Page 1 of Owned Bratva Bride

Chapter 1 – Marielle

“Those traffic lights exist for a reason, you know?” I asked Kat.

“Rules are meant to be broken,” she chuckled, focusing on the road in front of her and ignoring the scolding look I sent her way.

If I were being honest, considering the quiet stretch of road, I had expected her to run the red light—and she did.

Katria’s natural dislike for following the crowd explained why she was the closest thing I had to a best friend. But, in things like these, she was more daring than I could ever be. Daring enough to call a professor’s bluff during a lecture when we were in college. Daring enough to rock the direct opposite of our college graduation dress code and get away with it.

“I’m tired of you,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, yeah, you say that every time….” She turned to face me, narrowing her eyes. “You’ll never be rid of me, baby.”

Kat’s green eyes were a striking forest green that made you want to look again. Unlike my honey brown ones that were, well…just normal. No, I’m not jealous of my best friend’s gorgeousness; I mean, not every time. We were two unique, beautiful people.

She was two inches taller than my 5’6" height, and my long, wavy, blonde hair contrasted her dark auburn curls. While my curves stood out despite my small body frame, Kat’s slender figure was highlighted by soft curves.

“Watch me,” I bluffed.

She opened her mouth to say something when her phone’s ringtone overshadowed the low music playing through her car radio.

“James,” she breathed.

She didn’t need to say any more.

James was our mutual friend. We had always assumed he was closer to Kat because they worked at the same place. Little did we know.

“Do you have any intention of talking to him ever?”

“Of course,” she answered. “I just can’t deal with him now. It’s all so…I don’t know, crazy.”

“Too crazy for you? Who would have thought?”

“Shut up,” she remarked, half-rolling her eyes.

“Real talk, though: What’s so crazy about it? He’s your friend, and now he wants more.”

“That’s the exact problem. He’s my friend!”

“I get that it might be a bit weird, but it’s not—” I started before she interrupted.

“It’s more than ‘a bit weird,’ Marielle. I choked on my drink when he went, ‘Kat, I have strong feelings for you.’”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

In spite of herself, she joined me.

“Okay, it’s weird. But you can’t run away from him because of that,” I pointed out. “How do you feel about what he said? I mean, aside from it being awkward because he’s our friend.”

“James is a player,” she huffed. “I can already see how awkward things would be when he sticks it in me and moves on to his next girl. I don’t know about him, but I know it’ll be awkward for me. And I know it’ll be awkward for you, too.”

“I could call you a player, too.”

“What? Are you on his side?” she questioned, glancing at me.

“Nope. My point is, you’re in and out of relationships because you’ve not found anyone worth committing to. And we both know James doesn’t date because he doesn’t have more than a physical attraction with anyone. He tells us these things, Kat.”

“So what? You think I might be the one he’ll eventually commit to?”