Page 106 of Forced By the Obsessed Bratva

“Youwished for a normal life?”

He shrugged. “If that’s what you call it.”

I let that image settle in, and it was almost impossible to believe that the man who moved through this world with a loaded gun once wished to build tables and fix doors in peace.

It almost made sense.

Or maybe, it doesn’t.

“But,” he continued, looking out the window, “that man wouldn’t have hadyou. He wouldn’t have our daughter. And he certainly wouldn’t have even known what he was missing.”

He turned to face me fully then, his free hand lifting to brush my cheek. “If being someone else means not having thislife with you, I don’t want it. I’m not interested in who I could’ve been. I only care about who I am right now.”

I swallowed hard, and my throat ached with overwhelming sweetness.

“I choose this,” he said. “You. Mira. Every day. Even with all the darkness I came from, you two are the light I didn’t think I’d ever be allowed to have. And now that I do, there’s nothing else I want.”

My heart cracked open all over again, the way it always did with him.

We both knew what we had was far from being perfect. It was jagged and earned and stitched together with every horror we’d survived.

But at least it was real.

I leaned in, pressing my forehead to his. “Then we’ll stay here in this life we built. No what-ifs.”

“No what-ifs,” he echoed, then smiled at Mira. “You know, she’s got your fire.”

I looked up at him, catching the edge of a smile that softened the sharp edges of his face. “She’s got your eyes.”

He hummed. “Poor thing.”

“Shut up.”

His mouth quirked, and before I could say a word, one hand came up to cup my jaw, rough fingers brushing the corner of my mouth as he breathed.

“I still can’t believe you’re mine.”

“You didn’t exactly give me a choice,” I teased. “I remember the threats, then there was duress, and everything else but love.”

“And I’d do it again.” His forehead touched mine. “You know I would.”

My throat tightened, and I kissed him. It was soft at first, then harder.

His hands slid to my waist, gripping like he could feel time slipping through his fingers, and he needed to hold me down.

“You’re everything,” he whispered against my lips, and I cradled his cheeks, struggling to find the right words to encapsulate all I felt in this moment.

Sighing, I kissed his forehead and buried my face in his chest.

“And you are everything too, Matvey. But most importantly, you aremine.”

***

THE END