Page 51 of Forced plus-size Bride of the Bratva

Her lip trembles. She nods once. Barely.

“I will find who left that note. I’ll make sure they never even breathe in your direction again.”

She still doesn’t speak.

“Trust me,” I say, softer now. “Just a little. Enough to believe I’d rip apart anyone who threatens you. I need you to trust me, Jennie. No one will hurt you.”

She begins to cry, her shoulders shaking. Her hands cover her face for a moment, but then she looks up at me, eyes red, voice rising.

“If not me, then it’ll be Logan! Something will happen to him—I know it! You promised me, Adrian! You promised to keep him safe!”

My jaw clenches hard enough to crack. I lift her chin so she’s forced to look at me.

“I did promise,” I say, voice like gravel. “And I don’t break my word.”

She glares at me through tears. “Then do something!”

“I am doing everything,” I snap, then pull back just slightly and lower my tone. “Anyone who even thinks of getting close to him will be dead before they blink. Just because of you. I’ll gut them with my bare hands. That’s a promise too.”

She’s breathing hard, but listening.

“You want to know what you need to do?” I continue. “You need to breathe. Stay inside. Trust me. Have a little fucking faith in me, Jennie.”

Her lips part, trembling. “Why should I?”

I stare at her, the heat behind my ribs burning up into my throat. “Because I’ve been keeping you safe a long time. Long before I put that ring on your finger.”

Her brows draw together slowly. “What…what does that mean?”

I sit down on the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight, and gently pull her with me. She doesn’t resist. Her body is warm against my side, small and tense, but she doesn’t flinch or pull away. That alone almost undoes me.

My arm stays around her, holding her close. I let the silence breathe for a moment before I speak.

“I saw you once,” I say quietly. “At a party Zoe organized. It was about a year ago.”

She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her body stiffen slightly, like she remembers.

“You were wearing a red dress. Laughing at something Zoe said. I was standing across the room, and for a second…everything else faded.”

I glance down at her, her profile turned toward the floor, jaw tight.

“I wanted you. Right then. Right there.”

She finally turns to look at me, eyes flashing with something unreadable.

“But I couldn’t justify it,” I continue. “You were too good. Too soft for a world like mine. You didn’t belong anywhere near the filth I’m in.”

I pause. My voice turns harder, quieter.

“So I stayed away. But I didn’t stay blind. I had eyes on you. Always. Guards. Protection. You were watched. You were safe. Even when you didn’t know it.”

Her breath hitches. She looks at me now like she doesn’t know whether to slap me or run.

“That’s stalking,” she says flatly.

I lean in, my jaw tight. “You can call it whatever the fuck you want, Jennie. I call it protection. You were mine the moment I saw you, whether you knew it or not. I don’t care how it sounds. I kept you safe. That’s what mattered.”

Her lips part, but nothing comes out.