Page 13 of The Bratva's Bride

“Yes, this way Miss,” Benjamin said, gesturing for me to go ahead of him.

Tim led the way with Benjamin covering the back, and me in the middle.

The huge hallway was lined with many doors on one side while the other were just windows. From the looks of it, it seemed like we were on the second floor, or maybe a third judging from the distance to the ground, but I couldn’t be sure.

Upon exiting the hallway to a grand staircase, I could see the hall I came out of was one of few on the second floor.

Just how huge is this place?

I could count four long and large hallways including the one I came from, and I could see the other hallways were lined on both sides with doors and skylines.

Following the guards, I continued down the stairs into a foyer before turning away from the front door to a spacious living area where all the brothers, minus one, were spread around the area. One of them stood by the window while two of them were seated at different couches. Then the man I was looking for, myhusband, was seated in a black leather armchair.

The four of them stopped their conversation the moment my presence was noticed, all of them giving me friendly—or what appeared to be—smiles. “Angel, how are you feeling?” Nikolai asked as he beckoned me over with his hand.

Chewing my bottom lip, I cautiously walked over, shivering a bit at the way he eyed me hungrily. “I didn’t have anything else to put on... So sorry for borrowing whoever’s shirt this is.” I assumed it was Nikolai’s because why would I wake up in anyone else’s room.

“You can wear my shirts whenever you want Angel.” His deep voice came out low as he wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me close to him.

“How long was I out? What time is it? What day is it? Where am I?” It was obvious it was daytime from the brightness shining through the huge windows of the living area.

As I remained standing next to him, I kept my curious and wary eyes trained on him. “Just a few hours, you have been asleep ever since the car last night. It’s only a little past 9 AM right now on Friday, August tenth. You’re at the Volkov Estate.” He answered calmly while rubbing my waist with his thumb.

Letting out a deep breath, I calmed myself a little. “Any chance you can ditch the guards on me? I don’t need them.” It was a long shot, but I had to try.

"So, you can run away? Get your nose into things you shouldn't and report back to your side?" One of the brothers, Lev, I think his name was, spoke up. He had a rugged appearance, shorter than Nikolai but with a wider, more muscular build, and scars on his forearms visible through his black button-up shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He also had a nasty scar running from his hairline down past his lips.

"I'm not going to run away, as tempting as it is. I value my father's life too much to risk it. And you don't have to worry about me sharing information with my stepmother; she's the last person I want to inform unless it's about her children suffering a horrible death. Like I said last night, you don't have to question my loyalty to any of you. Unconventional marriage or not, it's a done deal. Unless Nikolai gives me a reason to think otherwise, I'm loyal to him." The enemy of my enemy is my friend at the very least.

Once again, at least it was Nikolai I would be stuck with until the end of time, so it couldn’t be too bad. So far, he didn’t seem like a domestic abuser, but if he did turn out that way then I’d handle him myself. I might not have known him long, or at all, but I got a sense he was a good man. Well, as good of a man as a man can be in this profession.

“Wait, stepmother?” Stepan questioned. At least I could tell him apart from the others easily because his hair was the lightest amongst the brothers, almost blonde.

“Yes, stepmother. Honestly, you guys should have said no to the deal unless it was one of her actual daughters being promised.” Using me as a bargaining chip would be her undoing, I would make sure of it.

I didn’t even correct them last night when I saw they had the wrong name down for me. Qing wasn’t my last name, it never was. My mother wanted me to be kept out of my father’s business, so they had both agreed I would take on my mother’s maiden name instead. So, technically, the marriage could be considered null and void if I argued enough.

"So, this truce is moot then? You're just a useless body?" Lev sneered, walking away from the window and stalking towards me with angry eyes.

Clicking my tongue out of annoyance, I glared at him and took a step towards him. I wasn’t afraid of him, even if he was more than twice my size. One well-placed strike and he would be out for the count. “Call me a useless body again and you’ll wish you’d never did. The truce is not nulled or anything, it’s rocky at best though because I’m not her legitimate daughter, so she had no right to do what she did. The truce is intact because I am the heiress to my father’s empire, and I still hold my title as temporary head of the triad in my father’s absence.”

“Isn’t Lady Qing the one in charge while your father is unable?” Stepan questioned with wary eyes.

“Only because I let her, but I’m still technically the right head currently on my father’s orders. As much as I don’t want to be head in my father’s absence, I rather grit my teeth and stave through it than give it all over to my stepmother. If she had full control, then this city would be on fire. Only reason why half the shit she does goes through is because she’s bought most of the men’s loyalties and employed her own. I’ve stopped what I can, but it’s getting hard to keep a hold of things when barely a quarter of the men there are still truly loyal to me.” Which is why I started to try and tear down her twisted empire before it can fully bloom.

If there was any indication it was all salvageable then I would have done so in order to carry out my father’s wishes of succeeding his mystery successor—after figuring out who the fuck it was. Unfortunately, with how things were going, it seemed more beneficial to burn everything to the ground. I didn’t want my father’s successor to take over with the number of dishonest members there were. Even if we did do some house cleaning, the few left would leave the triad more vulnerable than a newborn child to a pack of hungry wolves.

“She’s also going to keep the truce up until she can effectively find a way to get rid of me and my father. As of now, if my father dies, I am to take up the mantle of Dragon Head officially. She also can’t kill me right now because nearly all of my father’s assets are in my name or to be given to me upon his death. So, she’s kind of stuck in a tough spot right now, which is why I think she’ll keep up the truce until she can figure out some other twisted plan to get her nasty claws into everything.” She needed this truce to ensure the Volkovs won’t try a takeover, that’s my sense of this whole arrangement.

If the Volkovs made a move, the triad would be doomed to fall to their mercy. Lady Qing would lose everything. I hated to admit it, but she was a conniving and smart bitch when it came to getting what she wanted.

“Either way, I’m not going to run, doubt I’d get very far before I get my ass hauled back here and get put in lockdown. I ain’t going to stick my nose in anything and report to whoever. Why the hell would I want to tear down my own husband’s empire? I’m not going to do any wrong to or by Nikolai.” Divorce was an option in the future possibly, but who knows, maybe this will work out without blowing up in my face. So, until death do us part, or divorce do us part. I intend on being by Nikolai’s side through everything and do right by him.

“Besides it being a trust issue, which you can understand, they are also for your protection, Angel. I know you can handle yourself, last night being a very clear example, but no one here goes anywhere without at least one guard. You’re going to have a lot more enemies once word gets out that you are my wife, Angel. So, no, the guards stay, no compromise on that.” The seriousness of Nikolai’s voice made it clear to me that this was one of those things where compromise would never happen. His word was law on this matter.

Groaning out of annoyance, I turned my head towards Nikolai. “So what? They’re just going to follow me around the hospital too?” Because it wouldn’t fly one bit. “I’m not going to give up my job just because I’m married to you now. If you think that I’m going to sit pretty at home and play housewife, then you’ve got another thing coming for you bucko.” He won’t compromise on the guards, and I won’t ever compromise on my job because God knows it’s the only thing that keeps me sane.

“I figured a little firecracker like you wouldn’t be the housewife type. You can keep your job, for now, the guards will stay outside unless told otherwise by you or me or any of my brothers.” Well, it seems like that was it. I won’t argue or try to argue with him on the matter since it wasn’t too bad of a solution.

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