Page 58 of Cruel Bratva King

“I want to hurt her for hurting you, but I can’t because she’s a woman.” His jaw twitched. “I won’t let it go if she says some nasty shit to you again, though.”

A smile pulled the corner of my lips. “Don’t worry about Giulia. I won’t let her get to me that easily next time. You might not know this, but I have a smart mouth and the darndest clap backs ever.”

Sergey snorted a short laugh. “Yeah, I’m just finding out you have a smart mouth,” he joked. “Good to know.”

Would our morning be like this if Sergey and I were a normal couple? Would we be the first person we saw when we woke up from sleep and the last before they fell asleep? I wondered if things could have truly worked out between us.

Most of all, I wondered why we needed to be a normal couple before we could work things out.

Sergey has been gentle and understanding with me. I shouldn’t have lost my shit yesterday, either. I didn’t want him to kill Derrick, but Derrick deserved his own karma for hurting me the way he did and trying to touch me when I didn’t want him to. My anger at Sergey yesterday really wasn’t justified.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” I heard myself say, lowering my eyes to avoid making contact with his. “I overreacted. Derrick was an asshole and deserved a beating.”

Sergey stayed silent for a while, regarding me with soft eyes. “You shouldn’t be sorry,moy tsvetok,” he finally said. “I understand you’re not used to this world or how it works. But I have one less death on my hands and it’s because of you.”

I gave him my purest, undiluted smile. It was hard to think that in the whole of the planet, this rock-faced man was so kind and gentle with me. He cared for me; I wondered if he knew it yet. It was fine if he didn’t, but I wasn’t going to try and run from him anymore. I was going to stay beside him and give him a chance.

Everyone deserved a chance, and Sergey was no exception.

Chapter 26 - Lilianna

“Boss bought these for you,” Marina said, handing a designer shopping bag and jewelry box to me. “He wants you to wear them tonight.”

It had been a month since the attack. The mansion had been quiet and ghostly for my liking because Sergey was mostly always away from home. He’d been busy trying to strengthen his territories and planning a way to take out the Italians.

He’d also positioned more bodyguards around the house and refused for me to go anywhere outside the mansion until the war ended. Safe to say, I’d been bored out of my mind for the last four weeks, but I didn’t have it in me to complain.

Sergey probably had it tougher than I did. In addition to losing nine men in the same night, some of his shipments were stolen, and he had only been able to get half of them back so far.

It broke my heart that I couldn’t help him much, but when I could, I helped him make calculations and suggest new ideas for business. My assistance probably wasn’t much, though, since I was more courtroom-oriented than business, but I enjoyed the small smile he gave me when I made my suggestions.

I took the bag from her, maintaining eye contact. “What are these?”

“Clothes,” she replied simply. Marina still preferred to keep conversations with me simple and she barely gave a cue of her emotions through her facial expressions, which I now believed was a Russian thing. Yet, I could feel we’d gotten closer over the month. Her tone was softer when she spoke to me, and her eyes suffused with glee too.

I poured the contents of the bag on the bed. There was a glimmering red dress, a white designer purse, and a pair of white heels from the same designer. Opening the jewelry box, I gaped at the diamond ring and necklace sparkling inside.

“What’s happening tonight?” I gasped, stunned and pleased at the same time. This was my first gift from Sergey. I was excited but tried not to show it. Marina would think I was crazy if I did.

She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I heard there’s a dinner party somewhere. I think he wants to bring you with him.” Those were the most words I had heard her say in a span of thirty seconds. “He’s coming to pick you up by seven.”

I bit down the smile, trying to climb up my throat. “I’ll get ready.”

Marina nodded and started for the door. When she reached it, she grabbed the handle and turned to face me. “Don’t bother hiding your excitement; it’s clear and loud.”

Shit! She caught me.

I allowed my smile to split my face. Raw volcano heat romanced my cheeks, and I bit down on my lower lips. “Was it that obvious?”

A ghost of a smile ran over her lips. “Very.” She opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

Once the door shut behind her, I jolted up from the bed. Taking the dress, I went to the standing mirror in the corner of the room and placed it on my bed. It was a backless, silky dress with thin straps and it reached below my ankle. Without heels, it would sweep the floor when I walked.

The dress was simple, but the fabric had rich quality. I was certain it cost hundreds of dollars, if not more. It had gatherings by the sides that would work well to conceal my bump. I was three months in now, and though it wasn’t very obvious, my stomach had started to protrude.

I tapped my belly light, my lips wide with a sheepish smile. “Guess what, baby. Your daddy bought me a dress today, and it’s beautiful.”

Sergey had a great fashion sense, and I couldn’t deny that. A bit of jealousy grew in my chest as I pondered how he was so good at picking out a dress. I didn’t know anything about his previous relationships, but I assumed this was something he’d done in the past.

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