Page 34 of Plus-Size Bride Forced By the Bratva
The silence was heavy, and all of them just sat there, staring at me with blank expressions on their mean faces. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t move. I just let my words sink in and do their magic.
The older man leaned back in his chair, fingers stroking his jawline as he held my gaze.
One of the men who had been silent the whole time finally spoke. “I hate to agree with the girl, but you can’t argue with her logic.”
“The girl is right,” said another, almost grudgingly.
Lev lounged in his chair, slow and deliberate, his eyes fixed on me like a hook to a fish. His expression was blank—no smile or even a sign of approval. But beneath his icy stare, there was a flicker of pride.
When the meeting was over, before Lev and I stepped outside, I glanced back at the older man, and he smiled at me. It wasn’t creepy or scary. It was just simple, raw, and true. I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of that.
On the drive home, the car’s cabin was thick with a blend of his cologne and my perfume. I sat in the front passenger seat, eyes fixed on the road as if I was unaffected by the awkward silence between us.
I thought we should discuss the package from the other day and what it meant. But Lev didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk to me. Not that his silence was enough to stop me from bringing up the topic if I wanted to.
Despite his usual coldness, I felt like something was different about the way he looked at me. There was a flutter in my chest, a small spark of something that shouldn’t matter. I couldn’t help feeling like Lev was starting to become more than just some misogynistic prick.
He wasn’t the man who manipulated me into becoming his wife. Not really. Lev was something else now, and that something scared the living daylights out of me in ways I wasn’t ready to face.
Chapter 16 —Lev
“Wait. Let’s see if I get this straight,” Alexei began, fingers deftly solving a Rubik’s Cube. “So you’re telling us that you took your wife—a woman you don’t really like, by the way—to a Bratva meeting? And not only that, but she also actually contributed to the conversation?” His brows arched, disbelief lacing his tone.
At my desk, I poured myself another glass of vodka despite already having drunk too much. I was intoxicated, yet I kept the shots coming. It was the only way I could escape the guilt of gradually becoming something I wasn’t.
The office was dimly lit, the air thick with tension and smoke, blending with the scent of alcohol. I leaned back in my chair, my gaze shifting across the faces of my friends. They all stared at me in shock after explaining to them what had happened at the last Bratva meeting.
My cousin, Nikolai, was as silent as ever, lounging on a sofa by the bookshelf with a cigarette between his fingers. Smoke curled around his face, and his legs were crossed in a pose that radiated confidence and power.
Alexei was leaning against the wall, his tie sagging around his neck as he played with the Rubik’s Cube.
“Who would’ve thought that I’d live long enough to see Lev Tarasov grow soft over a woman.” Lui snickered, seated in the visitor’s chair directly across from me. He looked directly at me and, puzzled, said, “You were so worried about her that you couldn’t risk leaving her behind. So, you decided to take her with you. Wow! Change really is unavoidable.”
Alexei laughed. “And to think she was actually your younger brother’s woman. I don’t think she had this much effect on Viktor.”
It was supposed to be a joke. But I didn’t find it funny. The scowl on my face revealed my displeasure. “This is the part where you brittle your tongue,” I warned him, my voice a low whisper.
A momentary silence fell, and hidden glances were exchanged.
“What’s the matter with you, man? Can’t take a joke anymore?” Lui asked me, raising an eyebrow.
I didn’t respond; I couldn’t risk my words escalating the situation, so I drained the vodka down my throat in one single shot.
“I don’t know about you people, but I believe Lev needs help,” Alexei said, combing his fingers through his blond hair.
“I don’t need help.” My response was swift and defensive.
He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what someone who needs help would say.”
“He’s right,” Nikolai said, finally deciding to join the conversation. “Youdoneed help.”
My eyes narrowed as I furrowed my brows. “Why?” I gave him a stern glare. “Because I wanted to keep her safe?”
“Because you’re starting to care too deeply about that woman,” said Lui.
That woman is my wife!I thought to myself, furious at the unexpected turn this conversation was taking.
“According to what you’ve told us, it sounds like you’ve gone soft on her,” Alexei said.
