Page 39 of Cruel Bratva King

The thought of losing Lilianna was a knife buried deep in my heart. The pain that came with that thought was excruciating. Maddening. I’d bring the whole fucking world to its knees if I ever lost her.

My pulse pounded in my chest when the nurses wheeled her away. An hour later, one of the doctors came to find me outside. She was a nerdy, middle-aged black woman. “Hi, I’m Dr. Peterson. Are you Ms. Anderson’s guardian?”

“I’m her husband,” I replied. “How is she?”

“Fortunately, you brought her in before she got worse. It could’ve been critical, but she’s fine.”

Relief washed over me, and I inhaled deeply. “Can I see her now?”

Dr. Peterson smiled and nodded. “You can, but first, I have to discuss her condition with you. Are you aware she’s pregnant?”

“I am.”

“Her stress levels are very high, and she’d shown signs of miscarriage. She may lose the baby if this happens a second time.”

I palmed my head, disgusted at myself for being a bastard. I’d put her through a lot for the past two days, and I hadn’t thought to get her checked by a doctor. I noticed something was off when I came home this evening.

It was only seven p.m., and she was asleep already. I’d thought she was fatigued from spending the whole day at the shopping complex. I had no idea she was sick. “How do I prevent this from happening?”

“She needs proper rest first, and then she needs to register for prenatal care.”

“I’ll make sure she does all of that.”

“Good. She’s asleep now, but you can stay by her side until she wakes up. Have a good evening.” The doctor walked off, and I entered Lilianna’s hospital room, stalling by the door for several seconds.

Her lips were a dull shade of pink, and the flush of her skin hadn’t returned yet. She was peacefully asleep, but I was withering watching her and thinking of how much pain she’d been in earlier. I couldn’t let that happen again. I couldn’t lose Lilianna or our baby.

I walked inside the room, sat by her bed, and watched her sleep. She didn’t wake up until the next morning.

She first tore her eyes open and glanced around, taking in her environment. “What happened?” she asked weakly. “Why am I here?”

“Are you okay?” I examined every part of her body I could see through her hospital gown. “You almost had a miscarriage last night.”

She gasped. “The baby. How’s the baby Sergey?” Fear flashed across her eyes as she tried to raise herself from the bed, but I held her down.

“Hey.” I took her hands and squeezed them tightly in mine. They were so small and cold. “The baby is fine. The doctor said you just need a lot of rest, and you’ll be as good as new.”

Lilianna rested her back on the bed reluctantly. I knew from the troubled look on her face that she didn’t believe me, not completely, at the least.

Stretching a hand out, I patted her hair gently. My wife looked so weak and fragile that my veins twitched just looking at her. I didn’t like seeing her this way. I preferred it when she argued with me without a glint of fear in her eyes instead.

“Nothing will happen to our baby. We won’t lose our baby, Sergey, will we?”

I kissed the back of her hand and forced a smile through the affliction raging in my chest. “We won’t. I promise.” Times like this were the moments when the scary realization hit me. I ran the city of Chicago, I owned the city and every fucking person in it, yet there were things beyond my control.

Things like my parents’ death.

And this moment.

It wouldn’t happen again, though. It was a promise. I’d take a stroll to hell and back to earth before I allowed Lilianna to go through something like this. I was going to keep her and our baby safe with every last drop of brutal blood in me.

A pool of sadness bled into Lilianna’s eyes. She sniffled and turned away from me, facing the wall. “I met Giulia today,” she muttered.

My fists clenched at the mention of Giulia’s name, and I could feel a tornado of rage travel through my veins. Giulia meeting Lilianna in my absence was bad news; nothing good could come from it.

I’d warned her never to come around my manor, but the fucking bitch never listened. “What did she say to you?” I went straight to the question that needed to be asked. Giulia, like her father, was a dirty player. I could bet it on my soul that she’d said something that reeked of vileness to Lilianna.

“You’re using me, and you’ll kill me after you’ve had enough of me.” She took a deep breath and rolled over to face me. “I don’t know much about the mafia, Sergey, but I know the importance of an heir in a world like yours.

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