Page 172 of Fortress of the Heart

I stare downat my swollen belly in wonder, rubbing my hands over my now very large baby bump. I look as though I’m about to pop at any second.

Marco has loved every minute of me being pregnant. He has been the most perfect doting husband that I could have ever asked for.

We both got lucky when we found each other. Even though we met under pretty extraordinary circumstances, and there are parts of that time that I choose not to think about, I wouldn’t change it if it meant I would never get to meet Marco.

We married two years after we met, and while we’ve had our ups and downs, we’ve never looked back since that day he came to my father’s estate.

And we’ve been inseparable ever since.

I moved into the castle shortly after we were engaged.

Aleksi gave us his blessing, and while they may never be best buddies, even he can see it works between us and how in love we are. And, for the most part, there is no bad blood between our families.

I pray every day it stays that way.

I never had anything more to do with Yuri. He fled after Aleksi shut down the illegal operations he was running under the flagship of the Petrov name. Then shit went down I never want to recall, suffice to say, I’ll never see him again. Angelo Medici could have started a war. Luckily for us all, there were bigger obstacles to overcome at the time.

I never knew exactly what happened to Vlad either, but his family assumed his disappearance meant the worst since he was never seen or heard from again. I know either my father or Marco finished him off; they are not the kind of men to let something like that go. Frankly, I didn’t want to know.

In fact, I don't know who’s worse between the two families.

Marco was keen to start a family of our own immediately after we were married, but I wanted to set up my fashion label first and wait a little bit of time. After graduating, I hit the ground running and established my company in the span of three years.

With a lot of hard work and some convincing to keep the Petrovs and Medicis out of it and let me run the show, things took off, and I’ve never looked back. To do this for myself is an achievement I’m so proud of.

And while there is always room for growth and improvement, I’m happy with where I stand with everything and where the company is going.

Now that I have a competent team in place, it felt like the time for maternity leave.

Marco had always longed for children for such a long time, and after what happened with his ex, I knew those scars might never heal. But, there was one thing that I could give him, and that was a child of our own.

We had a lavish wedding with all the trimmings, it was a big deal because Marco does nothing half assed.

I didn’t care much for the fanfare, and neither did he, to be honest, but having such prominent families on either side and being who we were, we could hardly run off to Vegas and get hitched.

I think the disappointment of my Otetz not walking me down the aisle would have been too much for him.

I’m sure there are times when Aleksi Petrov, head of the Russian Bratva, can’t believe his only daughter married into the Medici Mafia clan. And there are times, too, that I have to pinch myself.

But, when all is said and done, Marco saved me that day, and he has been saving me ever since. He freed me from a fate worse than death, which was marrying a man like Vlad who would have eventually sucked my soul dry.

I glance at Marco in the bedroom mirror as I secure my earrings in place, straightening out my summer dress. It’s the day of my baby shower which Valentina has organized with the help of my overzealous friends, Ana and Monique. Yes, they still have a hand in most things I get up to, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

He walks toward me with heat in his eyes; the man is insatiable, even when I’m heavily pregnant. He can’t get enough of my body.

“You’re fucking gorgeous, do you know that?” he says, sliding his arms around my large stomach and placing his hands on either side.

I rest my head back on his shoulder and sigh. “Such a charmer, you always were.”

He chuckles.

“And I feel anything but gorgeous, believe me,” I add. “I feel like a walrus.”

“You’ve never looked so beautiful,princess. I fucking love you like this.”

“Fat and swollen?” I laugh. “You have a warped sense of beautiful my dear husband, but I love you all the same.”

He kisses me on the side of the head and doesn’t let me go. “You’re not fat or swollen, but I’d love you regardless of any of that.” He pushes his body into me, nuzzling into my neck.

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