Page 53 of Bratva Bride

"Of course I do, but I try not to think about it. About. . . her."

I could understand that, but it was a little harder for me. With my wedding mere days away, it was even more painfully obvious she wasn't here. This was something I had always envisioned her being a part of, right up until the day she died.

No, was murdered.

Just the thought of her not being here to see me get married, to meet Arturo, made my heart ache with so much sadness it felt like it would break me.

"I wish I could do that," I whispered as I cracked a few eggs into a frying pan.

The sound of the eggs sizzling and popping as they cooked helped distract me from the conversation I wished to God we weren't having right now.

Lukyan seemed to sense I needed a distraction, so he changed the subject.

"Where's your fiancé?" he sneered, making a face.

I chuckled and flipped the eggs. "What's your deal with him? Why do you hate him so much? I don't get it, what'd he do to you?"

He shrugged his shoulders and grumbled, "I don't hate him. Just don't like his face."

I laughed out loud, transferring the eggs to a plate and putting on a few more. "It's because he's prettier than you, isn't it?"

With his long, dark hair, his deep brown eyes, high cheekbones and chiselled jaw, Lukyan's always been known as 'The Pretty Boy' of the family. My guess? He doesn't like having someone steal his thunder.

Fuck, he can be so childish sometimes. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Being the youngest boy, mum used to spoil him rotten when he was a kid.

"No," he snapped, "and I'm not pretty, I'm handsome. Men don't like being called pretty," he scoffed.

"Uh-huh," I chuckled.

I put the remaining eggs on the plate and started cooking some bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes. The smells enveloped me, making my stomach rumble and my mouth water.

"Since when do you make breakfast? Usually you get the maids to do it."

True, I hardly ever cooked my own food anymore. Why do it when you had people to do it for you? That's my opinion anyway. But this time, I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to be the one to cook Arturo's breakfast.

"Since now."

Lukyan got to his feet and took a seat back in his chair just as Christian and Luca walked into the kitchen. My new bodyguards. Part of me was still a little ticked off about having them, but my father insisted it was a good idea, and I've never once known him to be wrong.

They were gorgeous men, both with dark hair and blue eyes. They stood at about 6'4, with broad shoulders and a muscular build. The fact that they were identical twins was pretty cool.

I transferred the bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes to a plate as Christian and Luca made their way over to me. They both bowed slightly.

"Ma'am," one of them said, and I had to repress my wince.

I knew he was only being polite but I hated being called 'Ma'am'. It made me feel old.

The other twin, the one that didn't speak, tried to subtly kick the other in the shin, but it couldn't have been anymore obvious.

"I mean, Miss Volkov," the first twin corrected, and I chuckled.

"Good morning, Christian, Luca. Would you like some breakfast?" I moved around the kitchen, putting a few slices of bread into the toaster.

They gave me a look of surprise, their mouths dropping open slightly.

"Yes, thank you, Ma'am-Miss Volkov," the first twin quickly corrected.

I pointed to the kitchen table and both men moved to take a seat next to Lukyan.

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