Page 44 of Pregnant Bratva Possession

She pushed the bunch of keys into her bag and walked away. I stared and stared, folded my fists, and cursed under my breath. She was so fucking stubborn; it irked me. “Mariana.”

“If you still want to know what happened, ask the trees. Or the streetlight poles. Maybe they’ll say something. But I’m not talking,” she said with her back to me. I caught up with her, blocking her path.

“Don’t make me ask you...”

“Fine! It’s you, Vlad,” her voice reechoed through the empty space and bounced off the surrounding walls. “It’s your engagement to Sophia! And something stupid that happened at work. A contract was terminated, over a dozen paintings were returned, and that’s it. I’ve got a pout on my face because I’m not happy. But it’s life, and shit happens. Right? Tomorrow’s another day; I’ll move on.”

My heart burned even more at the sight of her stress, and I was uneasy, knowing I was the reason behind it. I wasn’t sure when I said it, but the words went flying out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“When it comes to you, Mariana, nothing’s stupid.”

The silence crept in between us, enveloping us in one tight, uncomfortable cage. I cleared my throat, then opened my mouth and closed them again. Speaking was so fucking difficult; and it didn’t help that her eyes teared up. She sniffled. Handling crying women had never been my specialty.

“Moya zvezda...”

She wiped her nose and held up a hand midair. “I’m fine.”

“No,” I stepped closer and took her hand. “You’re not.”

“I will be.”

I tilted my head to the side, wishing I could figure her out. But I was fucking clueless. It wasn’t what she said, but the way she said it that spurred the sudden urge to pleaseher.To make sureshewas okay. I’d never felt such a rush of emotions before. It was new, thrilling, and unsettling.

“I’ll do whatever you want to do, if that makes you happy.”

The sniffling stopped and she peered at me through hooded eyes. The kind that showed unbelief.

“I’m serious,” I added, for emphasis, and to convince myself that I’d just made a solid promise to this woman. It was almost tradition; the Vadims didn’t break promises. And we only made promises we intended to keep.

It took a lot of heart.A lot.

Her brows rose high on her forehead. “Anything?”

“I didn’t stutter.”

She mustered a small smile. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“I can take you home.”

“Not fair. You said anythingIwant to do.”

“Doesn’t mean I have the patience to wait here until you decide.”

She laughed. It was soft and breathless, but was better than the tears. That was good enough for me. She glanced over her shoulder and turned back to me. “The park.” She smiled. “I want to go to the park.”

The park.

I had never been to one myself. But it sounded shitty. To me, the idea of chilling under trees in an area surrounded by grass, screaming children, andfakehappy couples was a fucking waste of time. And time was a luxury I couldn’t afford to waste. So, why would anyone want to go there?

She sensed my hesitation. “If you don’t want to...”

I brushed past her, got to the car, and held open the door. “Get into the fucking car.” She stood, mouth agape, stunned, and unmoving. “Get in, Mariana. We’re going.”

For her.

We got to the park after twenty minutes of silent driving. She’d kept mute and gazed out of the window throughout. We got out of the car and she moved towards an unoccupied bench. I followed, because that was all I could do. But I kept my eyes and ears open. Anything could happen here. We were vulnerable and susceptible to attack.

“Relax, Vlad. That was the point of coming here.”

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