking you to stay. To give me a chance to make things right.”
I sank into the familiar cushions, suddenly aware of how exhausted I was. “The doctor said the spotting was normal. Nothing to worry about.”
“The doctor told me.” He sat beside me. We sat in silence for a while, neither of us saying a word, taking in this new reality.
I looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since the hospital. There were shadows under his eyes, and he looked rumpled as a human being, like he hadn’t been sleeping well.
“Why did you do it?” I asked quietly. “And don’t say because you wanted me. That’s not enough.”
He was quiet for so long, I thought he might not answer. Then he sighed.
“When my parents died, everything fell apart. Caspian was barely an adult himself, but suddenly he had to step up, take care of all of us, and run the family business. He was drowning.” Federico’s eyes were distant, seeing a past I couldn’t. “I was sixteen. The second oldest. And I knew if I didn’t help, we’d lose everything.”
I listened, silent, as he continued.
“So I became the one he could count on. The enforcer. The one who did what needed to be done without question.I became the steady one, the rock he could lean on.” His jaw tightened. “That meant no weakness. No vulnerability. Just control. Always control.”
“That must have been hard,” I said softly. “You were just a child.”
He shrugged. “It was life. I learned that if I made the right moves, I got what I wanted. Always. By any means necessary. And for us to survive as a family? We had to have our way. That became who I was.” He looked at me, his dark eyes intense. “Until you.”
“Me?”
“You turned me down.” He gave a rueful smile. “Do you have any idea how rare that is in my world? People don’t say no to me, Autumn. But you did. And I didn’t know how to handle that.”
“So you manipulated me,” I said, the hurt still fresh.
“Yes.” He didn’t try to soften it. “I saw what I wanted, and I took it the only way I knew how. It was wrong. I know that now. But...” He paused, as if weighing his next words carefully. “If I’m being completely honest, I’d do it again.”
I stiffened. “What?”
“Not the same way,” he clarified quickly. “I’d tell you the truth sooner. Much sooner. But I don’t regret that you became my wife. I don’t regret a single moment with you. And that terrifies me, because it means I’m still the selfish bastard who put you in this position in the first place.”
I stared at him, shocked by his honesty. This wasn’t the Federico I knew—the man who always seemed to know exactly what to say, as if he’d planned every conversation in his head. This was someone new. Someone raw and real.
And I realized this wasn’t a tactic. This wasn’t control. This was him, letting meseehim.
The side no one else got. The one who’d always carried the weight for everyone else, and never asked anyone to carry his.
I leaned forward, and the look of sheer surprise on his face made my heart clench. Had I truly been so cruel that he began to believe I would never touch him again? I brushed my fingertips along his jaw. “Why are you opening up to me now?”
His voice dropped. “Because I don’t want to lie to you again. Not ever.” The words fell between us, simple and true. “And because I’m trying to be better. For you. For...” His eyes dropped to my stomach. “For both of you.”
I swallowed hard.
In that moment, I knew the man in front of me wasn’t perfect. He was flawed, bruised by a lifetime of having to be the strong one. But right now, he was choosing me over pride.
And I could feel it—this quiet shift between us.
I leaned in, pressing my forehead to his.
He reached out slowly and brushed a strand of hair from my face, his eyes locked on mine. “I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight. But I need you to know that I mean it. I won’t lie to you again, Autumn. And I will spend every day proving that to you, if you’ll let me.”
I should have been stronger. Should have kept my walls up. But when he looked at me like that, with those dark eyes that saw right through me, I couldn’t remember all the reasons I was supposed to stay angry.
