Page 25 of Forced plus-size Bride of the Bratva

The sound of a key sliding into the lock makes me freeze.

I spin around, my heart hammering in my chest. I expect one of Adrian’s men—Zalar maybe—or someone faceless in a suit with instructions to escort me down the aisle like I’m some kind of packaged bride.

But instead, the door swings open—

And it’s Zoe.

“Zoe?” My voice cracks with disbelief.

She steps into the room in heels and a deep emerald cocktail dress that fits her like liquid silk, her curls pinned back loosely. She looks radiant—but exhausted. There are shadows beneath her eyes, the kind that only come from travel and stress and not sleeping well.

“Hey, baby girl,” she says gently, opening her arms.

I run into them without thinking.

Her arms wrap tight around me, and for a moment, I let myself breathe. Really breathe.

God, I didn’t realize how much I needed this.

Zoe pulls back and cups my face. “How did all of this happen?”

Tears sting my eyes again. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” I whisper, and then the words just come pouring out. “I was at home with Violet, and then these men came. They gave me a note. Logan—he’s in trouble, Zoe. Real trouble. He stole money from the Rusnak front and…Adrian said the only way Logan gets to live is if I marry him.”

Zoe goes still. “Oh my God.”

“What do I do, Zoe? Please help me.”

Her expression shifts in a way I don’t understand—something tight and resigned in her jaw. She looks away for a second and then meets my eyes again.

“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “But I can’t do anything.”

My stomach drops.

“Zoe—please, you’re married to Lukin. Can’t you talk to him? Can’t he stop this?”

She shakes her head. “In the Bratva…I don’t get a say in punishment. Especially not when someone’s been caught stealing. You don’t know what that kind of betrayal means intheir world, Jen. It’s not like ours. There’s no negotiation. No second chances.”

“But this is me,” I whisper. “I’m your friend. You can’t let me do this.”

“And I love you,” she says, reaching for my hands. “But I also know what marrying into this world means. That’s why I’m telling you now…you don’t have to do this. You shouldn’t do this.”

I shake my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Logan is my only family.”

“He’s your half-brother, Jennie.”

“But he was there when no one else was,” I snap. “When my parents died, he showed up. He helped me with rent, with my tuition, with life. He’s made mistakes, but I wouldn’t be here without him. I owe him this.”

Zoe sighs, her eyes softening. She doesn’t argue.

She just squeezes my hand. “Adrian…Adrian isn’t like Lukin.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he’s darker. More damaged. More….” She hesitates. “Dangerous. He has kind moments, sweet ones. But they’re rare. And you never know when they’ll vanish.”

A chill creeps down my spine.

Zoe sees it in my eyes and gently brushes a strand of hair from my cheek. “Just…be careful. Okay? Watch him. And don’t lose yourself in all of this.”